– Apparently Natalya had a “wardrobe malfunction” during Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. As a result, the WWE Diva and Total Divas star was trending on Twitter during the show. The reason it wasn’t seen on the show last night, however, was because WWE’s production truck likely caught it in time and due to the delay, were able to avoid showing it on the air.
– Below is a behind-the-scenes look at the WWE and Ad Council Fatherhood PSA’s which features Roman Reigns and Titus O’Neil. It’s worth noting that Alberto Del Rio was also part of the campaign, but after his WWE release, he was removed from the campaign.
Campuses around the country are infested with returning college students this week. In honor of all the alcohol that will be consumed and the knowledge that will hopefully be absorbed, it’s time to take the WWE to school, and I’ll be the one doling out the grades.
Welcome to the first ever WWE Raw Report Card. Matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, move variety, crowd reaction, and overall impact on the storyline. Important in-ring promos will also be graded based on factors such as originality, believability, and importance. Without further ado, here are this week’s grades.
Hall of Fame Forum
This week’s Raw started with a roundtable discussion regarding the upcoming rematch between John Cena and Brock Lesnar. First off, I never thought I’d see the day where Shawn Michaels was the worst dressed man in the ring, but his combination of cowboy hat, jacket, and Remington t-shirt didn’t do him any favors.
Overall, it was nice seeing the legends together, even if it did feel a bit scripted at times and offered little insight. One hilarious moment was when Michaels said everyone loves Cena, eliciting massive boos from the audience. Speaking of Cena, his promo was surprisingly compelling, and it was nice to see him own up to the beating he took at SummerSlam.
Grade: B-
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
This was likely the last contest between Rusev and Swagger, and all I can say is, “Good riddance.” This match featured a lot of downtime that resulted in a poor workrate, and a lot of the match was spent outside of the ring with nothing going on.
The in-ring psychology was pretty good (Swagger sold the rib injury well) and the crowd was into it, so that raised the grade a bit, but it was ultimately a fitting ending to a rather pointless program that saw Swagger dominated at nearly every stage of the feud.
Grade: C
Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
This was a rather short match, but both superstars worked well together during the time they were given. One criticism is that the ending felt a bit rushed. One moment Cesaro was rolling outside of the ring to avoid the Five Star Frog Splash and only a few seconds later he was hitting the Neutralizer for the win in a sequence that felt a bit off.
The match also served its purpose by building a championship match between Cesaro and Sheamus – a program that looks like it could be entertaining with two of the company’s better workers.
The Conqueror brought John Cena’s title reign to a grinding halt at SummerSlam. Since then, he’s ditched the Big Gold Belt and disappeared from television. (He’s next scheduled to appear at the last Raw before Night of Champions.)
As most fans probably know by now, it has been announced that John Cena will invoke his rematch clause and once again try to slay the Beast Incarnate at Night of Champions.
Lesnar quickly ditched the Big Gold Belt after defeating Cena at SummerSlam.
At first thought, one might wonder if it’s really worth having these two compete again. After all, Cena was completely destroyed and the company seems to selectively choose which superstars receive a rematch anyway. (Where’s Randy Orton’s rematch from WrestleMania?)
The match is already set, however, so there is no use in arguing if the match should be booked, but instead how it should be booked. In my opinion, there are three ways to book the rematch between John Cena and Brock Lesnar.
The first option, which is the most likely, will see Cena once again be destroyed by Lesnar. He will walk away solidly defeated. He likely won’t give up, but he will lose the contest and that will be the end of Cena challenging for the title for a while. It will then be a depressing winter for the WWE Universe, as Lesnar will control the title and likely only appear once or twice a month.
In order to destroy the evil that is Brock Lesnar, the company will need a new hero to come save the children and their boxes of Fruity Pebbles. That man will be Roman Reigns and it will happen at WrestleMania. Lesnar will undoubtedly drop the title at WrestleMania, and it will likely be to Reigns, but the most interesting swerve would be to have Reigns win the title and Rollins cash in his briefcase to immediately steal it.
It would be the ultimate roller coaster of emotions for fans. Their hero finally defeats the evil villain, only to have the title stolen from him by the Authority. It would be the perfect way to end the pay-per-view and also a great way to build a main event feud for Reigns.
As noted last week, the current working plan in WWE is for Roman Reigns to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at next year’s WrestleMania 31 event in Santa Clara, California. Apparently, the decision for Reigns-Lesnar was decided upon shortly before or immediately after this year’s WrestleMania XXX event in New Orleans. While plans are always subject to change, especially in WWE, the direction right now still appears to be Reigns-Lesnar at the next WrestleMania.
Originally, Lesnar’s SummerSlam and Night Of Champions matches were scheduled to be against Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The idea was that Lesnar, after breaking Undertaker’s streak, would continue to break the hearts of wrestling fans by killing Bryan’s big moment, continuing his dominance until Reigns saved the day and ended Lesnar’s reign at WrestleMania 31.
Obviously the plans were changed to Lesnar-Cena when Bryan went down with an injury, however the rest of the story seems to be still in place.
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans which WWE Superstar they would most like to see in a WWE Studios film. The options are Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Sheamus and Stardust. Leading the pack with a considerable amount of the vote is Undertaker, followed by Reigns and Wyatt. You can vote in the poll today at WWE.com.
– Although he has yet to be cleared to return, Daniel Bryan is being advertised for the WWE European tour in November. Matches advertised for the tour include Big Show vs. Rusev and John Cena vs. Seth Rollins on one side, with the other set featuring Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose vs. Kane.
– While Dean Ambrose is away filming the WWE Studios film project “Lockdown,” Roman Reigns will be taking his place at the WWE live events. For example, at the WWE live event in San Diego this weekend, Reigns filled in for Ambrose, defeating Seth Rollins in a tables match.
– Below is a new AfterBuzz TV interview with WWE Diva Natalya, who talks about the upcoming season of WWE Total Divas, NXT and more.
– Part two of Steve Austin’s interview with Mick Foley on his “Steve Austin Show” podcast is now available. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Rob Van Dam noted on Twitter recently that he has some interest in writing an autobiography at some point in the future.
– The North American Wrestling Rankings blog, which has been keeping TV statistics dating back to November of 2006, noted that when The Miz lost to Roman Reigns on this week’s SmackDown, it was his 100th televised loss as a singles competitor. For more stats, visit NorthAmericanWrestlingRankings.blogspot.com.
Regarding rumors that Roman Reigns may challenge Brock Lesnar next for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, that appears to not be the case.
WWE officials are reportedly still looking to hold off on Reigns winning the WWE title until next year’s WrestleMania.
Reigns is still viewed within WWE as “the chosen one,” but the idea behind his push right now is for him to slowly rise to the top and having him lose to Lesnar at this point would be counterproductive.
WWE is still looking to have Reigns win the title at WrestleMania 31, giving him his big “WrestleMania moment” and fully capitalizing on his push to the top.
WWE will be premiering a new SummerSlam special on the WWE Network tonight called “Journey To SummerSlam.”
The show, which follows Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose as they prepare to do battle at this year’s SummerSlam paty-per-view, airs on the WWE Network at 8pm EST.
Below is the official description for the show:
“As the Shield, they were the most dominant faction inside the ring, taking the entire WWE by storm. Now, the Hounds of Justice have disbanded, and all roads lead to SummerSlam. Witness the journey of three superstars – Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns – from their humble beginnings en route to the biggest event of the summer, SummerSlam 2014.
SummerSlam 2014 aired live on WWE Network on Sunday, August 17. Subscribers can re-watch SummerSlam along with every other past WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view, as part of the most comprehensive video-on-demand library available. After its premiere, Journey to SummerSlam will be available in the video-on-demand library as well.”
To check out a video preview of the show, click here.
– Apparently both Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella have spent a lot of time practicing their match over the last week or so. It is being said that the two will be given a decent amount of time for their match tonight, and many expect a lot of bells and whistles to help ensure that the match comes off well on the pay-per-view.
– Following tonight’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view in Los Angeles, Brock Lesnar is scheduled to appear on tomorrow night’s WWE RAW follow-up show, which is advertising a main event (likely a dark match) of Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton & Seth Rollins & Bray Wyatt.
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog, which features the WWE Hall Of Famer giving his predictions for tonight’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
On John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar: “If you’ve listened to my Ross Report Podcast on podcastone.com and iTunes you know that I’ve been saying for months that I thought Lesnar would win the WWE Title at Sumer Slam even before Cena regained the championship. I will stay with my prediction as I feel that WWE is grooming Roman Reigns for the to spot and that Reigns beating Lesnar next year at WM31 would be a big money match if properly built. Yes, one can build it ‘properly’ even if Lesnar isn’t a ‘full time’ talent. It’s called smart booking. It was done for decades with the traveling, NWA Champion.”
On The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: “Timing is every thing in the wrestling biz and Ziggler has had too many false starts to endure many more w/o being looked upon by many frustrated fans negatively. I’d put Ziggler over and take a positive step in restoring the shine to the IC Title and what it has meant in years past in WWE…the in ring, work horse champ.”
On AJ Lee vs. Paige: “As I have said many times, AJ is WWE’s top in ring Diva while Paige has the ability to put herself firmly in that conversation. Although neither lady may find themselves ever on ‘Totally Divas,’ and they both may not care, I feel that AJ will retain her title Sunday.”
On Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton: ” ‘The Roman Empire’ begins its build in earnest with a quality win over a proven, top talent at a major PPV. WWE is doing a nice job building Reigns who is a work in progress but, as I’ve said, he has until April 2015 to be truly ready for ‘the spot.’ Funny how some fans of today’s generation are already having issues with Reigns which, based on their own reasoning, is embarrassing in my opinion.”
On Rusev vs. Jack Swagger: “It is hard to logically fathom seeing the Russian Flag prevail over the American flag in a match where capturing the flag determines the winner. I’m going with my fellow Oklahoman Jack Swagger who will always be the 2nd toughest wrestling from Perry, Oklahoma (Next to Dan Hodge) Sunday in LA in this traditional, nationalistic story line. A loss in this type of match won’t hurt Rusev in the least as he is still a work in progress too. The more personality Swagger demonstrates the better chance he has to contribute in a more significant way in WWE.”
On Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella: “I like this storyline, although I wasn’t crazy about the physical therapist component added last week implicating Brie’s husband Daniel Bryan having an affair with the physical therapist, and think that WWE can easily get more mileage out of this pairing. By hook or crook, I’d get Steph over and continue the rivalry in a very personal way which may include Nikki Bella. Steph has been a star in this presentation thus far. For a mother of three who has multiple full time jobs Mrs. HHH looks great and will represent well in the ring.”
On Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho: “Wyatt needs to win here and if he doesn’t I’d suggest counseling for all involved in the decision making process. There’s no reason that these two couldn’t have the match of the night or damn close to it.”
On Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: “I’d like to see Rollins win a close one here and am curious to see how the Lumberjack Stipulation creatively plays into the match. I’d start the show with this match and feel that these two will tear down the Staples Center if provided the time so that they don’t have to rush the process.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Based on several online betting sites that are currently running odds for tonight’s WWE SummerSlam, below are the current favorites and underdogs for tonight’s big show.
– Brock Lesnar over John Cena
– Stephanie McMahon over Brie Bella
– Roman Reigns over Randy Orton
– AJ Lee over Paige
– Seth Rollins over Dean Ambrose
– The Miz over Dolph Ziggler
– Jack Swagger over Rusev
– Bray Wyatt over Chris Jericho
Make sure to visit the website tonight for the best WWE SummerSlam live results coverage on the web!
The following are highlights of a new Crave Online interview with Roman Reigns:
CraveOnline: You’re from the famous Anoa’i wrestling family. What were family get togethers like? Do you guys just talk wrestling all the time or is business just business and family time is just family time?
Roman Reigns: It’s a little bit of both. It just depends on who’s there. If I’m with my dad, yeah, he’s going to talk a good bit about the business. He just kind of mentors me and tells me what he’s thinking about my stuff. But growing up and all that, family barbecues, it was all family, man, ya know? You have to picture it. We always had so many kids in our family, running around the yard, sweaty little kids jumping in and out of the pool, the front door and back doors swinging open and shut, all of the parents getting pissed off telling us to stay outside. Always coolers and coolers of beers and soda and chicken being barbecued, burgers being barbecued, it was a good time. It brings me back, actually.
CraveOnline: What is your dream match? If you could face any wrestler from any era, whom is Roman Reigns taking on?
Roman Reigns: Oh, that’s an easy one. I’d have to go with Taker, man. It’s such an easy choice. I imagine just about everybody would say that. If you hear all the stories of him, man, he’s like a godfather or something. You know what I mean? You hear all of these really cool things about him out in the ring, in the back, and just with the boys and stuff. He legitimately doesn’t get enough credit for being a cornerstone of this business. That would be a dream come true to be in the ring with him.
CraveOnline: Any desire to have a triple threat match with your former Shield members, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins?
Roman Reigns: Right now, I’m biding my time. I promised Dean that he would have first crack at Seth. He told me he’d leave a little for me. The main part for me is Randy Orton has just been a pain in my ass. Even from when, that night we [The Shield] broke up, that piece of crap, Seth, handed him the chair and he wore me out with it. So I’m gonna take out Randy just by principle. I’m going to clean up the outside of the house first. I’m going to do some yard work and then I’m going to Seth and clean up the house. It’s an ‘in house’ situation.
CraveOnline: What can we expect from your match with Randy Orton at Summer Slam?
Roman Reigns: A lot of heavy hitting. The plan is to hit hard and more often and just to tear the house down. You can say a lot about Randy Orton but he’s a multi-time champion and one hell of a performer. When he’s on; he’s on. When The Viper is in the ring, you got to be careful cause he can strike. But let him strike first, I’ll be the one to strike last.
CraveOnline: How much influence do you have in deciding your wrestling gear?
Roman Reigns: As long as I don’t go crazy, its all me. What I’m wearing for Summer Slam, I’m pretty excited about. Its kind of the same template of vest. It’s just a different set up. Probably by Wrestlemania, I’ll debut a whole different type of vest. It’s really cool to have cool gear.
CraveOnline: Yeah, I’d say you have the coolest gear in the ring. Its not jean shorts… or underwear.
Roman Reigns: No offense to [John] Cena. To be honest, the cool thing about Cena is he’s just in his gear all the time. He doesn’t have to get dressed. He comes off his bus and he’s it. All he has to do is pull up his kneepads. You know who is kind of a new Cena is Ambrose. Ambrose can show up in his gear like he just changes his boots. He puts on a different set of combat boots and he’s ready to go. I always joke with him that he’s the new Cena as far as gear.
CraveOnline: How far in advance are you made aware of a wrestling angle or the direction creative is taking you?
Roman Reigns: It varies. Due to how brutal our jobs are, you just never know. If Daniel Bryan doesn’t go down, I may not have the opportunity that I have now. You just never know when an opportunity is going to change everything and completely derail what the timeline was. Sometimes you know but you can never stick to that. You’re only as good as your last performance so you just have to be on your toes.
CraveOnline: What’s the process you go through before a match to get amped up?
Roman Reigns: My process is walking down to the locker room, laying everything out to how I like it. I’m very particular about setting up my bags and my dressing situation. I love to pull out that portable speaker and blare music even if nobody else likes it. To me, its just keeping everything the same every single night.
WWE has finally announced a SummerSlam “Kickoff Show” match for this Sunday, as Rob Van Dam will take on Cesaro during the 30-minute pre-show that airs prior to SummerSlam on the WWE Network.
With that now known, below is a look at the finalized card for this Sunday night.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Divas Championship
– AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Lumberjack Match
– Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Flag Match
– Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Harper & Rowan Banned From Ringside – Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
– Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella
– Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
Kickoff Show Match
– Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
Make sure to join us here on the website this Sunday night for the best WWE SummerSlam live results coverage on the web!
The following are highlights of a CBS Los Angeles interview with Roman Reigns:
On if he has any ambitions to work in Hollywood: “I’m willing to try anything and gain a little experience in anything. Is it something that is a big goal of mine? I can’t say that it is right now because I’m so caught up in WWE. (I’m) trying to be the face of this company and the top guy and have the WWE World Championship.”
On a message he has for Sting: “For his sake, if he steps in the ring, I hope he stays away from me. I’m not the guy to run into these days. I think it’s pretty cool just to be on the (SummerSlam) panel with him. Just to chat and BS a little bit with all those guys. It’s going to be a good time and anything can happen. But if he steps in the ring, he’s a seasoned veteran, he knows what he’s doing. But there’s a whole bunch of youngins on this roster that are hungry and we’re not trying to give any space for anybody else.”
The following are highlights of a new IGN interview with Roman Reigns:
IGN: And how about heading into your first-ever singles SummerSlam match?
Reigns: I’m excited, man. It’s a great opportunity to me. I have a really strong opponent in Randy Orton. A former multi-time world champion. He’s held just about every title under the sun. And he’s done it all in a major way. He’s basically wreaked havoc and ran roughshod over the WWE for quite some time. Some people might forget that. Not the Viper part, but that for many years he was running the show. The biggest bad guy in town. So I couldn’t have a better platform and a bigger stepping stone than I have at SummerSlam.
IGN: Over the past couple Pay-Per-Views, you’ve had world title opportunities. Some people say you’re not ready yet while others think you are. What do you have to say about that?
Reigns: Everyone has an opinion. That’s just a crazy part of this world now. You can type things on the internet. You can have no credentials in any area and just get on your smart phone and write whatever you want. For me, I know me. I know who I am. I know where I come from and where I want to go. I know I’m 100% ready.
Everyone else seems to have an opinion, and claim to know, whether I am or I’m not. I would love to see all the people who run their mouths try and do what I do. Because they can’t. I’m special and then men that I work with are extremely special. We were built, and I was born, to handle situations the way I do. I’ve always been the type who can be thrown in the fire and make it out. So I was ready six months ago. I was ready a year ago. Any time I’m given an opportunity, I feel I’m ready.
IGN: Your run with The Shield is done now, but you still have the Shield music and the entrance that takes you down through the crowd. Rollins and Ambrose got new theme music. Did you want a new track and a new entrance?
Reigns: No, I enjoy walking through the crowd. I think that’s a cool part of the show. And I think it’s become a bit of a signature trademark of the show. I would think now too that after my whole run with The Shield that the value of those seats have gone up. Before they were just seats. Now you can actually interact. When we would all walk down the steps, there were three guys there right up close. You could touch us. You could smell us. You know what I mean? We were right there. It’s not a common opportunity.
If there’s a certain Superstar who doesn’t want to touch hands, he can just walked down the middle of the entrance ramp and nobody’s close to him. When I’m walking down through the crowd, I have no choice. People are going to grab me. They’ll get a sense of me up close and my real size. So it’s a whole different experience. I’m very grateful to have kept that part. And for me it was an obvious choice. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
– On Saturday night, WWE will hold one of their biggest live events in a while, as the crew heads to San Jose, California for a show that features both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Also scheduled for the show is John Cena, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho.
– In addition to Triple H, who we posted about earlier today, CM Punk also took part in the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” You can check out a video of Punk getting a cold bucket of ice water splashed on himself below.
The following matches were taped on Tuesday night in Seattle, Washington for tonight’s WWE SummerSlam “go-home” edition of SmackDown on SyFy:
– Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro
– Dolph Ziggler vs. Titus O’Neil
– Mark Henry vs. Luke Harper
– Mark Henry & Big Show vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan
– A.J. Lee vs. Eva Marie non-title
– Jack Swagger vs. Bo Dallas
– Roman Reigns vs. The Miz
It is believed that we will see some hints towards the direction heading into WrestleMania 31 at Sunday night’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
If Brock Lesnar wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena, the belief is that he will remain champion until next year’s WrestleMania, where it is expected that he will drop it to Roman Reigns, resulting in the climax of Reigns’ push as WWE’s new top Superstar.
Another key to Sunday’s show is that WWE needs a strong build coming out of the event and heading into Night Of Champions, because many of the initial six-month WWE Network subscriptions are set to expire in September, so WWE will need to give a strong incentive for fans to re-subscribe.
The hottest event of the summer is practically hours away at this point. The card is set, the matches have been hyped, and it’s time to sit back and enjoy the show (after making a few predictions, of course). Here are my predictions for this Sunday’s pay-per-view.
AJ Lee (Divas Champion) vs. Paige
Paige has been a thorn in AJ Lee’s side since arriving on the main roster, especially since turning heel. She has had the upper hand on the champ over the past few weeks, even pushing her off of the stage on SmackDown at one point. Although Paige has been booked strong, the company realizes AJ Lee is the most marketable Diva on the roster right now. She retains after forcing Paige to tap out to the Black Widow.
Result: AJ Lee by submission
The Miz (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Since his return, the Miz has sort of fallen flat with the audience, especially since picking up the title at last month’s Battleground. Over the past year, it’s safe to assume Dolph Ziggler will lose any match of even moderate significance, but this could be different, as he has been booked strong and is still over with the fans.
The company is trying to promote the Miz’s dud of a movie that will soon be gracing dollar bins across the country, but I think they realize his title reign isn’t catching on. Dolph Ziggler will pick up the upset victory on Sunday after hitting a Zig Zag in what will likely be one of the shorter matches on the card.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler by pinfall
Jack Swagger vs. Rusev (Flag Match)
Call me crazy, but this is perhaps my most anticipated match on the card. The feud has been built very well and given adequate time to develop. Fans still aren’t entirely sure of what the rules will be for this one, but I’m assuming it’s going to involve the winning wrestler grabbing his country’s flag and waving it proudly in the center of the ring to end the contest.
This is the perfect opportunity for Swagger to go over Rusev and extend the feud a bit longer. He doesn’t have to pin the Bulgarian Brute to win so he won’t look as weak as he would if he lost via pinfall or submission. Expect the managers to also play a role in this one, and expect Swagger to walk out victorious to set up a rubber match at Night of Champions.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
Much like the Rusev/Swagger feud, this program has also been given a proper build. The promo/interview the two cut last week on Raw was awesome and really hyped the match well.
Jericho won last month after hitting Wyatt with a Code Breaker. It will be even tougher for Wyatt this time around, as both Harper and Rowan are banned from ringside. This will likely be a back-and-forth contest with several near falls, with the in-ring work hopefully being a little more polished than last month’s affair. There’s no way Wyatt loses again, however, and will walk out victorious after forcing Y2J to succumb to Sister Abigail.
Last night’s Raw was held in Portland, Oregon and featured a crowd packed with hipsters, a few memorable contests, and the nWo reunion that had been teased on social media all week leading into the event.
The show was the “go-home” edition of Raw and was the final build for Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. As always, a few questions were answered, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following Monday’s Raw.
5. Is Corporate Kane Back Permanently?
Kane was back in his suit and tie this week on Raw, having once again handed in his mask on last week’s episode. The Demon made a match between Roman Reigns and RybAxel before departing for the locker room.
My question is simple: Does Kane have anything left in the tank with his corporate character? It seems the company doesn’t know what to do with him, as he has shifted back and forth between demon and corporate Kane over the past few months. If Kane is going to become a permanent fixture in the Authority storyline, hopefully something worthwhile comes of it, because it otherwise simply results in a convoluted storyline.
4. Where Have the Usos Been?
The Usos were absent from Raw this past week (other than the announcers issuing an open challenge on their behalf for tonight’s Main Event), and with SummerSlam only a few days away, they are also noticeably absent from the pay-per-view card. There are rumors of a fatal four-way tag team contest being put together for the pre-show, but nothing has been confirmed thus far.
With the Usos having defeated basically every tag team on the roster and holding the titles for most of the year, I think it is time for the brothers to drop the titles. Nothing against the Usos, but they have fought everyone on the roster and their run is quickly becoming stale. It appeared the titles were going to be put on the Wyatt Family a few weeks back, but the Usos prevailed. Hopefully a title change can shake up an otherwise stagnant tag team division.
– It was announced on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW that on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, The Miz will host a “MizTV” segment with special guest Roman Reigns.
– Below is the one-on-one interview between Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho from Monday’s SummerSlam “go-home” edition of WWE RAW.
– Despite recent speculation, as of this weekend, Sting has not been officially booked for Monday’s “Hulk Hogan Birthday Celebration” at WWE RAW in Portland, Oregon.
– Roman Reigns is featured on the latest edition of WWE’s “30 Seconds Of Fury.” You can check that out below.