As of earlier today, the plan for tonight’s RAW in Kansas City was for WWE to make the announcement of Goldust and Stardust vs. The Usos for the WWE Tag-Team Championships at the October 26th Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
Also as of this morning, the company was still going back-and-forth as to which cell match will be closing the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view this Sunday night, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose or John Cena vs. Randy Orton. As of this afternoon, no official decision had been made.
We are less than one week away from the WWE’s latest pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell. At last year’s event, Shawn Michaels betrayed Daniel Bryan in a championship match against Randy Orton.
A lot has changed over the past year, evidenced by the fact that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will be headlining half of the double main event. The shelf life of a WWE superstar can be short, so it’s always important for superstars to make the most of their time in the ring, especially at pay-per-views. Here is a look at the superstars who have progressed, regressed, or remained stagnant over the past year.
Progression:
1. Dean Ambrose
Nobody had made more progress since last year than Dean Ambrose. At last year’s event, Ambrose was an invisible US Champion and lost his undercard contest to Big E by countout.
This year, he will be headlining the event in a Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins. He continues to receive as much airtime as anyone on Raw each week and has been getting great reactions from the crowds. What a difference a year makes.
2. Seth Rollins
Although Dean Ambrose has progressed the most over the past year, his former partner Seth Rollins is a close second. Rollins will be joining Ambrose inside of a Hell in a Cell for half of the main event, and also holds the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Over the past year, Rollins has improved every aspect of his game. He is stronger on the mic, he developed a convincing and unique finisher, and has adopted a heel personality that has gotten over with the fans. Rollins is a star on the rise and without a doubt a future world champion.
The following are highlights of a new Between The Ropes interview with Chris Jericho:
On his latest run in the WWE: The Bray Wyatt cage match in Baltimore and then the Randy Orton – Night of Champions match in Nashville I thought were two…whatever a five star match is. Two really really really good matches that I would put on my list of all-time favorites. And that was good to know because as the years go by, I feel just as good as I ever did. When I go back I’m mentally prepared and I think I still work up to a level I set for myself. But when you go out there and actually do some of those things and actually get the feedback from the live audience that you know you can get and from the critics. The fact that my last match was the best match on the pay-per-view against Randy Orton, I take great pride in that. And if I never work again, I know I’ll always have that. It’s still cool to contribute at the highest level and the day — and Brian, I’m not exaggerating about this — the day I feel I can’t compete at the highest level I set for myself and can’t steal the show, I will not do it again. Throw it on the record, I’m the one guy who can say that. I’m sure Shawn Michaels could say that too. You will not see me in the ring again as a parody of myself or anything other than the absolute best and can go toe-to-toe with anybody else on the roster.
On his relationship with Vince McMahon: I think Vince sees a lot of himself in me. I’m a rebel. I do things the way I see fit but I do it for the good of the company. I’m a company man through and through. I’ve wrestled for nobody — I haven’t taken a bump in any other ring other than a WWE ring since 1999 when I started working for Vince — and I never will. I won’t go back to Japan for a tour or go work here or go work there. Not interested in it. If I’m going to be wrestling, it for Vince McMahon and Vince McMahon only. And he knows that I think he respects that. He also knows I’m not a ‘yes’ man. I don’t have that in me. I have to tell him how I feel. I have to tell him why I think this is better and I can tell him sometimes he’s wrong. Nobody likes to hear that, especially a guy in his position but I think I can do it in more of a deliberate way, more of an ambassadorial way, but I don’t have that in me and I don’t think he wants that.
His thoughts on Dean Ambrose: I saw Dean when he first started and there was something different about him. He has that Jeff Hardy ‘X’ factor. There’s just something about him that you can’t push on somebody. You can teach them how to take a bump, give them a look, give them wins but certain guys have a certain something about them that you know is going to take them to the next level no matter what. Dean definitely has that and in my opinion — I’m not the god of everything but I have a pretty good track record of picking guys — I think he’s the closest that they have right now to being the next face of the WWE. I don’t think that’s as important now with the Network and less emphasis on pay-per-views and that sort of thing. But as far as a guy who can come in there as the top babyface, I think Dean’s your best best right now.
WWE announced a second match for this coming Monday’s edition of RAW. In a Divas tag-team match, AJ Lee will get to team with a partner of her choosing to take on Paige and Alicia Fox.
The Divas tag match joins the aforementioned handicap street fight announced for the show, which features John Cena and Dean Ambrose teaming up to take on the trio of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
Also announced for Monday’s RAW, the Hell In A Cell cage will be hanging above the ring during the show, as revealed by Triple H in his latest WWE.com sit-down interview with Michael Cole.
WWE officials were reportedly very careful not to portray the John Cena vs. Randy Orton match at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view as the “loser’s match.”
Announcers on Monday’s RAW were apparently told never to say the “loser” of the Cena vs. Dean Ambrose contract on a pole match would be facing Orton. Orton also kept referring to his match as the “main event.”
While it’s possible that Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins goes on last at the pay-per-view, it’s said that both Hell In A Cell matches will be promoted equally.
Regarding Cena vs. Orton, this will be the ninth time that the two have competed in a singles match on a WWE pay-per-view. Each man has won three of their meeting, while each also picked up a win by disqualification.
Dead Spin has an article up looking at the viral sensation involving Randy Orton and the RKO.
Orton has been re-tweeting a lot of the links and it’s believed that his impressive RKO on Dolph Ziggler at Monday’s RAW was an homage to everyone creating the RKO videos.
“Randy Orton” was trending worldwide on Tuesday, with many people using the hashtag #OuttaNowhere.
It was announced on the RAW Backstage Pass show, which returned after Monday’s RAW on the WWE Network, that next week’s RAW main event will be a handicap street fight.
Headlining next week’s RAW will be John Cena and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
The Seth Rollins/John Cena/Dean Ambrose hate triangle continued last night on Raw, with Dean Ambrose prevailing over John Cena to secure his spot in the main event at Hell in a Cell.
It was also announced that John Cena would square off against Randy Orton in the other half of the double main event. However, did the company make the right call by going with Ambrose over Cena? Here are the pros and cons of each main event, allowing for you to make the decision.
John Cena vs. Randy Orton
Pros: These guys have faced each other too many times to count, including a multi-month program earlier in the year, so the two veterans should have excellent chemistry together.
Adding the Hell in a Cell stipulation should also help spice up the contest, as fans grew tired during their last meeting at the Royal Rumble. In all, by having two Hell in a Cell contests, it should perfectly juxtapose the talent of yesterday (Cena and Orton) with the talent of tomorrow (Rollins and Ambrose).
Cons: As previously mentioned, fans practically booed Cena and Orton out of the building in January. It seems like this has the chance of being a filler main event, as there is essentially no build to the matchup and fans have already seen the two square off more times than they can remember. Additionally, a double main event that features two Hell in a Cell matches could be a bit overkill.
– As noted earlier this week, Randy Orton reached a new part-time deal with WWE that allows him to miss certain weekend live events. As far as the upcoming European tour is concerned, Orton will only be working the first week of shows. Orton vs. Dean Ambrose is scheduled as the main event for their leg of the tour for the first week, while Orton will be taking off the rest of the tour.
– Below are some recent NXT attendance figures:
September 25th for TV tapings at Full Sail University drew 400 fans for a sell out
October 2nd in Jacksonville drew 130 fans
October 3rd in Cocoa Beach drew 100 fans
October 4th in Fort Pierce drew 160 fans
– Apparently Randy Orton reached a new agreement with WWE recently where he’s no longer working full-time on the road. Orton is no longer obligated to work all of the weekend live events.
– As noted earlier this week, movie directors The Soska Twins, who worked on WWE Studios projects such as “See No Evil 2” and “Vendetta,” are very interested in making a movie based off of The Wyatt Family. The story received a very big response on Twitter after they tweeted about it and even garnered some mainstream attention with a Dread Central article. The Soska Twins noted in recent interviews that WWE gave them a lot of creative control over “See No Evil 2,” so it will be interesting to see if WWE bites on the idea of a possible Wyatt Family film.
It was announced at the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, the match between John Cena and Dean Ambrose will now have a stipulation.
The Cena-Ambrose bout will now be a no holds barred match with a contract on a pole, with the winner still advancing later in the pay-per-view to a match with “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins. Based on advertising, the person who loses the Cena-Ambrose match will likely face Randy Orton later on in the pay-per-view.
You can read a complete SmackDown spoiler report for this week by clicking here.
Once an occasional treat for the WWE Universe, the Hell in a Cell match has become a yearly event since the introduction of the eponymous pay-per-view in 2009. Since its inception, the company has yet to truly knock it out of the park with Hell in a Cell, although fans have witnessed some memorable moments.
This year, it will be either John Cena or Dean Ambrose headlining the event against Seth Rollins inside the most ominous structure in sports entertainment. As the company builds up its next pay-per-view, here is a look back at the first five Hell in a Cell events.
5. 2012
This event really didn’t have a pay-per-view feel to it. The undercard was primarily filled with forgettable matches that had little impact on future storylines. The main event was also lacking due to injury.
It was clear that the company had no idea what to do after John Cena went down to injury, leading to Ryback receiving a premature main event push. From top to bottom, this event was lacking and easily locks up the honor of being the worst Hell in a Cell pay-per-view to date.
Main Event: CM Punk vs. Ryback (Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship)
Best Match: Big Show vs. Sheamus
Worst Match: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. The Prime Time Players
As we noted recently, the talk going around within WWE is that the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view will feature two cell matches, one with Seth Rollins and the other with Randy Orton. As we mentioned, the current working plan is for Dean Ambrose and John Cena to compete in a match on an upcoming RAW where the winner gets Rollins inside the cell at the PPV, while the loser gets to face Orton inside the cage.
Apparently the current plan is for the Hell In A Cell show to actually start off with Cena vs. Ambrose, with the winner main eventing the show inside the cage against Rollins, while the loser, also in a cell match, would compete with Orton.
WWE is reportedly looking to finalize their plans for the Hell In A Cell PPV this weekend and an announcement is expected on Monday’s edition of RAW.
This week on Raw, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and John Cena continued their three-way feud, as Seth Rollins ended the night by retrieving his briefcase and decimating his two foes.
Earlier in the evening, Cena and Ambrose once again hinted that there was tension between the two, with both claiming that they deserve the right to exact revenge from Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins.
Ambrose embarrassed his former partner earlier in the night, but Rollins got the last laugh.
Based on this week’s episode, it seems apparent that the reports released earlier in the week were true. In case you missed the news, the current plan seems to be that Dean Ambrose and John Cena will face one another at Hell in a Cell. The winner will be given the opportunity to face Rollins later in the evening, while the loser will be relegated to squaring off with Randy Orton.
The company is obviously hoping to develop a storyline that will reel viewers in for next month’s pay-per-view, and with Brock Lesnar apparently missing the event, it will take a lot more than a few singles matches to attract viewers, especially with the quality of Raw over the past few weeks. With that said, last night’s episode was admittedly a considerable upgrade over the previous few weeks.
So, how does the company attract viewers with no championship match and a card filled with contests that fans have seen over the past few months? The answer is clearly the briefcase.
Seth Rollins has become a main event player since winning the Money in the Bank briefcase back in June. He has teased cash-ins on multiple occasions, and attempted to slay the Beast at Night of Champions following the main event between John Cena and Brock Lesnar.
As of today, the current working plan is for either John Cena or Dean Ambrose to wrestle Seth Rollins inside the cell at the upcoming WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
Apparently Cena and Ambrose will have a match on RAW prior to the PPV, where the winner will earn the right to face Rollins in the cell.
As far as what the loser of the Cena-Ambrose match will do, it appears as though that person will work with Randy Orton at the PPV, or might be the “keeper of the key” outside of the cell match.
– The talk within WWE is that they have a working plan to turn Randy Orton from his current heel character to a babyface in the near future. The current word going around is that the turn is planned for about three or four months from now, which would be around Royal Rumble time, meaning Orton would be a face during the build up to next year’s WrestleMania.
– WWE Diva Layla noted via social media recently that she is currently dating former WWE Superstar Ricky Ortiz in real life.
For the past year, the Authority has dominated WWE storylines. They have been involved in every WWE World Heavyweight Championship feud along the way, often influencing the outcomes of important matches.
Along the way, Triple H started using the phrase, “Adapt or Perish” to describe his stable Evolution. However, over the past few months, it appears that the Game should apply that same philosophy to the Authority.
Rollins has been one of the bright spots in the Authority storyline over the past few months.
Indeed, it has been much of the same as of late with the Authority. Other than adding Seth Rollins as a member a few months ago, the group has done literally nothing to change over the past year. This has resulted in too much Corporate Kane, a reliance on six-man tag matches nearly every week on Raw, and an almost identical storyline for any face attempting to challenge the Authority’s, well, authority.
In my opinion, the Authority has gone stale and needs to do something quickly in order to minimize the risk of losing fan interest. One possible solution would be to add new members. This could easily be accomplished by having one of the current members defect from the stable.
The most logical option would be Randy Orton, as they have teased tension between Orton and the Authority, and he’s a far more marketable star than Kane, the other stooge doing the group’s bidding. By having Orton leave the Authority, it could open the door for another young star as well.
Seth Rollins has benefited immensely since joining forces with Triple H and company. He captured the Money in the Bank briefcase, seems to be more confident on the mic with each passing week, and is way over with the fans. The stable could add another future star (perhaps someone from NXT) in an attempt to inject more life into the program.
In all, adding new talent to the Authority could only help, as the current storyline is extremely repetitive and formulaic, with most programs ending after Kane interferes in a match and the Authority beats down an opponent.
On the latest edition of his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, Chris Jericho revealed that he was originally scheduled to wrestle Seth Rollins at the WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
Jericho noted that the plan all along seemed to be Jericho and Rollins, however, Vince McMahon reportedly changed his mind and instead went with Jericho vs. Randy Orton.
You can listen to the full podcast online at PodcastOne.com.
– On Monday, WWE announced and promoted a match between Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton for the post-Night Of Champions edition of RAW. An hour later, they removed the advertising for that match and ended up going a different direction. During Monday’s RAW, WWE promoted a Night Of Champions rematch between The Usos and Goldust and Stardust, however just before the taping last night, they switched the advertisements to feature a Big Show vs. Rusev match instead.
– Below is the “Top 10 Moments from this week’s RAW” video for Monday’s show.
Ronda Rousey vs. TRANSSEXUAL?!, Wanderlei Silva BANNED FOR LIFE From MMA + MORE!
The following are highlights of the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Randy Orton: “Hard to believe it’s been 12 years since we introduced Randy Orton on WWE TV and the son of a HOFer hasn’t disappointed on his way to his own HOF career. @RandyOrton is one of WWE’s most valuable commodities especially with the company rebuilding it’s main event talent roster to a large degree. Randy was one of the most interesting talents to manage that I was ever around and he always kept me on my toes but at the end of the day I am immensely proud of the talent that he has evolved to be.”
On the WWE Intercontinental Championship change on RAW: “Good move putting the IC Title on Dolph Ziggler again as I was perplexed as to why he lost it the night before at Night of Champions. I’m beginning to wonder if the holders of the IC & US Titles are blessed or cursed.”
On Paul Heyman’s absence from RAW: “Curious as to why no Paul Heyman and few mentions of WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar on RAW. I missed a @HeymanHustle verbal presentation.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Ronda Rousey vs. TRANSSEXUAL?!, Wanderlei Silva BANNED FOR LIFE From MMA + MORE!
On paper, WWE Night of Champions didn’t look like anything special. It was mostly a card packed with rematches, and what would have likely been the best match of the night was cancelled a few days before the event.
With that said, it was hard to come away from last night’s event without feeling satisfied. The action was solid, the booking was logical, and the pay-per-view as a whole was entertaining. Throughout the night, some superstars squandered their time on camera, while others excelled. Here are the 5 superstars who made the most of their time at Night of Champions.
5. Gold and Stardust
The Dust Brothers are finally champions once again. After several months with the Usos at the top of the tag division, it is nice to see a new team carrying the straps. Both Gold and Stardust worked very well during their contest, and it served as an excellent way to start the evening.
It will be interesting to see where the brothers go from here, as they are already teasing a feud with former NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension and there are few teams on the main roster worthy of a title shot. .
4. Chris Jericho
This was Y2J’s final match of his current run with the company. Although his program with Bray Wyatt fell a bit flat, it is always great to see Jericho back in a WWE ring.
He did not disappoint last night either, as Jericho and Orton put on a show for the Nashville crowd. The contest ended after a memorable spot that featured Orton hitting an RKO on Jericho after he dove from the top rope. Although he came out on the losing end last night, Jericho did everything he could to put Orton and the match over, and it served as an excellent conclusion to his current run.
3. Cesaro
From a wrestling perspective, the match of the night was easily Sheamus against Cesaro. The two worked incredibly well together, with a number of memorable spots and counters. Much like Jericho before him, Cesaro did not come out on top last night, but he showed why he is one of the best workers in the business.
Another United States Title run likely wouldn’t have done much to advance Cesaro’s career, so the loss isn’t really damaging, but it would be nice to see the Swiss Superman sporting a bit of gold in the near future (perhaps the Intercontinental Championship). Cesaro made the most of every second he was given, illustrating why he should be pushed as one of the future stars of the company.
WWE RAW emanates from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee with the fallout from Sunday night’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, who successfully retained his title in his rematch against John Cena on Sunday, is not advertised to be a part of the show. Also expected to be absent tonight are Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns.
Superstars that are advertised for tonight’s show include Dean Ambrose, The Wyatt Family, Randy Orton, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Triple H, Kane, Cesaro, Sheamus, Big E and The Usos.
In the case of Reigns, as noted above, he is not expected to appear, however he is included in the advertisements for the show. It’s worth noting that this is likely a case of advertisements that were released prior to his emergency surgery this weekend.
WWE is focusing on the following points in their “RAW Five-Point Preview” for tonight’s show.
– Who is next for Brock Lesnar?
– Will Dolph Ziggler look for retribution on The Miz tonight?
– What will Goldust and Stardust do next?
– Will Paige and Nikki Bella prey upon AJ Lee now that she’s the Divas Champion?
– Will Dean Ambrose strike at Seth Rollins once again?