Paul Heyman and other “surprise guests” have been announced for the NXT Takeover pre-show next Thursday night.
The NXT Takeover pre-show will be hosted by Renee Young, and will also feature “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Rob Van Dam. Flair, as noted in the past, will be in the corner of his daughter Charlotte for her NXT Divas Championship match.
NXT Takeover airs on Thursday, May 29th, live on the WWE Network. The pre-show begins at 7:30pm EST.
Currently there are three matches officially announced for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st in Chicago, Illinois. Those matches are The Shield vs. Evolution in a No Holds Barred Elimination match, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match and Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Other matches likely for WWE Payback include The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag-Team Championships, Paige vs. Alicia Fox for the WWE Divas Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship, Adam Rose vs. Jack Swagger, Rusev vs. Big E. and Summer Rae vs. Layla with Fandango as special guest referee.
As far as the No Holds Barred Elimination main event, a possible scenario being considered is one that would see Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins eliminated early, leaving Roman Reigns to make a huge comeback on all three Evolution members by himself.
The match will be Batista’s final match in WWE for several months, and based on plans for the future, could be one of Triple H’s last for a while as well.
Last summer, Mr. Monday Night made his triumphant return to the WWE at Money in the Bank. Since returning, Rob Van Dam has unsuccessfully challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio and will fight Bad News Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship at Payback.
RVD has wrestled a part-time schedule since returning and has been involved in few meaningful feuds. He obviously isn’t getting any younger, and with a part-time schedule and diminishing skill in the ring, is Rob Van Dam really worth keeping around at this point in his career?
The case for RVD: Despite not being as versatile as he once was in the ring, RVD can still perform moves that many superstars could only dream of pulling off (the Van Terminator against Del Rio at Night of Champions is just one example).
It is refreshing to see a Van Terminator in the PG era.
His part-time schedule also means that he is not overexposed. He still gets a decent pop each time he performs, even if he is probably not as popular as in years past, and his limited schedule will ensure that fans do not grow tired of him quickly.
However, his biggest selling point is that he is putting younger guys over. Whereas some part-time superstars demand a large contract and complete creative control over their character, RVD is much like Chris Jericho in that he is willing to work a part-time schedule while largely putting over the younger talent.
Fans saw RVD put over Del Rio this past fall and will likely see him do the same against Bad News Barrett at Payback. His act is still fresh, and as long as he continues to put over the next generation, there is no reason to not have him appear occasionally.
Following Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW in London, England, here is your updated lineup for the WWE Payback pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, June 1st. It should be noted that not all of these matches have been officially announced yet, although are all planned for the PPV.
No Holds Barred Elimination Match
– The Shield vs. Evolution
Last Man Standing Match
– Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
– John Cena has recently granted three more wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Cena met with children at Extreme Rules in East Rutherford, RAW in Greenville and RAW in Greensboro. Cena has now granted well over 400 wishes.
– According to mixed reports, WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam suffered a shoulder injury during his match at the WWE live event in Glasgow, Scotland last Wednesday. Van Dam continued to work the tour after the Glasgow date, however, so the injury doesn’t appear to be anything serious.
WWE kicks off their European tour today with their first stop in Glasgow, Scotland. With Daniel Bryan off of the tour due to injury, here is the updated list of talent that is scheduled for this part of the tour: Kane, The Shield, Big E, Rob Van Dam, Bad News Barrett, Big Show, Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Paige, Layla, Fandango, Cameron, Naomi, Jack Swagger, Zeb Colter, Sin Cara, Rusev, Lana and more.
Originally, Bryan vs. Kane in a “Last Man Standing” match was being advertised, but with Bryan’s injury, that is obviously off the table. As of right now, no new opponent or match for Kane has been announced.
Also advertised for this leg of the tour is a six-man tag-team match featuring The Shield vs. Randy Orton, Ryback and Curtis Axel.
– The WWE DVD on Paul Heyman, “Ladies And Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman,” which is scheduled for an August 5th release, is scheduled to be built around Heyman as the guy who managed the guy who broke Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Among the people who filmed interviews for the DVD are Raven, Tommy Dreamer, Joey Styles, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Jim Ross, Bill Apter and Stephanie McMahon.
– The Greatest Factions DVD that WWE is producing is set to be built around D-Generation X and the Four Horsemen as the key factions. The DVD will also cover the New World Order, The Nexus, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Evolution, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Nation Of Domination, The Straight Edge Society and The Heenan Family.
As of right now, WWE is pushing the following four retired wrestlers, in order, the most: Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Steve Austin and Ultimate Warrior. Warrior was higher on the priority list a few weeks ago, but that was due to the fact that he tragically passed away.
For the month of April, more people purchased Warrior merchandise on the internet than anyone else in the company, including John Cena.
The latest internet merchandise numbers, in order, were Cena, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Wyatt Family, The Shield, Evolution and Hulk Hogan.
The latest arena merchandise numbers, in order, were Cena, Bryan, Randy Orton, Warrior, Rob Van Dam, Brock Lesnar, The Wyatt Family, Batista and Sin Cara.
It’s worth noting that Cena was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the top sellers at the arenas, with the second highest person on the list (Daniel Bryan) not even coming close to his sales figures.
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include WWE referee Chat Patton (38) and WWE Hall of Famer “Cowboy” Bill Watts (75).
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?- WWE star John Cena will be appearing on the daytime talk show ‘The View’ this morning to promote his BodyChange fitness program.
– Rob Van Dam got pretty banged up at last night’s Extreme Rules PPV, receiving a cut on his cheek after hitting the Five Star Frog Splash on a trash can. He also had some bruising and swelling on the left side of his face, which was evident during his appearance on the post-show press conference that aired on the WWE Network. Here’s an image of RVD being tended to backstage after his match:
It has been announced that the triple-threat match between Rob Van Dam, Jack Swagger and Cesaro, which is scheduled for this Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, has received an added stipulation.
Instead of being a straight triple-threat match, the bout between Van Dam, Swagger and Cesaro will be a two-fall elimination match. This means that all three competitors will start off in the match and when the first pin fall takes place, that person will be eliminated, leaving the other two to battle it out in a regular one fall contest.
WWE Extreme Rules takes place on Sunday night, May 4th, from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Make sure to join us here at the website for live play-by-play results coverage of the pay-per-view event.
– John Cena is advertised to appear on Tuesday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which emanates from Buffalo, New York. Daniel Bryan, however, is not scheduled to appear on the post-Extreme Rules edition of SmackDown.
– The following are the updated online betting odds for this Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Odds are courtesy of BetFair.com. The favorites are listed in bold.
The official WWE website recently added a new featured article on ECW original Sabu called, “An extreme revolutionary: How Sabu changed wrestling and everyone forgot.” The article features comments from Paul Heyman, Rob Van Dam, John Cena, Seth Rollins and others.
Below is an excerpt from the article, which features Heyman talking about whether or not Sabu gets the credit he deserves.
“To this day, the innovator is still the master of his craft. When Sabu was at his best, no one could touch him.”
“Whether Sabu gets the credit in history he deserves, the answer is no. But who do you blame for that? Do you blame the curator of the industry, WWE, for not acknowledging the contributions that Sabu made? Do you blame Sabu for not staying healthy enough to force history to acknowledge his contributions? Do you blame the audience who only sings the praises of Sabu crashing through tables, and not all the many other ways Sabu was so unique at his height?”
“The reality of history is that others will take snippets of the style, incorporate it into another groundbreaking presentation and then get credit for implementing a new way to bring sports-entertainment to the masses.”
You can check out the complete article at WWE.com.
The following are the betting odds for Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view according to PaddyPower.com.
Alexander Rusev is the biggest favorite on the entire card as of right now, as he comes in at -1800 for his handicap match against R-Truth and Xavier Woods. In this case, you would have to bet $1,800 on Rusev to earn $100 profit on the bet. On the flip-side of the coin, Truth and Woods, who come in at +650, would earn you $650 profit if you placed a $100 bet.
It should also be noted that these odds are indicative of much until the actual “smart money” comes in on the show, which is generally hours before the event starts on the day of the show.
– Ric Flair and Rob Van Dam have been added to the announced lineup for the upcoming NXT Takeover live special, which airs later this month on the WWE Network.
– The WrestleMania XXX DVD is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 13th.
– The New York Post website ran an article on the new Iron Sheik documentary, which features interviews with such names as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Mick Foley Jim Ross and actor Seth Green. You can check that out at NYPost.com.
The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which was taped on Tuesday night and will air on Friday, May 2, 2014 on the SyFy Network.
– Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger
– Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth
– The Wyatt Family vs. Sheamus & The Usos
– Damien Sandow vs. Dolph Ziggler
– Big E. vs. Titus O’Neil
– Dean Ambrose vs. Ryback vs. Curtis Axel vs. Alberto Del Rio
For a complete spoiler report for this week’s WWE SmackDown, click ahead to page two …
– As we reported last week and reiterated earlier tonight, it’s very likely that Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger will be taking place as a triple-threat match at this Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Apparently this match was confirmed during the RAW post-show on Monday night, which airs live on the WWE Network after RAW every week.
– Following Monday’s Extreme Rules “go-home” edition of WWE RAW, which took place in St. Louis, Missouri, it was announced to the live crowd in attendance that this year’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, which takes place on November 23rd, will take place at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Following Monday’s Extreme Rules “go-home” edition of WWE RAW, here is your latest official WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view lineup for this Sunday night.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kane
Faction vs. Faction
– Evolution vs. The Shield
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Big E. (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
WWE Divas Championship
– Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka
Steel Cage Match
– John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
Handicap Match
– Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth & Xavier Woods
Pre-Show “WeeLC Match”
– Hornswoggle vs. El Torito
Rumored
– Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger
Make sure to join us here this Sunday night for the absolute best live WWE Extreme Rules results coverage.
The WWE Extreme Rules “go-home” edition of WWE RAW takes place tonight in St. Louis, Missouri. Advertised for tonight’s show, among other things, is the return of Daniel Bryan.
Also scheduled for tonight’s show is the final round of the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament between Rob Van Dam and Bad News Barrett. The winner will go on to face Big E. for the title at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view this Sunday night.
A WWE Tag-Team Championship match between The Usos and the team of Ryback and Curtis Axel will take place tonight on the show, as well as the return of WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair.
Finally, a segment has been advertised for tonight that features Stephanie McMahon apologizing to Daniel Bryan for the attack he suffered at the hands of Kane on last week’s show.
Make sure to join us here tonight at SESCOOPS.COM for live WWE RAW play-by-play results coverage.
According to one source, Bad News Barrett is scheduled to defeat Rob Van Dam, possibly with interference from Cesaro, on next Monday’s RAW in the finals of the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament. This would mean Barrett will be the challenger for Big E. at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 4th.
Also expected for Extreme Rules, in addition to the previously reported matches, is a three-way between Cesaro, Van Dam and Jack Swagger, as well as a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between The Usos and the team of Ryback and Curtis Axel.
– It was announced on Monday night’s edition of WWE RAW that on next week’s RAW, which takes place from St. Louis, Missouri, the finals of the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament will take place. The final match in the tournament will feature Rob Van Dam vs. Bad News Barrett for the right to face Big E. for the title at WWE Extreme Rules.
– Also announced on RAW is Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
WWE RAW returns live tonight from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The show is scheduled to feature the return of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, along with his new bride Brie Bella.
Bryan and the return of “masked Kane” are expected to begin their feud heading into the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view on May 4th.
Also on tonight’s show is the semifinals of the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament. The second round matches on tonight’s show will feature Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam and Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett.
On their official website, WWE is focusing on the following five points for tonight’s show:
What havoc will Kane unleash on the returning Daniel Bryan?
Will The Shield confront the reunited Evolution group?
Who will advance in the WWE Intercontinental Championship contender tournament?
Will Tamina Snuka continue to dominate and what challenges face WWE Divas Champion Paige?
Will Bray Wyatt be able to gain a psychological advantage over John Cena?
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com tonight for live WWE RAW results coverage.
– Rob Van Dam has uploaded the latest edition of his “Stream of Consciousness” video blog, which you can check out below.
– Chris Jericho posted the following tweet recently promoting his upcoming appearance on the TBS show “Deal With It,” which airs on Wednesday night at 10:30pm EST.
As previously reported, it was announced on WWE RAW this week that John Cena will be squaring off against Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
Also announced for the show, which takes place on May 4th from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is a WWE Intercontinental Championship match between current title-holder Big E., and the winner of the ongoing number one contender tournament. The semi-finals of the tournament takes place next Monday night and features Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro, as well as Bad News Barrett vs. Sheamus. The Superstar who advances to the finals will challenge Big E. for the title on May 4th.
Additionally, rumored for Extreme Rules is a faction vs. faction match between The Shield and the reunited Evolution group. As previously reported, it is unclear yet as to whether or not Daniel Bryan and Kane will be added to the match.
