In a shocking announcement made on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, John Cena will be returning to in-ring action earlier than expected, as he will compete with Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship in the next pay-per-view, which will emanate from Miami, Florida on Sunday, October 27th.
The announcement was made during the third and final hour of RAW, as Vickie Guerrero selected Ricardo Rodriguez as Del Rio’s opponent for RAW. Before the match could begin, however, Guerrero revealed that Del Rio would be facing Cena at the Hell In A Cell show, which led to Rodriguez upsetting Del Rio in the RAW match.
-WWE manager Ricardo Rodriguez posted the following tweet on his official Twitter account Sunday night after the WWE Battleground pay-per-view in Buffalo, New York:
You try to do the right thing. Loyalty to Del Rio after three years didn't work and loyalty to RVD backfired…Well I guess that's it…
-The official WWE Tout website put up a post-match backstage interview with the Rhodes Family following their victory over The Shield at Sunday’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view. Fans interested in checking that out can do so online at Tout.com.
– As of last week, former ROH World Champions Davey Richards nor Eddie Edwards have not heard back from WWE officials after participating in an evaluation session in August at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. According to reports from the session, both individuals were said to have stood out the most of the thirty athletes who participated.
When it comes to WWE signing prospective talent who participate in these sessions, various personnel observe, and then report on who they feel are the best prospects to Triple H. He then uses their feedback, and makes the final decision on who gets signed.
– With Rob Van Dam expected to be written off television within the next week or so due to a contract matter, an angle has been discussed where his current manager, Ricardo Rodriguez, turns on the former ECW standout to partner up with Alberto Del Rio once again.
– As announced this week, Susan G. Komen is once again partnering with WWE to Rise Above Cancer in order to end breast cancer forever. SmackDown ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced Wednesday via Twitter that she’s a spokesperson for the campaign.
WWE returns live to Biloxi, Mississippi on Monday night for the WWE Battleground “go-home” edition of RAW.
The main item heading into this week’s show is the Rhodes Family being “invited back to RAW” for a “business proposal” from the WWE COO Triple H. As noted, the Rhodes Family will be on RAW this week to build towards the six-man tag-team match against The Shield.
Also advertised in advance for this week’s RAW is the debut of the Los Matadores tag-team, which is the repackaged duo formerly known as Primo and Epico. After weeks of vignettes hyping their debut, Los Matadores will finally arrive on RAW in Biloxi on Monday night.
Outside of the aforementioned items, the main focus on this week’s show will be the final build towards the three previously announced WWE Battleground main events which consist of Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan for the vacant WWE Championship, the “Battleground Hardcore Rules” match between Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam for the World Heavyweight Championship and the CM Punk vs. Ryback match.
The officially advertised talent roster for this week’s show includes Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Paul Heyman, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Alberto Del Rio, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, Zeb Colter, Damien Sandow, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, A.J. Lee and Kaitlyn.
There are two advertised dark match main-events for this week, as Orton will take on Bryan and Punk will take on both Heyman and Axel in a Handicap Match.
Stay tuned to SESCOOPS.COM throughout the day for continued updates on this week’s live edition of WWE RAW.
-Recent plans have WWE talent Ricardo Rodriguez continuing to manage Rob Van Dam until RVD takes some scheduled time off from WWE in October. Once Van Dam is on hiatus, it is possible that Rodriguez may be put with the returning Rey Mysterio as his “personal ring announcer.”
-Expect stipulations to be added to the Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam vs. Alberto Del Rio rematches scheduled for the upcoming WWE Battleground pay-per-view.
According to one report, there is discussion of the Bryan-Orton pay-per-view rematch being contested under “Iron Man” match rules. This would allow WWE to book the match in a way where it leads to another inconclusive finish, which could lead to the final showdown in a cell at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
WWE returns to Cincinnati, Ohio on Tuesday night to tape this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event.
While no official matches or segments have been announced ahead of time, WWE will obviously continue to push the situation surrounding the vacant WWE Championship, as well as the latest developments in the Triple H, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan saga.
WWE will also focus on the World Heavyweight Championship picture and feud between Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam, which the controversial intentional disqualification during their match at Sunday’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
Advertised for tonight’s WWE television tapings are Triple H, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Rob Van Dam, Ricardo Rodriguez, Stephanie McMahon, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, The Shield, The Real Americans, The Wyatt Family, Big E. Langston, AJ Lee and Kaitlyn.
While it is subject to change, the advertised post-show dark-match is Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan for the vacant WWE Championship, as well as a six-man tag match involving The Shield and a trio of babyfaces.
Anyone who is attending tonight’s WWE television tapings in Cincinnati, feel free to send in a live report to be published here on the website.
-WWE executive and part-time Superstar Triple H recently posted a tweet on his official Twitter account hyping tonight’s Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez boxing pay-per-view, including information on how to order the show (which happens to be the same weekend that WWE is asking their fans to buy their show the very next night). HHH wrote:
“You going to watch @FloydMayweather fight? I am!!! 45-0– Order the fight by going here http://sports.sho.com/order #TheOne”
-WWE’s Vickie Guerrero announced on this week’s SmackDown show that Ricardo Rodriguez would not be allowed to be in Rob Van Dam’s corner this weekend at Night Of Champions when he challenges Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. Rodriguez reacted to the news on Twitter, writing:
“Im sorry guys. I really tried against Del Rio but came up on the losing end tonight on Smackdown. Guess I won’t be at #NOC :(“
-Jim Ross recently responded to allegations that WWE is promoting bullying with the recent direction of characters such as Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, as well as Ryback. JR noted, “Anyone who interprets being a TV wrestling villain to real life bullying is embarrassingly misguided.”
-WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s son Colt is currently taking part in a campaign called “Warrior Dash” to help the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit WaysToHelp.StJude.org.
-WWE Superstar Justin Gabriel and WWE Diva Layla will be signing autographs this Sunday, September 8th, at the Connecticut Women’s Expo at the Connecticut Convention Center at 11:00AM.
-WWE Superstar Ricardo Rodriguez was at the WWE Performance Center today.
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 Bootleg Kev sent along the following:
I got to sit down with WWE Heavyweight Champ Alberto Del Rio right before this past Monday’s WWE Monday Night RAW. We speak on his current run as WWE Heavyweight Champ, the double blackeyes he was wearing last week on raw, his recent run as a baby-face, whether he prefers the baby-face or heel role, his upcoming storyline with RVD, how he feels about Darren Young coming out of the closet, who his dream tag-team partner would be, who some of his close friends in the locker room are, and of course the departure of his beloved ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez.
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 in Phoenix, Arizona that if Rob Van Dam could defeat World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio in a singles match on the show, that he would receive a shot at the title at the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
Van Dam, with help by way of distraction from his new manager, Ricardo Rodriguez, picked up the win over Del Rio. So in three weeks in Detroit, Michigan, at Night Of Champions, Del Rio will be defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Van Dam.
-WWE Superstar Ricardo Rodriguez recently tweeted about his new association with Rob Van Dam. In a recent tweet, Rodriguez wrote:
“Ironic to be in Bakersfield, where it all began for me and Del Rio 3 years ago. But now replacing those three initials of ADR with R.V.D.!”
-Speaking of Twitter, WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts recently revealed on his official Twitter account that he is undergoing an operation to get new hair. Roberts wrote, “Getting new hair today. Feeling good. Procedure started. Gonna look like Heidi Klum when done. #Neograft.”
Roberts posted photos of the operation, which you can check out on Twitter @JakeSnakeDDT.
-Former pro wrestler and current WWE executive Terry Taylor turns 58 today. Taylor was born on August 12, 1955. Also celebrating a birthday today is former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman, who turns 41.
-Australian newspaper Sunshine Coast Daily has an interview on their website today with current WWE Superstar and the host of this Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, The Miz. The article focuses mainly on Miz wrestling with nerves prior to going through the curtain at WWE events. You can read the interview online at SunshineCoastDaily.com.
-Current WWE talent Ricardo Rodriguez continues to hype up his on-air problems with Alberto Del Rio. In a new tweet posted late Sunday night, Rodriguez talked about tonight’s WWE RAW show in Sacramento. Rodriguez wrote:
“Well hello San Francisco… Got a lot of thinking to do tonight for tomorrow’s RAW from Sacramento! #RAWcardoRAWdriguez
-WWE Superstar Ricardo Rodriguez, who returned from his Wellness Policy suspension on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, commented on the savage attack he received at the hands of Alberto Del Rio after he cost his boss a match against Rob Van Dam. Rodriguez tweeted the following:
“It’s been 2 days and still can’t grasp what happened on RAW. 3 years of friendship. Hurt Not just by my boss but my friend. #Betrayed”
-Also on Twitter, WWE Superstar Wade Barrett commented on getting half of his beard shaved by Daniel Bryan on Monday’s WWE RAW show. Barrett tweeted the following:
“Undecided as to whether I will re-grow the beard. It is perhaps a little uncouth and more suited to “tough and tasty dunces”.”
-Monday’s edition of WWE RAW increased 22 percent in social media activity compared to last week’s taped edition of the show. However, the score was below the last live RAW from two weeks ago.
RAW on Monday scored a 266,465 in social activity, according to Trendrr.tv, which is up from the 218k the taped show scored last week. The last live RAW show scored 276k.
RAW ranked number three for cable television for the fifth week in a row. The only shows to score higher on Monday were “Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta” on VH-1 and “Teen Wolf” on MTV.
-Speaking of RAW social media activity, as announced on RAW on Monday night, during the first-half of the show, “Daniel Bryan” was trending number one overall worldwide on Twitter. During the second-half of the show, “#RAW” was the number one overall worldwide trend on Twitter. Also trending on Twitter during RAW on Monday night was Ricardo Rodriguez, who returned from a Wellness Policy suspension.
-It was announced on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW that on Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which will be taped Tuesday niight, there will be a MizTV segment with special guests Big E. Langston and AJ Lee.
-WWE RAW on Monday also featured the return of two WWE Superstars. First, Ricardo Rodriguez made his return from a Wellness Policy suspension. Rodriguez returned as World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio’s special ring announcer for his match against Rob Van Dam. Rodriguez, who tried helping Del Rio by cheating for him during the match, ended up costing him the match. Following the loss, Del Rio snapped and attacked Rodriguez. He beat down Rodriguez with the bucket he tried using to help Del Rio, as well as a nasty dropkick onto Rodriguez while his head was wedged between the steel steps and the ring.
Also returning on Monday’s RAW was former WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston. Kingston returned in singles competition, as he took on Fandango. Kingston picked up the win in his first match back, as he defeated Fandango via clean pinfall after hitting him with his Trouble In Paradise finisher.
– Today’s wrestling birthday sinclude Yoshi Tatsu (36), Aces & Eights member Devon (41), WWE referee Mike Chioda (47) and former WCW star Prince Iaukea (49).
– Here are some recent WWE attendance figures, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
* July 26th in Melbourne, Australia drew 13,500 for $1.2 million
* July 26th in Atlanta, Georgia drew 5,500 fans for $200,000
* July 27th in Sydney drew 14,000 fans for $1.2 million
* July 27th in Macon, Georgia drew 3,000 fans for $100,000
* July 28th in Brisbane drew 8,300 fans for $675,000
* July 29th in Adelaide drew 6,500 fans for $550,000
* July 30th in Perth drew 9,500 fans for $750,000
– Ricardo Rodriguez is currently scheduled to return from his Wellness suspension on the Monday, August 12th edition of RAW.
– With WWE officials continuing discussions on building a physical Hall of Fame building, the company is planning for it to be more of a tourist attraction / museum than just a historical site. As with virtually everything WWE does, the facility will be state-of-the-art with plenty of interactive features.
– WWE manager Ricardo Rodriguez will be eligible to return from his 30-day Wellness Policy suspension on August 1st, during WWE’s upcoming International tour of South Africa and China. He’s expected back on television for the August 5th RAW taping from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
– After relapsing several weeks ago, Jake “The Snake” Roberts has given an update on the status of his sobriety. Jake tweeted on Saturday that he was 33 days completely sober – and as of that day, had gone 254 days without using cocaine.
The big board. 27 of 90. And 254days coke free. 33 w out a drink! Moving forward. pic.twitter.com/2MOtneXClu
– WWE suerstar Sin Cara was in attendance at last night’s WWE RAW from Washington, DC, but was not used. He checked in on the social media app Foursquare from the Verizon Center arena and noted that he was doing cardio at their gym. Sin Cara has reportedly been cleared to wrestle and should be back in action soon.
– Ricardo Rodriguez tweeted the following after last night’s RAW:
“Swagger legit messes up my ankle and tonight I was temporarily paralyzed after he hit me off the apron. This ain’t no storyline anymore. Beyond grateful I got feeling back in my arms and legs and am grateful to be able to function and live to fight another day!”
– World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio tweeted the following message and photo after getting beaten by Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter on RAW:
Enjoy this moment @RealJackSwagger @WWEZeb because you two made a mistake, I'm still on my feet,and i will break you both in pieces
– WWE posted the following Tout video of Mark Henry responding to Ryback “upstaging” him on RAW by destroying 3 opponents (3MB) when Henry only took out 2 (The Usos):
– Ricardo Rodriguez continue to sell the effects of Jack Swagger’s attack on Monday’s RAW. He tweeted on Tuesday:
“When I was 16 I broke both my ankles and almost had one of them amputated because of infection due to swelling. Such a horrible experience. It was an experience I wished to have never experience ever again. After last night all those memories came back. I wish I could explicitly Tell Jack Swagger how I feel about him but I know we have a lot of children here. Trying to stay as positive as one can be in a situation like this so let’s play a game of hangman, Jack. “_ _ _ _ _ _ _ , Jack Swagger””
– With World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio starting to get over as a babyface, f4wonline.com reports that there are people within WWE that think Del Rio no longer needs Ricardo Rodriguez by his side. One has to question this line of thinking, as Ricardo is arguably more over than Del Rio.
After getting attacked by Jack Swagger on RAW and suffering a “broken ankle” (according to WWE), Ricardo is expected to be off television for a week to sell the injury.
– Rey Mysterio tweeted the following update on the status of his knee on Monday:
– Following Jack Swagger’s attack on Ricardo Rodriguez at RAW, WWE is reporting that Ricardo’s ankle is broken.
– This Friday on SmackDown, Jack Swagger will face Chris Jericho rematch from last week’s show.
– Speaking of Chris Jericho, it appears WWE is in fact building towards a Chris Jericho vs. Fandango match at WrestleMania 29. The two had a confrontation backstage at Monday’s RAW when Fandango interrupted Jericho’s backstage promo. Jericho mocked the new superstar by intentionally messing up his name and asking him for movie tickets, a reference to the popular Fandango movie ticket service.
