Randy Orton’s head got busted open at Money in the Bank after being hit with a ladder. Orton tweeted these photos, noting that he received 12 stitches to close the gash:
12 count em 12 pic.twitter.com/6TkFj3bnc8
— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) June 30, 2014
The following is the final card for tonight’s WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view:
Money In The Bank Ladder Match
(WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
– John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton vs. Cesaro vs. Kane vs. Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio
Money In The Bank Ladder Match
(Briefcase For Title Shot Up To One Year)
– Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Bad News Barrett*
WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Usos (c) vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan
WWE Divas Championship
Paige (c) vs. Naomi
Divas Match
(Special Guest Referee: Fandango)
– Summer Rae vs. Layla
Tag-Team Match
– Goldust & Stardust vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel
Singles Match
– Rusev vs. Big E.
* – Barrett suffered a separated shoulder during the SmackDown taping this past Tuesday, however WWE has yet to announce whether or not he has been pulled from his match.
Make sure to join us here later tonight for the absolute best live play-by-play results coverage of the fifth annual WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view!
The WWE’s brightest stars will attempt to cash in at this Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Two ladder matches will main event the program, with one being held to declare a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. In addition, former champion Daniel Bryan will address the WWE Universe during the pre-show.
Here are my predictions for this Sunday’s event.
Summer Rae vs. Layla (Fandango Guest Referee)
I was never the biggest Fandango supporter, but I definitely thought he would be doing something bigger than referring a divas match a year ago. He has regressed over the past year and lost a lot of momentum. This will likely be the bathroom break match of the night, and Fandango will play a major role in the outcome, of course. Summer Rae will win this one by either rejoining Fandango or using him to influence the outcome of the contest before abandoning him.
Winner: Summer Rae by pinfall
Rusev vs. Big E
These guys performed well together at last month’s Payback, even though they were given less than four minutes total. They will hopefully get a little more time during this one, allowing both superstars to showcase their strengths.
I think Rusev will ultimately win this one, but Big E will also look strong during the match. Big E cut a passionate promo on last week’s Raw, so it appears the WWE wants to showcase him a bit more. Both guys will look good, but Rusev will force Big E to tap out in the end.
Winner: Rusev by submission
Stardust and Goldust vs. Ryback and Curtis Axel
The Rhodes Brothers storyline has been moving slowly over the past few months. It first looked as if the two brothers were going to feud with one another, with Cody searching for an adequate replacement because he felt Goldust deserved better.
He eventually rebranded himself as Stardust and the two have been on a winning streak ever since. They will continue to look strong on Sunday, picking up the win after Cody hits his Diamond Dust finisher on Curtis Axel.
Winner: Stardust and Goldust by pinfall
Early advertising for the WWE Battleground pay-per-view, which is the next show following Sunday’s Money In The Bank, has been released in the local Tampa market and may have already spoiled two of the matches planned for the show.
According to the ads in Tampa, Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton and Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose will be taking place at Battleground.
Also advertised to appear at Battleground are John Cena, Bray Wyatt, Kane, RVD, Sheamus, Cesaro, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, Bad News Barrett and Kofi Kingston.
One week from today, WWE’s annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view will be held in Boston, Massachusetts. The event has quickly become one of the most anticipated programs of the year, as it provides exciting action and sets up the storyline for months by allowing a WWE superstar to stalk his prey while holding a contract for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
There will be two Money in the Bank ladder matches this year. One will be held for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and the other will be a traditional contest for a shot at the title. The first contest will feature perennial title contenders such as John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, and Alberto Del Rio, as well as up-and-coming stars such as Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Cesaro.
It seems like John Cena is once again the favorite to leave Boston as the champ.
The second ladder match will feature Seth Rollins, with the rest of the lineup to be determined in a series of qualifying matches. Thus far, only three matches have been announced for the entire pay-per-view, and with only one week left before the event, one has to wonder how the WWE will tie everything together in such a brief period.
Other than the two ladder matches, a matchup between the Usos and Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of the Wyatt family is the only confirmed contest on the card. It seems apparent that Dean Ambrose will be one of the participants in the traditional ladder match. Potential options also include those who did not qualify for the championship ladder match, including Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, and Rob Van Dam.
The two ladder matches will soak up a large portion of the roster, meaning the midcard will have to pick up some slack in order to fill up the three hours of airtime. Rumored contests include Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. RybAxel, Rusev vs. Big E, and a Divas Championship match involving Paige and all or part of the Funkadactyls.
The main event for the June 29th WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view will be the ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which features John Cena, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Alberto Del Rio. As noted recently, Cena or Reigns (and Cesaro as a long-shot) will likely come out on top, as the winner is the likely candidate for Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Also confirmed for the 6/29 PPV is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match with The Usos defending against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of The Wyatt Family.
The second ladder match, which was made official recently and will be for the usual Money In The Bank briefcase, as of right now only features Seth Rollins. Additional names rumored for the match include Dean Ambrose, Big E., Rob Van Dam, Bo Dallas, as well as Bad News Barrett and Dolph Ziggler, the latter two of which will either be part of that match or in an Intercontinental Championship match with each other.
Additionally, the direction for the WWE Divas Championship match at Money In The Bank seems to be Paige defending against Naomi of The Funkadactyls.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– A new WWE World Heavyweight champion will be crowned in less than two week at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view. With 5 competitors already announced for the Money in the Bank ladder match, the general feeling in WWE is that a heel will be walking out as champion. So far, the villains who have qualified for the match include Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt and Alberto Del Rio.
– One of the main reasons that Dolph Ziggler isn’t getting pushed is because his history of injuries and concussions. Shortly after capturing the World Heavyweight championship the night after WrestleMania 29, Ziggler suffered a concussion and has been in career limbo ever since.
Even if talent is over with fans and are solid in-ring workers, WWE is very hesitant to get behind them if they are injury prone and have taken extended time off.
– WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley is questioning whether Bo Dallas’ character has the ability to get over with fans. He wrote on Facebook:
“As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m STARTING to become a #BoLiever – but I still have some questions about the Bo Dallas character. For example, how does it get REAL heat.”
(Source: PWInsider.com)
The reason Randy Orton didn’t appear on WWE television this week, despite working the weekend non-televised live events, is because if a collarbone injury he suffered during his match with Big Show on 6/10.
On Monday’s RAW, WWE pushed the idea that Orton missed the show because he was on vacation, with the mindset being that as a heel, it made more sense to portray the situation that way, as opposed to explaining that he was injured.
https://twitter.com/RandyOrton/status/476148322168602624
Orton’s injury isn’t that serious and he’s not expected to miss any significant ring time. He’s still scheduled to be back on television for next Monday’s RAW from Cleveland, Ohio.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
This week’s edition of WWE Raw took place in Minneapolis, MN, and featured one of the biggest announcements in recent history. That announcement was of course that WWE Champion Daniel Bryan would be stripped of his title and it would be on the line during the ladder match at Money in the Bank.
Speaking of the ladder match, Cesaro and Sheamus punched their tickets after winning qualifying matches, and Triple H added Randy Orton to the match, leaving only three remaining spots. As always, a few questions were answered, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following this week’s edition of Raw.
5. Is Sandow Permanently Buried?
For what seems like the thousandth week in a row, Damien Sandow was once again tasked with comic relief duty, this time appearing dressed as a ballerina to team with Fandango.
Sandow was not only once again grossly misused, his winless streak and fall to the bottom of the company also continued. Since unsuccessfully cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase last year against John Cena, it has been downhill for Sandow.
Let us hope that the next briefcase winner (assuming there are two ladder matches) is better utilized than Sandow was, as the win actually hurt him more than it helped.
4. Does Cesaro Have a Chance To Win the Title?
Cesaro qualified for the championship ladder match after hitting RVD with a Neutralizer this Monday. There were rumors a few weeks back that the company was thinking about putting the briefcase on Cesaro (before it was confirmed as a championship title match).
This leads one to wonder if he has a legitimate chance at winning the title. Having only held the United States Championship, it seems unlikely, but after looking at the confirmed participants, he seems like the early favorite.
It is unlikely that they would put the title back on Randy Orton already, and the other confirmed participants (Del Rio and Sheamus) will not be walking out with the title either. There are three participants yet to be confirmed, meaning John Cena will likely find a way to get himself into the match and win the title, but one can dream, right?
– Several of the biggest names in pro wrestling history were in attendance at this past weekend’s Legends Of The Ring convention from Monroe, New Jersey. Trish Stratus, Lita, Mick Foley, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Booker T, Joey Styles, Colt Cabana, New Jack and more were all on hand to meet fans and tell stories from their careers.
Photographer George Tahinos got a ton of photos, including a hilarious one of Mick Foley trying his hardest not to stare at Sunny’s cleavage, which you can view by clicking the thumbnail below:
– Monday night’s RAW from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota was not sold out. An estimated 8,000-9,000 fans attended.
WWE RAW returns to the Target Center on Monday, December 22nd. The pre-sale password is WWEPRE.
– Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Randy Orton vs. John Cena, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose is advertised as the dark main event for next week’s RAW and SmackDown tapings.
– Former ECW & WWE announcer Joey Styles says he’d like to call NXT television:
“@Ryzilla85 7@JoeyStyles would u ever get behind the desk again if @WWE asked” Yes for @WWENXT. It reminds me of ECW & tapes monthly in FL.
— Joey Styles (@JoeyStyles) June 10, 2014
As seen on this week’s edition of WWE RAW, The Authority stripped Daniel Bryan of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and revealed that the now vacant title will be on the line in the ladder match at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view on June 29th.
Already in the match after winning a qualifying match last week is Alberto Del Rio. Triple H revealed on RAW that Randy Orton has also been entered into the match.
Additionally, both Sheamus and Cesaro won qualifying matches on RAW as well, so those are the four confirmed participants for the match thus far.
– This week’s edition of WWE RAW opened up with the promised “blockbuster announcement” from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The Authority announced that Daniel Bryan is officially stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to his inability to compete at the June 29th Money In The Bank pay-per-view.
It was confirmed that the Money In The Bank pay-per-view main event will be a Money In The Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Already confirmed for that match are Alberto Del Rio and Randy Orton. Later in the show, Sheamus defeated Wade Barrett in a hard fought battle to also qualify. Additional participants will be determined via additional qualifying matches.
– Seth Rollins tagged with his new Evolution partner Randy Orton against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose at Saturday night’s WWE live event from Las Cruces, New Mexico. Reigns and Ambrose won by disqualification and as you can image, Rollins got nuclear heat from the crowd.
– WWE.com acknowledged Tamina Snuka’s recent knee surgery to repair her ACL and meniscus. Typical recovery time for that procedure is 3-6 months.
– The “Summer TV Preview” issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine listed the WWE Network as #10 of their “Must List.” The article stated:
“The expanding archive features almost every show the company has ever run. Finally, Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3 in 1987 and Chyna’s title victory at No Mercy 1999 are never more than a few clicks away.”
WWE Superstar Randy Orton did a Twitter Q&A this afternoon. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Seth Rollins Joining Evolution:
“Seth is truly talented. He made the right choice last mon”
What if Daniel Bryan joined The Shield?
“Kick his ass and take my belts back”
If He Wants To Make More Movies:
“I look forward to doing it again”
His Reaction To The Undertaker’s Streak Ending:
“Just as shocked as everyone else was”
What he thinks of Batista’s acting?
“I think he plays his roles perfectly. Looking forward to Guardians”
Two big matches are being considered for the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Aside from the tentative Daniel Bryan vs. Kane match and the Money in the Bank ladder match, WWE is also planning Seth Rollins to face his former partner Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton to compete against Roman Reigns.
The idea is that Reigns vs. Rollins would take place at Battleground in July, leading into the rumored Reigns vs. Triple H match at SummerSlam.
WWE Money In The Bank takes place on Sunday, June 29, 2014. As always, we’ll have live coverage the night of the show.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
When it comes to Batista’s latest run, one could argue that management hit him with a bait and switch. He was promised that he would win the Royal Rumble and go on to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Instead, he was practically booed out of the building after winning the Royal Rumble and ended up tapping out to the Yes Lock at WrestleMania to allow Daniel Bryan to win the championship.
As most probably know by now, Batista “quit” on this past week’s Raw, as he will be taking a few months off to promote his new movie Guardians of the Galaxy. Upon return after a several year hiatus, Batista represented what many feel is wrong with the current state of the WWE.
Batista did not win a title after returning, but he was involved in a memorable feud between Evolution and the Shield.
Instead of relying on the guys that work day in and day out to headline the biggest pay-per-views of the year, the WWE has instead relied upon part-time superstars such as the Rock and Brock Lesnar to headline their biggest events. The reliance on part-time superstars is one of the reasons a certain someone (*cough* CM Punk *cough*) decided to pack his bags and head home.
However, despite all of the criticism Batista has received since returning, one has to wonder if he earned the respect of fans. In my opinion, I think it is fair to say that he did just that.
In the end, Batista was promised the world but was basically handed a half-empty bag of peanuts. Following the Royal Rumble, which featured an extremely hostile Pittsburgh crowd, it became apparent that Batista’s wishes would not be granted. The company was quickly forced to turn him heel, which messed with the dynamics of the WrestleMania main event, which featured a heel champion in the form of Randy Orton.
After last niight’s WWE RAW show went off the air, Triple H, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins stuck around for a little while longer as officials checked on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. HHH and Orton shook hands and embraced with Rollins a few more times, confirming their new alignment.
After that, John Cena and Bray Wyatt came out. Wyatt sang, “he’s got the whole world in his hands,” while Cena sang a remix of the song, “you’ve got no penis in your pants.”
The two eventually had a little post-show dark match, which Cena ended up winning via the Attitude Adjustment.
Seth Rollins turned on The Shield during the main event segment on the post-WWE Payback edition of RAW.
Instead of the originally scheduled Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns main event, Triple H revealed that he had a “plan B.” After saying that, Seth Rollins attacked both Reigns and Dean Ambrose with a steel chair, blasting them repeatedly with it. HHH and Orton stood at ringside all-the-while smiling in approval as they saw their plan come to fruition.
They end up joining Rollins in the ring to attack Reigns and Ambrose some more.
Batista “quit” on Monday’s RAW after Triple H refused his request for a WWE World Heavyweight title shot against Daniel Bryan.
The show kicked off with Evolution talking about having unfinished business with The Shield, but Batista interrupted him and said he doesn’t care about The Shield he wants the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match he was promised. HHH told Batista and Randy Orton that nobody was getting anything they wanted until they take out The Shield, but once that happens, they will get everything they want.
Batista then replied, “I understand, and I quit.” He dropped the microphone and waved goodbye to the WWE Universe.
In a backstage interview that aired on the WWE app, Batista vented about a series of “empty promises” from Triple H and declared, “I’m done. I’m done.
Later in the show, Randy Orton said he and Triple H are still on the same page and he is still the “Face of WWE.”
We reported last week that Batista would be taking time off from WWE to promote his new movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” and this is how he’s being written off television. The next show he’s advertised for is the Saturday, August 23rd live event from Sacramento, California, but he is expected back in time for SummerSlam.
While this may have no impact on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship angle WWE is hyping up heading into Payback, new official WWE advertising recently came out that had Daniel Bryan listed as wrestling on the SmackDown television taping on June 24th.
The match on 6/24 for Bryan is listed as a six-man tag-team match, with The Shield and himself against Randy Orton and The Wyatt Family.
Several days after Bryan’s neck surgery, WWE sent out new advertising for their July 12th live event at Madison Square Garden, which is the company’s biggest annual non-televised show, which lists him in the main event against Triple H in a street fight.
Considering the fact that the 6/24 date is only a few weeks away, it would seem likely that if WWE wanted to, they could keep the title on Bryan since he would be back in the ring at a reasonable time.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Renee Young got ribbed backstage at Monday’s WWE RAW from Knoxville, Tennessee. During a backstage interview with Evolution that aired after RAW on the WWE Network, Triple H told her that The Shield should not bring a pen to a sledgehammer fight. Randy Orton said that they’ve already proved they are the superior faction and Batista joked that they should sue if The Shield doesn’t show up for their fight on Sunday.
As they were wrapping up the interview, Triple H asked Renee why she wasn’t wearing any shoes. She responded, “I don’t really have an answer…” The camera then panned down to show Renee Young standing there barefoot as she stood there looking flustered.
– Here are this week’s RAW Fallout videos:
Alicia Fox speaks about her match with Emma on Raw.
Adam Rose and his Rosebuds get the party started to celebrate his debut victory on Raw.
– Hulk Hogan teased during a recent WWE App interview that he may be appearing on Legends House soon. Whether or not he was referring to the current season, which was filmed back in 2012, or a potential future taping of the series, is anyone’s guess.
– The official WWE website recently ran another ranking article, this time looking at the 25 greatest WWE Intercontinental Champions in history. The top ten of the list reads as follows:
10. Tito Santana
9. Randy Orton
8. Pedro Morales
7. Bret Hart
6. Razor Ramon
5. The Honky Tonk Man
4. Mr. Perfect
3. The Ultimate Warrior
2. Chris Jericho
1. Randy Savage
You can check out the complete list at WWE.com.
– While still unofficial, WWE has been planning on a Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose match for WWE RAW this coming Monday night in Knoxville, Tennessee.
– As we noted recently, Scott Hall checked himself into the hospital earlier this week, but has since been released. Hall will be shooting footage for the WWE Network on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia.
– The WWE European tour continues this weekend with live events in Cardiff, Wales and Birmingham, England on Sunday. Despite clunking heads with Randy Orton in Glasgow on Wednesday, Roman Reigns is still scheduled to battle the Evolution member in the main event of the Cardiff show. The Birmingham show is advertising a John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt main event.
– Hulk Hogan is scheduled to make an appearance at this coming Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which will be taped during the day at the O2 Arena in London, England.
– As previously reported, former WWE Superstar Sakamoto was at the NXT live event this past week. As of last word, Sakamoto had not been re-signed by WWE.
– Roman Reigns ended up getting multiple stitches for the cut above his right eye that he suffered in his match with Randy Orton on Wednesday in Glasgow, Scotland. As noted, despite initial concerns, Reigns reportedly did not suffer a concussion as a result of the head collision.