The following news and notes were revealed during this week’s edition of WWE RAW, which took place on Monday night in Birmingham, Alabama.
– Next week on RAW, the rest of the WWE Intercontinental Championship number one contender tournament will take place. Advancing in first round matches on Monday night were Rob Van Dam, Cesaro, Sheamus and Bad News Barrett. Squaring off next week in the semi-finals will be RVD vs. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett.
– Taking place on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which airs live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night, will be Big Show vs. Jack Swagger.
– Announced for the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view, which takes place on May 4th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match.
– Confirmed as the main event of this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which will be taped on Tuesday night and airs Friday night on SyFy, is “The Animal” Batista vs. Sheamus.
– Finally, it was announced that on next week’s edition of WWE RAW, the returning Daniel Bryan will square off against Kane, who is returning as a masked Superstar.
The following news was revealed during tonight’s post-WrestleMania XXX edition of WWE RAW:
Big Show vs. Cesaro will take place on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
The Wyatt Family will take on The Shield in a six-man tag-team match on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event.
NXT stars Alexander Rusev and Paige debuted. Rusev defeated Zack Ryder with his “Accolade” submission finisher, while Paige defeated AJ Lee to become the new WWE Divas Champion.
Vignettes aired hyping the pending WWE main roster debuts of NXT stars Bo Dallas and Adam Rose. The Rose vignette featured the NXT star on an “Erotic Express” bus.
Rob Van Dam made his return to WWE. He returned in a match against Damien Sandow, which he ended up winning.
Cesaro was revealed as the newest “Paul Heyman guy.” Cesaro turned on Zeb Colter, aligning himself with Heyman and defeating his former “Real American” tag-team partner via count out.
– Among those backstage at WrestleMania XXX on Sunday night that didn’t appear on camera at any point during the event were Rob Van Dam, Alexander Rusev, David Flair and former referee Tim White.
– The official WWE website has an exclusive backstage interview with Paul Heyman, who immediately after Brock Lesnar ended Undertaker’s streak, explains why the WWE Universe shouldn’t be the least bit surprised. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– WWE added a new video to their official YouTube channel called, “5 things to look forward to on the Raw after WrestleMania.” You can check that out below:
– The following is a photo of Bret Hart and Rob Van Dam backstage at the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony in New Orleans on Saturday night.
– Actor Hugh Jackman will be serving as the special social media ambassador for WrestleMania XXX tonight. You can follow him on Twitter @RealHughJackman.
– The following is a photo of Rob Van Dam as the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony on Saturday night. As previously reported, RVD will be returning to WWE in the very near future, and could potentially turn up tonight at WrestleMania XXX, or on the post-WrestleMania edition of WWE RAW on Monday night.
– As we’ve been reporting, former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam is returning to WWE and is expected back on television in the next week. We’ve heard Van Dam’s travel plans to New Orleans have already been booked.
Van Dam’s last appearance for WWE was at October’s Battleground pay-per-view in a match against Alberto Del Rio.
– The latest word regarding WWE’s talent scouting philosophy is that they’re looking for standout independent wrestlers. As usual, wrestlers with larger physique are still getting a stronger look. Gerald Brisco has been WWE’s top recruiter lately, while Triple H reviews his picks and makes the final call as to whether WWE should sign them to a developmental deal.
Rob Van Dam is scheduled to make his WWE return on the post-WrestleMania XXX edition of RAW, which emanates from The Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on Monday, April 7th.
According to one report, Van Dam is scheduled to remain back on WWE television for a run that should last several months.
Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho recently noted on his official Twitter account that he will be releasing his new book on October 13, 2014. The book will be the third installment of his autobiographical series. Jericho also noted that he will be revealing the title of the book, as well as the official cover, later this week.
4 MORE DAYS until I OFFICIALLY reveal the cover and title of my NEW BOOK!! Stay tuned kids…… http://t.co/EplD00OVCD
Speaking of Jericho, following his two-part interview with Rob Van Dam, his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast shot up to number one on the Canadian iTunes chart and number two on the U.S. chart.
– Part two of Chris Jericho’s two-part interview with Rob Van Dam on his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast is now available. You can check that out at PodcastOne.com.
– As previously reported, New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski attended the recent WWE NXT television taping. The official WWE website has video of Triple H meeting the NFL star, which you can check out at WWE.com.
– Former WWE Diva and soon-to-be WWE Hall Of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas has launched an official Facebook page. You can follow Dumas on Facebook at Facebook.com.
Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho noted on Twitter today that he “absolutely” expects CM Punk to return at tonight’s RAW in Chicago. Jericho tweeted the following in response to a question from a fan:
– Apparently WWE Superstar Randy Orton hit the 1,000-day mark for his career as a WWE Champion today. That puts him 10th place all-time in total accumulated time as champion in WWE history.
– WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam was recently asked by a fan on Twitter if he would be back in WWE by the SummerSlam pay-per-view. RVD simply replied by saying, “indeed.”
The following are highlights of a new Burlington County Times interview with Rob Van Dam:
On the difference between ECW and WWE: “In ECW, the fans would warm me up. I’d walk around the ring and slap hands with everyone and get ready for the match. I’d feed of that energy, I would use that to create positive energy. In WWE, it’s different. It’s a timed show, everything is timed. We know when we get to the ring, we know when there’s a commercial. We have to do everything on a schedule, but I still find a way to connect with the fans.”
On preferring to stay home instead of travel consistently: “The 18-year-old me wouldn’t understand the 43-year-old me because then I wanted to travel and see the world. But I love being home. Some guys are on the road and can’t wait to get home, others are at home and can’t wait to get on the road. I’m definitely the one who wants to be home.”
On his wife of 15 years: “Right after we started going out, she came to (an ECW) show right outside Boston. So Sandman is making his entrance and his music is playing and he’s walking around the crowd and Sabu jumps off the stage and breaks a beer bottle over his head. BOOM! Then they’re fighting throughout the crowd, hitting each other with everything.”
“She was scared. I had people out there watching her, but she wasn’t a wrestling fan, she didn’t know any of this. But she stayed with me. It worked out. They say anyone who is married has to be OK because they found someone to put up with them.”
“My wife gets so mad at me, when we’re out driving in a parking lot and there’s a sign that says ‘no exit,’ she would never do it. But I do it. I don’t believe that rules are meant for me. But that’s what makes me who I am. I’m an individual who does what’s best for me.”
– Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam was recently asked by a fan on his official Twitter account when he would be making a return to WWE. RVD answered the fan by saying:
“@Zigzag_rko: @TherealRVD when are you getting back in the #WWERing” Soon. But not today.
– Celebrity-gossip website TMZ made a tasteless comment on their Facebook page when promoting the article on their website about the passing of former WWE Superstar Big Daddy V. They wrote the following:
“Obviously, the weight loss came too late … or it was too much too quickly. R.I.P.”
– Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam was reportedly backstage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Monday to meet with Triple H and see if WWE can use him at WrestleMania XXX.
– NXT ring announcer Brandi Rhodes, wife of Cody Rhodes, has launched a new video blog at WWE.com titled, “Day In The Life.” The first episode, which is now online, features Brandi and Cody visiting an amusement park.
– WWE Intercontinental champion Big E. Langston spoke to the Arizona Republic this week to promote Saturday’s WWE live event from Phoenix. When asked about how much input he gets on his TV character, he said:
“There’s always give and take.The most successful characters and personas are extensions of the person who plays them. It’s pretty much me, for the most part. As a powerlifter, I kind of use those abilities in what I do now. It’s essentially me, but I’m still not sure how we came up with Big E Langston.”
He also commented on his reaction when he was told his ring name at developmental:
“Honestly, it was kind of jarring at first, but now I’ve gotten used to it. ‘Big E.’ is something people have always called me, but the ‘Langston’ part is kind of random,”
– Next week’s episode of WWE RAW from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado will feature WWE World Heavyweight champion Randy Orton vs. Sheamus in a non-title match.
The match was announced by Triple H last week during his Wednesday interview for WWE.com.
– As previously reported, Rob Van Dam was backstage at the Staples Center on Monday afternoon to meet with Triple H.
Dan Masters posted this video on Facebook of himself and RVD after leaving the Staples Center:
– During an interview with New Orleans’ NOLA.com, Kofi Kingston spoke about his crazy spots at the Royal Rumble:
“The funny thing about it is that a lot of people think that I think about them year-round, and the past three years now, the idea hasn’t come to me until like 12 hours before the event. I don’t put any pressure on myself to come up with anything cool. I approach it like any other match. I don’t know if I’d put one (escape) above another. Like I always say, the greatest trick of all would be to actually win.”
– Rob Van Dam was asked by a fan on Twitter if he’ll be back in WWE before WrestleMania XXX. He responded:
The following are highlights from a recent interview with WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose from TheClassical.org:
On the early days of The Shield concept, how it was pitched to him, etc: It wasn’t ever pitched to us. It was very out of nowhere. It was a secret kind of idea. I have an idea—I’ll save that for another time—[of] what the original, original idea was. It’s just been ever-evolving. One day, it was just like, ‘All right, you three are going to wear black turtlenecks and run in and beat up Ryback,’ and we’re just like, ‘Uh, okay.’ At the time, you’re like, ‘I don’t even care.’ I [had been] in developmental for over a year at that point and was just ready to pull my eyes out, so [with] any tiny, little bit of opening they’ll give me, I was like, ‘Yup, let’s do it.’ I’ll kick in that door if you crack it open, and I think we all felt that way. But doing Survivor Series and interfering in a WWE Championship match on one of the bigger pay-per-views that the company does, that’s like, ‘Holy crap.’ If you know what the deal is or not, you can’t ask for a better spotlight than [that].
We didn’t really know what the deal was, and they didn’t really know what the deal was with it. We were kind of making it up as we were going along. The name—it’s just a natural thing. A lot of times, we’re defenders. We’re defending what we perceive to be justice, or the good of the business, or somebody who paid us off. We can act as a shield, so we were The Shield.
The attire came naturally. The entrance came naturally because why would we be in the locker room with everybody when we’re acting as mercenaries? I remember being like, ‘Why would we ever come through the Gorilla position? Who would let us in the locker room after the stuff we pulled?’ so we came through the crowd. Then, that’s like a thing, too. That’s like a statement for us, separating ourselves from the locker room as far as we want to outwork everybody and outperform everybody. We’re not your typical WWE wrestlers and we’re going to make ourselves into more. It’s like a statement that we’re taking over this business and we don’t care.
On who he travels with and guys he’d like to feud with in the future: I travel with The Shield. We keep it very tight and travel together. I’ll travel with Claudio [Castagnoli] sometimes—Antonio Cesaro. I get along with pretty much everybody. I’m really easy to get along with. I can be pretty quiet and keep to myself. I’m a guy who just kind of sits in the back of a room [to] watch and learn and see what everybody’s doing. I’m a super laid-back, easy-to-get-along-with kind of guy.
As far as who I’d like to feud with in the future, there’s so many [people] it’s hard to count. I’m sure eventually, it’s going to happen one day where either any of the three of us in The Shield are going to be looking across the ring from each other. You know, when that happens, that’ll be a good day because hopefully, it’s in a position where we’re doing it in a high-profile scenario for a lot of money.
Randy [Orton] is a guy. I’m on the same side of the fence as Randy right now, but Randy’s a guy that I love watching work. He’s a guy [where] I’ll always stop and watch his matches.
[Voice rises enthusiastically] Christian is just so unbelievably good. I mean, I always knew Christian was really good. Working with Christian, he’s been here for so long and has so much experience, you realize his brain is a super-evolved version of my brain [with] the way he sees matches play out, the way he comes up with things, especially in tag matches and stuff like that. Christian’s a guy who I’ve only had a small sampling of working with. Christian’s a guy I want to spend a lot more time in the ring with.
It’s awesome working with RVD, too. I’m a big ECW fan, so I got to work with him on a loop in California, and he’s cool. He’s friggin’ RVD. He’s got all the RVD spots and he’s ageless and stuff. There’s just countless guys that you want to work with for one reason or the other. I’m looking forward to diving headfirst into all of them.
Footage of an old episode of TNA Impact Wrestling aired during Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show on Monday night.
During a story about high-powered ships that can break through massive blocks of ice, Maddow compared it to Rob Van Dam’s “Five Star Frogsplash” finishing move. Footage was then shown of RVD hitting the frogsplash on AJ Styles on an old episode of Impact Wrestling.
When describing the ship’s ability to rescue a stranded ship, Maddow said, “It has a special bow design that’s curved in such a way that it can use its engine thrust to actually push the ship up out of the water on top of the ice to then use the 11,000-ton weight of the boat to crush the ice underneath it and break it that way.”
Maddow continued, “Having a hard time imagining that? Well, you know this pro wrestling move? (footage of RVD’s frogsplash is shown) That’s what the Polar Star does. It pushes itself on top of the ice and bodyslams it. (RVD’s frogsplash is shown again from a different angle) Not every ice-breaker can do that. And now the Polar Star – America’s only bodyslamming, heavy ice-breaking ship – is on its way to rescue the other massive ice-breaking vessel that still cannot handle what the Polar Star can handle.”
– Part-time WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam is reportedly returning at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view later this month. Current plans call for Van Dam to work WrestleMania XXX in April.
– According to reports, WWE Superstar Batista is heading to California soon to train with mixed-martial-arts trainer Cesar Gracie in preparation for his WWE return on January 20th.
– James Avery, who was most known for his role as “Uncle Phil” on “The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air,” passed away at age 65 on Wednesday. Avery also worked as the voice for the late WWE Hall Of Famer Junkyard Dog on the old Hulk Hogan’s Rock & Wrestling cartoon.
– There is a new Q&A with former WWE Superstar John Morrison up at John-Morrison.net.
– Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam will be working at Booker T’s upcoming “Reality Of Wrestling” event on January 11th in Houston, Texas.
– According to PWInsider.com, WWE officials are steamed over news of Batista returning to the organization since it was meant to be kept as a surprise. Advertisements featuring the former WWE Champion were removed Saturday from UNLVTickets.com for WWE’s scheduled non-televised event at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, February 16, 2014.
– With WWE in San Antonio, Texas last week for SmackDown, Zeb Colter paid a visit to the The Alamo in order to look out for illegal immigrants. To watch the vignette, click here.
– Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam has been announced to appear at a Reality of Wrestling event on Saturday, January 11, 2014 in Houston, Texas. (Event Information)
– This week’s WWE Classics on Demand updates are as follows: WWE SummerSlam (2013), World Wrestling Federation action at the Copps Coliseum (December 4, 1988, featuring Tim Horner vs. Johnny K-9, Hulk Hogan vs. Big Boss Man, Virgil vs. Hercules, Tito Santana vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Mr. Perfect vs. Jose Luis Rivera, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase vs. Koko B. Ware, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Dino Bravo), WWWF Championship Wrestling (February 4, 1978), ECW Hardcore TV (December 4, 1998), WWF Prime Time Wrestling (December 25, 1989).
As previously reported, WWE is continuing to negotiate with Hulk Hogan for a return to the company for some involvement at WrestleMania XXX. In addition to Hogan, WWE is also thinking about bringing some other high-profile names from the past back into the fold for the biggest annual event.
WWE is apparently interested in bringing Batista back into the company for a role at WrestleMania, as there is talk right now of working him into the show should he want to make a comeback.
As far as Rob Van Dam is concerned, there are currently no plans involving him at WrestleMania, however that could change if Van Dam himself is interested in returning from hiatus to come back into the fold.
The following are highlights from a recent Gerweck Radio interview with former WWE Superstar Paul London:
On Chris Benoit’s dark side: “Chris was dark, he was extremely dark. We used to have a joke that Chris was tri-polar, because it was a step up from bi-polarity. He would flip sometimes. I think a combination of Chris’ background of with steroids, mixed with the partying, is a recipe for disaster. One of them is a recipe for disaster. Its literally taking Drano and pouring it on your hard drive. See what that does for your computer.”
On Triple H being jealous of Rob Van Dam: “That is another reason I’m pretty sure I won’t be returning there any time soon. Hunter was pretty obviously jealous of certain individuals. I’m not saying he was jealous of me. I could tell he was envious of (Rob) Van Dam. He was extremely envious of Rob’s success. He was jealous of Van Dam’s personality. He was jealous that people gravitated towards Rob, because people liked being around Rob because he was very positive. The most glaring was the work rate. Hunter has had the same matches his whole career. If the guy is so damn tough, why does he need a sledgehammer. How do you justify this guying be a bad ass if he always has a weapon. Hunter is like that nerd that throws out a joke expecting the room to start laughing and ends up laughing at his own joke.”