WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil of The Prime Time Players recently spoke with NZPWI to promote next week’s edition of WWE RAW. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On if there’s also a tag team revolution in WWE: “Yes, the tag team division is definitely loaded with a lot of talented teams, and a lot of talented individuals as well because sometimes we do have singles matches with the partner being out there. It’s a great time for the tag team division with The Dudley Boyz coming back – one of the most historically successful WWE tag teams in history, if not the most successful if you’re going by title reigns alone. It definitely gives a kick-start to a new season and a new era to the tag team division and hopefully we can continue to be a big fixture in that push for great tag team wrestling in WWE.”
On Batista getting him into wrestling: “Literally, I was driving down to South Tampa one day, picking up some dress shoes, and across the street was FCW. Since I was down there I called Dave [Batista] and said, ‘Hey, is this the place you were saying they practice at?’ and he said, ‘Yeah’ and I said, ‘Well I might go and poke my head in there and try to see what it’s about.’ I did, and two weeks later I was signed and learning to be a WWE Superstar.”
On a match he had with Rey Mysterio and why it’s one of his favorites: “I had the match with Rey Mysterio on an episode of SmackDown. It made it one of my favourite matches because, number one, I’ve always been a big fan of Rey Mysterio. It was a great learning experience for me. Rey was extremely, extremely professional with me. He guided me through, suggested things, let me do things with him that… it was just a really cool experience, a great learning experience from—I feel—one of the greatest performers of all time in WWE history.”
– The Prime Time Players will be Chris Jericho’s guest this week on his Talk Is Jericho podcast over at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE officials are not happy with Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, according to f4wonline.com. Sunny has been selling “private Skype sessions with fans” and is dealing with a lot of legal issues at the moment.
– Stardust is asking fans on Twitter to vote on which persona they like bette – Stardust or Cody Rhodes, who mysteriously disappeared back in June 2014 and is rumored to be chained up in a remote cave somewhere off the coast of Parts Unknown.
It looks like one-half of the former WWE Tag-Team Champion Prime Time Players, Darren Young, is airing some dirty laundry in public involving himself and a WWE Total Divas cameraman.
Apparently the Total Divas cameraman sent Young a shirtless photograph, something Young did not appreciate.
Below are some comments and screen shots sent back-and-forth between Young and the cameraman.
– The WWE Tough Enough “Final Four,” Sara Lee, Amanda, Josh and ZZ are all guests on the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which is now available. The official description for the show reads as follows:
Tough Enough is down to the Final Four – Sara Lee, Amanda, Josh & ZZ… and all four are on TIJ! First up, the Diva hopefuls! Hear what Sara Lee thinks of The Miz saving her, and both women’s journeys to Tough Enough. And if you need a little help deciding who to vote for, both ladies cut one last promo to persuade you! And then – Josh & ZZ join Y2J. You’ll hear about wrestling alligators, the curse of the Nightmare Zone, and their final promos to win your vote! You’ll also get lessons in Yeti and alligator calling!
You can listen to the latest edition of “Talk Is Jericho” at PodcastOne.com.
– Hip-hop star Fabolous is among the celebrities who was in attendance at the WWE 2K16 media event in New York City on Thursday evening. Below is a video of the rapper on the red carpet with the WWE Tag-Team Champions, The Prime Time Players.
One-half of the current WWE Tag Team Champion Prime Time Players, Darren Young, posted the following message on his official Instagram page about his character not being gay, but how he wouldn’t mind if it was.
“I’m happy with Darren Young and where he stands in the company at present. Even though my character isn’t gay, I’m still able to express myself in other ways like when I put my arms up into an equal sign,” said Young. “That’s my signature pose and it symbolizes what Darren Young is all about. I’m here, and I do what I do to show everyone that we are all equal. Gay, straight, male, female, whatever your race, if you work hard and stay focused, you can make it to the big leagues!”
Young continued, “As a proud gay man in the WWE, I’ve always thought my success was entirely due to my skills as an entertainer and wrestler. It had nothing to do with my personal life. This said, I wouldn’t mind if my character turned gay if it’s for the sake of having an intriguing yet tasteful storyline, but I wouldn’t do that switch if the reason is “just to have a gay character”. #blockthehate #spreadtheword #passalong”
WWE has posted several Money in the Bank Fallout videos online.
After capturing a WWE World Heavyweight Title Match contract, The Celtic Warrior vows to cash in and reclaim his rightful spot as the dominant force in WWE, aka the “land of the giants.”
The Prime Time Players celebrate their first WWE Tag Team Championship victory over New Day at Money in The Bank.
The Bella Twins defend Twin Magic and deny any wrongdoing at WWE Money in The Bank where Nikki successfully defended her WWE Divas title against Paige.
WWE taped the following matches prior to Tuesday’s SmackDown taping for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event.
Dark Match
– Kevin Owens def. R-Truth in a quick match. Owens picked up the “W” after hitting him with the pop-up powerbomb.
WWE Main Event Taping
– Prime Time Players def. The Ascension in tag-team action. O’Neil scored the pinfall on Viktor.
– Zack Ryder def. Heath Slater in singles action. Ryder picked up the win with the Ruff Ryder.
– Nikki Bella def. Summer Rae in Divas competition. Bella scored the pinfall after hitting Summer with the Rack Attack.
– Neville def. Adam Rose in the final match of the taping. Rose cut a promo about there being no more Exotic Express and no more parties 24/7. Bo Dallas was on commentary for the match, which ended when Neville hit the Red Arrow on Rose for the 1-2-3.
– The UK’s Mirror newspaper reports that producers of Celebrity Big Brother have offered Hulk Hogan a spot on the show. The upcoming season will have a UK vs. US theme.
– WrestlingDVDNews.com reports that WWE’s upcoming Sting DVD and Blu-ray will be titled, “Sting – Into The Light.” This will be WWE’s first-ever full-length documentary on The Sting. It’s currently scheduled for an October release.
– Damien Sandow and The Prime Time Players met with members of the Special Olympics Ontario this weekend at a WWE live event.
WWE taped two matches for this week’s Superstars prior to Monday’s post-Extreme Rules edition of RAW in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Below are quick results of the two matches.
– The Prime Time Players def. Los Matadores in tag-team action. El Torito was at ringside with the Matadores. In the end, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young were too much for the bull fighting duo.
– Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension in another tag-team contest. The Dragons, particularly Kalisto, were flying all over the place en route to a quick victory.
After feuding on social media over the weekend, Titus O’Neil has been teasing a match between The Prime Time Players and The New Day for tonight’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from Austin, Texas.
For those who missed it, here’s a segment from last week’s SmackDown that features The Prime Time Players making fun of The New Day.
The following are spoiler results for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which was taped on Tuesday night, March 31st, in Fresno, California. Results are courtesy of ProWrestling.net.
Dark Match
– Zack Ryder beat Adam Rose. The crowd was firmly behind Ryder, who won with his finisher.
WWE Main Event Taping
– Stardust beat Jack Swagger.
– Paige and Emma beat Summer Rae and Cameron. Emma was destroyed most of the match, but Paige made Cameron tap to the PTO.
– The Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension.
– The New Day came out to boos. Big E referred to Fresno as San Jose. The Prime Time Players came out, and Titus O’Neil corrected Big E.
The following matches were taped prior to Monday’s WWE RAW in San Jose, California for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
– Prime Time Players def. Adam Rose and Heath Slater in the first match of the evening. This may have been a dark match.
– Fandango def. Jack Swagger in singles action. Rosa Mendes was out there with Fandango, who picked up the win via pin.
– R-Truth def. Luke Harper in the final match of the taping. This was said to be a pretty good match which the rowdy post-WrestleMania crowd had fun with.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts is the guest on this week’s edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s Pit” podcast. The show is available for download right now at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE Superstars Titus O’Neil and Darren Young worked out with former NFL star and one-time WWE prospect Shawne Merriman in Los Angeles, California this morning.
– WWE filmed some footage of Roman Reigns with his family this past weekend in Florida. The belief is that the segment was filmed to air as part of the build to Reigns’ match against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 on tonight’s “go-home” edition of WWE RAW.
Titus O’Neil recently spoke with Vindy.com to promote the WWE live event in Youngstown, Ohio this coming weekend. Below are highlights from the interview.
On reuniting the Prime Time Players with Darren Young: “Yeah, the band is back together. The Prime Time Players are back together, and we’re focused on taking on what we started and building upon that. We’re the roughest, toughest and most entertaining tag team in the WWE, and we’re dead set on becoming the WWE tag-team champions.”
On his recent #UseYourVoice-themed message on Instagram: “It’s nothing that I haven’t been trying to convey years before I got into the WWE. My story is very powerful in itself. I was the beneficiary of people from all races and all backgrounds investing in me at a young age. I came from a fatherless home. My mother was raped at a very young age, and so, obviously, I came from an impoverished background.
People invested in that place to give me a fair opportunity at winning at life. So for me, I’m fulfilling a purpose in which I’m repaying every single individual that invested in me when they didn’t have to. I look at this world in a completely different manner than most people do. I don’t see it in the eyes of skin color, gender or sexual orientation. The people who have an issue of what I said are the very people that are the ones that are the biggest perpetuators of the problem. But I’m not pushing any agenda on anyone outside of being the best person you can be.”
– The Prime Time Players, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young, have both officially been added to the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal match at WrestleMania 31. WWE is reportedly planning on having 20 Superstars involved in this year’s battle royal, down from the 31 participants who competed in the match last year. With the Prime Time Players now included, the following updated list for the match is as follows:
* Titus O’Neil
* Darren Young
* The Miz
* Curtis Axel
* Ryback
* Fandango
* Adam Rose
* Zack Ryder
* Jack Swagger
– WWE Superstar Xavier Woods recently got a new tattoo, which was inspired by the “Zelda” video game. Below, courtesy of Woods’ official Instagram page, is a photo of him getting the new ink.
The following matches were taped on Monday night in Newark, New Jersey for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars on the WWE Network.
– The Ascension def. The Prime Time Players in tag-team action to kick off the taping. The Ascension picked up the win at about the four or five minute mark after hitting Darren Young with “The Fall of Man” for the pin fall victory.
– Zack Ryder def. Adam Rose in singles competition to close out the taping. Ryder got a great reaction coming out, as he lives close to the area. Rose was boo’d throughout. In the end, Ryder picked up the “W” after hitting his finisher.
The following matches were taped for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event prior to the SmackDown television tapings on Tuesday night in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dark Match
– The Prime Time Players def. two local wrestlers.
WWE Main Event
– Cesaro & Tyson Kidd def. The Lucha Dragons in tag-team action. This is the second straight week that the Lucha Dragons have worked the Main Event tapings. The finish in this one saw Cesaro hit his big uppercut for the 1-2-3.
– The Bella Twins def. Paige & Emma in Divas tag-team action. This was a rematch from Monday’s RAW, which saw Brie pin Emma for the finish.
– Stardust def. Kofi Kingston in the headline match of the evening. The crowd got on Stardust’s case with “Cody” chants throughout the match. In the end, Stardust picked up the “W” by way of clean pin fall.
Raw was held in Nashville this week as the build to WrestleMania continues. The event featured a Tag Team Championship match, a few promos, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t really music to most fans’ ears. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
As soon as they announced the Usos were planning to invoke their rematch clause, it was obvious fans were going to be in for another treat. As one would expect, the action was fast paced and frequently spilled over to ringside. Kidd’s heel work has been top notch over the past few weeks, frequently using his wife as a human shield in order to gain an upper hand.
The Tag Champs work so well together too, using combination moves such as a catapult into a big uppercut, and a Cesaro swing into a dropkick. Although the match didn’t end clean, it featured some solid action and was probably the highlight of the night. Kidd and Cesaro are the best team in the WWE by far right now. They should get these guys some merch and push them to the moon.
I loved the backstage segment between the Miz and Damien Mizdow. It was awesome (no pun intended) to hear the Miz talk up the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and act like a win would elevate his career to new heights. (That worked out real well for Cesaro last year.)
Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler was a decent opening match. There were honestly only a handful of wrestling moves utilized throughout the match, with most of the action consisting of punches, rest holds, and brawling action outside of the ring. With that said, there were a few impressive sequences. Ziggler countered Wasteland twice, once into a DDT and another into a sunset flip. The sequence where Barrett ended up hitting Winds of Change was also nice.
The Show Off picked up the win after hitting the Zig Zag, allowing for Ambrose to show up and taunt Barrett with his Intercontinental Championship before staring Ziggler down. What are the chances that Barrett never touches his beloved title again? I’d usually say it’s about as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series this season, but they actually decided to crack open the checkbook over the winter so that might not be the best analogy.
#Axelmania. Enough said.
The Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns promo was one of the more interesting moments all night. It was nice to see Daniel Bryan once again acting as the voice of the fans, saying, “The biggest Roman Reigns doubter is right here in Daniel Bryan,” while also echoing fan sentiments regarding Reigns only being in the main event because of his size and look. At the same time, he also put Reigns over for winning the match, ending the segment with a handshake.
Heyman’s interaction with Reigns was also intriguing, as he said he would put his money on Reigns over anyone, including guys like Hogan, Austin, and the Rock – anyone except Brock Lesnar, of course. Reigns was confident and composed during the back and forth with Heyman as he continues to improve on the mic. It’s easy to picture these two guys hooking up in the near future.
The Bray Wyatt promo was more of the same, but still entertaining nonetheless. I can’t wait for the Undertaker to show up respond to Wyatt’s challenge.
Speaking of Paige, she’ll be making her second appearance on Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast this week.
– WWE NXT coaches including Bill DeMott, Norman Smiley and Robbie Brookside were all used in the pull-apart between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns at the end of RAW. DeMott and Brookside were holding back Reigns as RAW went off the air.
– Last night on RAW, Titus O’Neil saved Darren Young from a beatdown at the hands of The Ascension, leading many fans to wonder if we were seeing the reformation of the Prime Time Players. With both men’s careers floundering in recent months/years (and the Rhodes Brothers breaking up), this doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. In this RAW Fallout video, Darren Young questioned whether or not he’s ready to team up with Titus again.
Near the end of last year, it appeared the WWE would once again focus on promoting its tag team division. After the championships were practically ignored and bounced around between random teams that were comprised of young talent for over a year, Team Hell No helped legitimize the titles once again.
Kane and Bryan held the titles for nearly a year before eventually dropping the straps to Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. The division picked up even more after the Shield got their hands on the titles and was straight up stacked for months. At one point the company was even relying a lot on six-man tag matches just to get as many guys as possible on the broadcast.
Team Hell No helped spark fan interest after a dull period in the tag division.
Near the end of last year, the Rhodes Brothers, the Shield (Rollins and Reigns), the Wyatt Family (Harper and Rowan), the Real Americans, the Usos, the Prime Time Players, and the New Age Outlaws were all in contention for the Tag Team titles at some point.
Since then, nearly every one of those teams has fallen off the face of the Earth, save the Usos who are now the champions. The Rhodes Brothers are barely competing together, the Shield is beyond competing for the championships at this point, the Wyatt Family has been involved in other affairs, both the Real Americans and Prime Time Players have split, and it appears the New Age Outlaws do not want to exercise that rematch clause after all.
The dissolution and promotion of various teams has resulted in the tag team division entering into a transitional state where the company needs to develop new teams or promote others from NXT. Think about the current teams on the roster. We have the Usos who are obviously champions, but who are their challengers? The only other teams even on the roster are Los Matadores, Ryback and Axel, and 3MB, unless I am forgetting someone.
Here we are the Raw before WrestleMania XXX. The go home show of all go home shows. Did Raw deliver? Check out our YES! and NO!
Brock Lesnar Finally F5’s after circling the ring 10 times. NO!
The Undertaker & Brock Lesnar The Undertaker comes out and cuts seeming the same promo he has each week he’s had a mic. Out pops Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman, eventually Brock circles the ring seemingly a dozen times, before the obligatory Paul Heyman distraction where he slips in with a chair, to distract The Undertaker enough so that Brock can “sneak” in and get his hands on The Dead Man.
I had such high hopes for this program, but I must tell you, I’ve been less than impressed. Paul Heyman cut an amazing promo a few weeks back simultaneously putting over The Streak, and why Brock Lesnar would break it (Undertakers age, wear and tear). Since then this has been a lackluster build for me. Am I really to believe that a huge man like Brock Lesnar is THAT afraid to get into the ring? I can buy into some trepidation, but this was ridiculous. NO!
Alberto Del Rio takes it to Big E. Good Match YES!
Big E. vs. Alberto Del Rio I thought Big E and Alberto Del Rio put on a great match, with several near falls and a clean Del Rio win. Of course why they constantly beat a champion, I’ll never understand. Does anyone remember when they actually had in-ring introductions for a Big E intercontinental championship match? That being said, YES!
Summer Rae vs. Natalya I liked how a clip was shown from this past weeks Total Diva’s and there was a match to tie things in. I suppose that’s the one thing we lack when it is seemingly all the Total Divas ganging up on AJ who didn’t want to be on the show. However, the conflict was clearly 100% manufactured, and if there was any ounce of reality to Total Divas before this, there isn’t now. YES!
The Authority implying that Daniel Bryan is a “Flavor Of The Day” like Fandango was last year.
The Authority’s Farewell To The “Yes!” Movement, Batista, Randy Orton Triple H and Stephanie come out and cut a brutally honest promo that blurts the lines between story line and reality. They made some interesting arguments about people wanting to be on a bandwagon, and support a cause. This brought out chants of CM Punk, Yes, and others including boring. After a Stephanie McMahon narrated promo about Triple H always beating the “Flavor of the Day” including Booker T, Chris Jericho, RVD, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, Out comes BOOtista, and Orton. Pretty much the same song and dance. Objectively I think this was a good Heel Triple H Promo. But I’m exhausted from these Authority promos, and Batista and Orton coming out in succession. I’m tired from Daniel Bryan not getting anywhere in the stratosphere of equal mic time. By itself this was good, but after weeks of this, I’m over it. So I say NO!
The Usos & Los Matadores vs. The Real Americans & Ryback and Curtis Axel
This is basically the Pre-Show match with two teams combined. Less reason to get excited about the match itself. After an incredible year of tag-teams in the WWE in 2013, everything that I have enjoyed up to this point has vanished. Cody Rhodes and GoldDust were the hottest Tag Team attraction in WWE last year, they should have been in the tag-team titles mix, or facing each other, in a brother vs brother match that has been rumored for two years. The USO’s have been in line to win the Tag Titles since July of 13. What better way to elevate those titles then have them win it at WrestleMania XXX against the Outlaws? So another match, similar to what we will see on the small big stage, and I fear that The Uso’s who should retain this, may not possibly, so that a title change gets a reaction, or creates some sort of moment. NO!
Backstage Segment: The Shield & Roman Reigns vs. Kane I enjoyed this backstage segment from The Shield, they seemed like a cohesive unit here, and I hope to see more of this at WrestleMania. Could The Shield stay together for a while longer? Many thought the match would be all three members of The Shield in a triple thread at this years WrestleMania. I would dislike it to see someone like Dean Ambrose accidentally or deliberately cause a loss for the team. I’d like to see The Shield show their dominance over the last two years. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW
Triple H has words with BOOTista and Randy Orton, in the opening Segment YES!
In-Ring Segment: Triple H, BOOtista and Randy Orton Raw started off with Triple H in the middle of the ring, blaming the WWE Universe, for the events leading to the match between Triple H & Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. He said he had no chocie but has too end the #YesMovment. Out comes Batista, followed by Randy Orton. I really enjoyed the back and forth between all three. With Batista caling Randy Orton a “paper champion” and Orton saying if Batista was the big deal he was supposed to be they wouldn’t have gone on to cheer for Daniel Bryan.
Triple H tried to make his exit, Batista stopped him and said he has to fix things. That’s when Triple H went off on Batista, saying he hated when Part-Time movie stars come back and think they know how to run the business. Triple H also called out Orton, for being technically gifted, but still needs his hand held to win the match.
Triple H then annoucned a bombshell that if he wins the match between him and Daniel Bryan, he will enter the triple threat match at WrestleMania XXX, and win it to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
I thought this was a great segment, and I like that now Triple H has a shot to be in the Main Event at WrestleMania. That gives people some doubt that Daniel Bryan could lose his match between him and Triple H, which he wont. I like the direction this story is going in, as we are two Raw’s from Mania! YES!
Sheamus wins on St Patrick’s Day. NO!
Bad News Barrett & Hornswoggle Obligatory Hornswaggle segment for St Patrick’s day. Followed by an unfunny and predictable Bad News Barrett segment. Yawn. Someone tell me why Barrett is not wrestling, is he injured? NO!
Sheamus vs. Titus O’Neil Gimmick Match, the aforementioned Hornswaggle gets involved and becomes a chess piece. Christian on commentary was the bright spot. He attacks after the match, which also was predictable, I didn’t hate the attack though, but overall for me the segment was a NO!
The Usos vs. The Real Americans
Sold match, looks like The Real Americans are back as a cohesive unit. This win by The Real Americans I’m assuming will lead to their involvement in a 4-way tag match at WrestleMania. Perhaps on the grandest stage of them all, we will finally see Cesaro snap on Jack Swagger and swing him many many times. YES!
John Cena and Bray Wyatt, let’s hope the match lives up to the hype. YES!
John Cena & Bray Wyatt Promo Segment Obviously we won’t know until WrestleMania XXX if these two will have a good or great match. For all we know they could have an amazing match. But I have to say I really enjoy Bray Wyatt’s promo work here. John Cena is John Cena, I could do with out the comedy. His act is getting stale, and he is in need for a change, a big change. I think this this program is a good fit for both superstars, of course I would rather have seen The Shield vs The Wyatts, but since that ship has sailed, I’m enjoying what I see. YES!
Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan……Part 20. YES!
Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton have good matches with each other, I enjoyed this one as well. Batista came down to take it to Orton, followed by Daniel Bryan sending Batista out of the ring with the Knee. This was a great live illustration to show what “could” happen at WrestleMania XXX. Batista power bombing Orton Afterwords got a decent pop. I have to say, seems a fair amount of heat on BOOtista is melting away, now that Daniel Bryan has the potential to headline with him and Orton at WrestleMania XXX YES!
Paul could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman wearing white gloves. YES!
Segment: Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is a master wordsmith. He is perfect for someone like Brock Lesnar, who’s mic skills aren’t as sharp. I love the story they are telling here, acknowledging The Undertaker is getting older and it has been getting harder the last few years for him to win decisively. YES!
Interesting observation, did you notice how CM Punk didn’t exist on the promo they showed? Would have made great sense to use him, after all, The Undertaker beat CM Punk last year at WrestleMania 29 and, Brock Lesnar went on to beat CM Punk at SummerSlam. But no, he is erased.
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW
Hulk Hogan’s WrestleMania XXX Announcement, John Cena & The Wyatt Family Hulk Hogan starts the show announcing an Andre The Giant memorial 30 man Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. Battle Royals have happened before at WrestleMania, with Andre The Giant winning the first ever Battle Royal at WrestleMania II. At Wrestlemania IV Bret Hart and Bad News Brown, both heels at the time agreed to share the trophy, well for a few moments. And who could forget the 19 man Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. I don’t think anyone was expecting this, and at first I thought, the idea seemed silly, but this will get alot of talent on the card, and could be interesting to watch.
John Cena came out to have a Raw moment with The Hulkster. Dislike Cena all you want, he has been the top guy in WWE for the last 10 years. Buff Bagwell, made a ridiculous comment, that John Cena isn’t a Stone Cold Steve Austin, or a Rock, and that HE could have been John Cena, if he was pushed like Cena has been. That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Cena is a true star, and any way you slice it this was a Raw moment, to see Cena posing down with the Babe Ruth of professional wrestling.
Bray Wyatt doing his thing as John Cena and the legendary Hulk Hogan YES!
I enjoyed the Wyatt involvement, the challenge was issued by Cena, for a match at WrestleMania, Wyatt would later accept. Prior to the Royal Rumble, when the heavy rumor was John Cena vs Bray Wyatt, I was scratching my head. After months of excellent build up of Bray and the Wyatt Family, I can honestly tell you, I’m excited to see this match, and love the Wyatt Family. YES!
John Cena vs. Erick Rowan Short match, between Cena and Rowan, with Rowan having the upper hand for a good portion of the match, Cena wins with a surprise pin. I’m not sure why he was so shocked. Hulk Hogan in Cena’s corner, makes me wonder if this will foreshadow some physical Hogan involvement in the match at WrestleMania XXX. YES!
The Authority Address Daniel Bryan I’m a huge Vince McMahon fan, I loved watching Vince McMahon verbally and sometimes even physically battle Stone Cold Steve Austin, back in the Attitude Era. Perhaps because I’m so over the last 7 months of beating Daniel Bryan to the ground, I just can’t stand Stephanie McMahon and Triple H as The Authority. When I say that, I don’t mean, “I can’t wait to see Daniel Bryan get his hands on Triple H.” I just can’t stand the way either of them are, at all. Stephanie does all the talking in this segment, demanding Daniel Bryan apologize or face severe consequences. NO!
Cessaro griping a bit too tight for Jack Swagger YES!
Big E. vs. Jack Swagger / Real Americans Break-Up Tease # 395 This match was basically a filler to highlight the inevitable break up of Cesaro and Swagger. It’s a shame that Big E has been pushed to the back in all this, I had high hopes that the Intercontinental Title would finally get more prestige. That being said I am enjoying the break up of The Real Americans, because Cesaro is going to be a break out star. YES!
In-Ring Segment: The Undertaker & Paul Heyman This segment was pure brilliance, Paul Heyman with two amazing weeks in a row of fantastic promos. Playing the Chicago crowd expertly. Tying CM Punk’s departure into not being able to defeat The Undertaker, was a genius concept. I like how the story is now centered around Paul Heyman trying to get his revenge on The Undertaker. This could also set the stage for another CM Punk Undertaker encounter if he ever comes back and returns his ball. I’m cautiously optimistic for the Brock vs Taker match at WrestleMania XXX. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW
They’ll never be another person as great as Paul Heyman. Brilliant performance. YES!
Paul Heyman Opens RAW, Brock Lesnar Attacks Mark Henry Raw kicked off with a bang, CM Punk’s music hit and, naturally the crowd went wild. I’m sure most older WWE fans know this drill all too well. WWE loves pushing buttons (now called trolling). I fully expected to hear CM Punk’s entrance music hit at some point during the broadcast, it was inevitable. However after about 30 seconds, it became clear there was no CM Punk, it was Paul Heyman. Paul comes into the ring, goading the crowd to cant their heads off for the voice of the voiceless. Paul then sat Indian style in the center of the ring, and began to talk about CM Punk, and ultimately said that the fans were to blame for his absence. Paul tied it into CM Punk losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29, and moved towards Brock Lesnar taking on The Deadman in New Orleans. Brock then comes out, followed by Mark Henry who eventually gets an awesome F5 into the announce table. I loved this segment, this was exactly how you capture lighting in a bottle. Paul Heyman was simply brilliant. If I have one criticism on this segment, I would have placed it towards the middle of the program. I think the crowd should have been given a bit of time to try to “HijackRaw” with their CM Punk chants, and then WWE would strike back with their response. YES!
WWE Tag-Team Championships The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Usos With a crazy night came this tag team match. I was pretty surprised that The USO’s won the contest and became The WWE Tag Team Champions. For some reason I thought we would have to wait till WrestleMania XXX to see The USO’s win the tag team championship, there is still 4 weeks before WrestleMania so as they say anything can happen. I’m happy for The USO’s they deserve the championship. YES!
The Real Americans Hugging it out… For now.
Big E. vs. Cesaro & Big E. vs. Jack Swagger I’ve been seeing Jack Swagger interrupt many Cesaro matches. Earlier in the night Swagger again caused the DQ by attacking Big E during the match. Later Big E pulls double duty taking on Swagger Cesaro returns the favor. Obviously these two are destined for a breakup, but when? And how does Big E’ Factor into this match. I wouldn’t mind seeing the three of them go at it in a triple Threat Match at WrestleMania, where we can see Cesaro finally turn on Jack Swagger. YES!
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family What an incredible match these 6 young up and coming SuperStars had at The Elimination Chamber PPV, This match was great too, with Seth Rollins proving he is not the weakest link in The Shield. Flying across the ring! I like Rollins walking out of the match to further the breakup of The Shield. I think The Shield vs The Wyatts much like The Rock vs Triple H will go down in history as two matches that should have taken place on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania. Still an awesome showing and a great way to keep the momentum for Bray Wyatt who got the pinfall. YES!
Renee Young Interviews Batista BOOtista turning full heel on Smackdown! this past Friday night, now on Raw calls the Daniel Bryan #YesMovement the the dumbest thing he’s ever seen in his life. I like heel BOOtista. Well maybe I don’t. I didn’t like WWE trying to keep Batista a face when the crowd would have none of it. There’s your real change! We actually turned him heel. There was no other choice anyway, I don’t want to get my hopes up for the SEVENTH month in a row, but this seems to be heading towards what most of us are hoping to see at WrestleMania XXX.
Santino Marella & Emma vs. Fandango & Summer Rae I’m still not sold on Emma. It must be because of Santino. Or that music just doesn’t feel big enough. Again I get it she was very over in NXT, but that arena holds 500-800 people. (I’ve been to a NXT Taping at Full Sail) Sometimes things don’t play as well on the big stage. I hear that music, and I hear a pin drop. Then again, this might be another Fandango in the making the night after WrestleMania XXX. NO!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78HUkVvnLXg
To much talk, Daniel Bryan should have kneed them both. NO!
Daniel Bryan, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon & Kane Promo So here’s the problem I have with Triple H vs Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. I don’t want to see it. I want to see Daniel Bryan vs Batista vs Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I don’t want to see Daniel Bryan face Triple H even for a chance to be in that match. Why? Because I’ve invested wasted seven long months waiting to see the payoff from a story that began at SummerSlam. I attended SummerSlam, Hell-In-A-Cell, Survivor Series, and The Royal Rumble. I don’t want to see Daniel Bryan beat up Triple H the character. Although I might not mind Brian Danielson decking Paul Levesque, for this frustrating half year plus. I’m just not into seeing this match, I’m turned off. 2-4 months ago, I would have been into the idea of this match, and invested in it. Now all I want is for him to win to get put in the championship match at the end of WrestleMania XXX. It’s a shame too, because Triple H vs Daniel Bryan should be a featured marquee match, on it’s own. I just don’t see myself enjoying the match as much as I would if I didn’t have this bad taste in my mouth from the last seven months.
I hate when people compare Daniel Bryan to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Daniel Bryan is mega over right now, but back in the Attitude era Austin, the whole business was over way more. These hijack shows though are starting to offer up more of that attitude era feel, I will say though. The thing is with Stone Cold Steve Austin, he gave his blood his sweat and tears to be WWE Champion. He stopped at nothing and got physical along the way. I was not a fan of Daniel Bryan just standing there, taking abuse from Triple H and Stephanie. I wanted him to beat the crap out of both of them. If I were Daniel Bryan, I’d offer up the stipulation that we all expect to eventually happen. If he can Beat Triple H at WrestleMania, he gets inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match. But I still don’t want to see the match at WrestleMania, too turned off from the last few months. NO!
I’m enjoying this story more and more each week. YES!
John Cena Addresses The Wyatt Family I liked what John Cena had to say to the crowd, the CM Punk chants were beginning to get on my nerves by this point. I’m enjoying Bray Wyatt and what he has to offer, he could be a top Hollywood horror actor. It wouldn’t surprise me if after Mania he stars in a film. YES!
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Hulk Hogan Opens Up RAW The big announcement earlier this week was of course the return of the Hulk Hogan, and how he will be The Host of WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans. What can be said about Hulk Hogan? He’s the Babe Ruth of wrestling, and icon and legend. He deserved to be in WWE in come capacity, and why on earth he was in TNA for as long as he was, I’ll never know. Wade Barrett took a verbal shot at hogan at The Elimination Chamber Pay Per Vew, and was no were to be seen on this show, so I can only wonder, if he will fill the role of Hogan’s Punching bag at WrestleMania XXX, time will tell. YES!
Alberto Del Rio vs. BOOtista / Randy Orton Interrupts. WWE is now starting to acknowledge that BOOtista is getting booed out of the building. Well it’s about time! How long can you go jamming someone down the audience’s throats that is clearly not connecting positively with the fans? Let me make myself clear, I don’t hate Batista, I hate the idea that WWE felt they needed Batista to fill some gap at WrestleMania XXX, and injected him into the Main Event, in spite of an organic rise of Daniel Bryan. Clearly a large portion, and not a vocal minority is in agreement with this sentiment. Batista is already starting to
BOOTista is going to WrestleMania XXX #DealWithIT NO!
lean towards heel tendencies, making a crying face, after his entrance, and his #DealWithIt catch phrase, is quite antagonizing. So Big Dave loses to Del Rio after Randy Orton distracts him. Orton acknowledges the recent crowd reception Batista is receiving. Batista responds while sweaty and slobbering all over, that the fans have a choice, and he’s okay with their choice. I’m just turned off to this story. I’d be happier if Batista went full on Heel and Batista Bombed the crap out of Daniel Bryan, get him in this story, because this is boring me, and even if they inject Daniel Bryan into the Main event, I’m not sure I can take 5 weeks of build up to Orton vs Batista. NO!
WWE Intercontinental Championship Big E. (c) vs. Cesaro The match was good, Ceasaro is definitely getting a face turn soon, and rightly so, there is a big drop off on faces, and I would argue to you he already is a face, based on the crowd reaction he’s getting, and his Ceasaro Swing. Looks like Jack Swaggar is going to be Cesaro’s opponent, eventually. YES!
John Cena Injured during his interaction with The Wyatts NO!
John Cena Addresses The Wyatt Family Thirty days after John Cena was screwed out of the WWE Championship at The Royal Rumble, and one night after he was screwed again from The Wyatts, John Cena finally decides to address the situation. He must have had that on his iPhone to-do list and kept forgetting to take care of this task. You know if the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the most prized possession in sports entertainment, and they were combined because of your challenge to Randy Orton in December, you’d figure John Cena would have had have a bit more fire, than to wait 30 days. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena, has the potential to be a good story, and maybe even a good match, although Erick Rowan, may have changed the whole situation, because Cena appeared to be legitimately injured. Time will tell. I wouldn’t be terribly upset with a plan B of The Shield vs The Wyatts at WrestleMania. YES!
Sheamus with a Brogue Kick to Christian NO!
Christian vs. Sheamus Match was okay, nothing special in my opinion, but I must admit, it was just a match, and I was quite bored from it. Heavy rumor is Heel Sheamus vs Cesaro WrestleMania, I think that would be a good match. NO!
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