– There has been talk over the past few days that WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee vs. Naomi will be added to Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. This will depend on WWE’s scripting of the show and how much time is available for another singles match.
– Creative plans for Hulk Hogan’s return to WWE television have been finalized. It’s unknown at this time when Hogan will be appearing, but he’s expected to have a prominent role at WrestleMania XXX.
It also seems likely that WWE could use Hogan to make a final ‘hard sell’ for the WWE Network, which launches on February 24th.
– WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony tickets are selling well. As of Tuesday morning, only upper deck tickets are available for the New Orleans Arena.
– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown and Main Event tapings will take place from Grand Rapids, Michigan. R-Truth vs. Damien Sandow will take place on Main Event, while Big Show and Rey Mysterio will square off against The Real Americans on SmackDown. Check back later tonight for spoiler results of both shows.
– As previously reported, both Sheamus and Chris Jericho will be be appearing at the World Of Wheels auto convention from Pittsburgh, PA, the host city of the 2014 Royal Rumble.
– It was announced on WWE RAW on Monday night that CM Punk will be the number one entrant in this Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble match.
– For the second week in a row, NXT Diva Emma appeared in the crowd on WWE RAW. Emma was shown on-camera during RAW once again holding her “#Emmataining” sign.
It was announced at the Royal Rumble “go-home” edition of RAW on Monday night that at this Sunday’s pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan will take on Bray Wyatt in one-on-one action. It was also revealed the Erick Rowan and Luke Harper are new participants in the 2014 Royal Rumble match.
With that now known, here is the updated official lineup thus far:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
Singles Match
– Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
Singles Match
– Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt
Royal Rumble Participants: Batista, Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Big E Langston, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, C.M. Punk, Fandango, Rey Mysterio, Wade Barrett, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.
Royal Rumble Kickoff Show
WWE World Tag-Team Championships
– Goldust & Cody Rhodes (c) vs. The New Age Outlaws
Make sure to join us this Sunday for the best Royal Rumble live results coverage on the web.
Batista returned to WWE on Monday’s RAW, confronting Randy Orton and declaring that he’s back for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Batista said he plans on winning the 2014 Royal Rumble and will then go on to headline WrestleMania XXX.
It was revealed during the Royal Rumble “go-home” edition of WWE RAW on Monday night that this Sunday’s Royal Rumble “Kickoff Show” expert panel will feature three legendary WWE Superstars.
Joining Josh Mathews on the pay-per-view pre-show on the panel will be “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.
As previously reported, the Royal Rumble “Kickoff Show” match will be Goldust and Cody Rhodes defending their WWE Tag-Team Championships against The New Age Outlaws.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has posted a new blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Batista’s Return To WWE: “Monday Night Raw marks the return of Batista. Dave has been away from WWE doing film work, etc for around 4 years. His return is going to be perceived by the TV viewer/WWE fan only as big as it’s made to be tonight on live television. The pressures on. When will Batista be first re-introduced on the show? If it’s me, I’d consider doing it in the last segment of the broadcast.
Establish that Batista is in the arena and then facilitate him making a major impact on night one. Much like the slogan being utilized on the WWE Network, go over the top. Certainly Batista could be paraded out to the live audience earlier and then, later, have him do a heroic run on to garner another ‘pop’ as there are always multiple ways to do something the right way in the world of entertainment and in sports.
WWE’s Promotion of The Royal Rumble: “How WWE strategically produces tonight’s broadcast has me especially anxious to watch it. There are many stories to forward all the while getting one last shot on their franchise broadcast to sell PPV’s for Sunday’s Royal Rumble. One thing for sure is that the Rumble Match needs a lot of promotional love tonight.”
Brock Lesnar & Big Show: “Brock Lesnar is scheduled to be on RAW tonight and that rare appearance can’t be taken for granted and requires creating water cooler talk in some regard. Brock is too much of an investment and has too few dates to have a pedestrian appearance for Lesnar who’s preparing to face Big Show this Sunday. Brock vs. Show needs another log on the fire.”
WWE has confirmed a match featuring Goldust and Cody Rhodes vs. The New Age Outlaws for the WWE Tag-Team Championships for this Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view pre-show.
With that now known, here is a look at the updated card:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
Singles Match
– Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
Royal Rumble Participants: Batista, Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Big E Langston, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, C.M. Punk, Fandango, Rey Mysterio, Wade Barrett, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose
Royal Rumble Kickoff Show
WWE World Tag-Team Championships
– Goldust & Cody Rhodes (c) vs. The New Age Outlaws
Make sure to join us this Sunday for the best Royal Rumble live results coverage on the web.
This week on Because Wrestling, we talk about Mae Young’s passing, this past week’s Raw events, give our predictions for WWE Royal Rumble, and update you on the WWE Network countdown! (more…)
– It was announced on Friday’s SmackDown that all 3 members of The Shield will be entrants in the 2014 Royal Rumble match. Here’s the updated list of confirm entrants (14 remaining):
– Batista
– CM Punk
– Roman Reigns
– Dean Ambrose
– Seth Rollins
– Alberto Del Rio
– Big E. Langston
– Goldust
– Cody Rhodes
– Rey Mysterio
– The Miz
– Bad News Barrett
– Kofi Kingston
– R-Truth
– Xavier Woods
– Fandango
– The official WWE website has added a new video playlist featuring many of John Cena’s recent media appearances promoting his “BodyChange” workout. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– Speaking of new WWE playlists, the official WWE website has added a video looking at some past comical Royal Rumble moments. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– The WWE Shop website has added new Ultimate Warrior merchandise, as well as some retro Batista merchandise. You can check out all that WWE has to offer at WWEShop.com.
Bourne has been out of action for almost two years. After being suspended in early 2014 due to a violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy, he was involved in a serious car accident in March of 2012 and broke his foot in four different places.
– WWE Superstar Justin Gabriel revealed on Twitter that he won’t be part of this year’s Royal Rumble match:
It was announced at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings that Bad News Barrett and all 3 members of The Shield will compete in the 2014 WWE Royal Rumble match. Here is the updated card:
* WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena (Pinfall or Submission)
* Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
* 30 Man Royal Rumble Match (14 More Entrants TBA)
– Batista
– CM Punk
– Roman Reigns
– Dean Ambrose
– Seth Rollins
– Alberto Del Rio
– Big E. Langston
– Goldust
– Cody Rhodes
– Rey Mysterio
– The Miz
– Bad News Barrett
– Kofi Kingston
– R-Truth
– Xavier Woods
– Fandango
Busted Open satellite radio show with Roman Reigns
Host: Dave Lagreca, Doug Mortman, and Mike Riker
Airs Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Sirius 92 and XM 92 from 2-4 ET
On being the only member of The Shield to beat CM Punk; if there are any cracks in The Shield: The match as far as me beating CM Punk that’s– that’s something everybody’s going to have to get used to. Me taking down a lot of the top superstars, on my own. As far as cracks in The Shield–you know I don’t see it as a “weak link” type thing. I think the match up, you know like; it’s a very similar match up between Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and CM Punk. They’re all very technical-sound wrestlers. I bring something a bit different to the table. I’m a heavy hitting brawler. CM Punk tried to go toe-to-toe with me in that regard and it failed for him.
On if he looks at himself as a standout member of The Shield since being voted Most Improved Wrester by the Busted Open Nation: I don’t look at it too much–read into that type of stuff too much but I do agree with it; you know what I’m saying? When you wrestle as much we do; we like to consider ourselves the backbone of the company. Without us, all these dates that we’re able to do; they’re just not going to be possible. We’re the guys that do the dirty work. We’re there every single day. We don’t miss a show. There’s no weekends off for us. So I think that’s a huge contribution to my improvement. Anytime you can work on your craft; week in and week out; and focus on it, you’re gonna get better at anything. So for me, it was just apart of the process. Traveling with Seth and Dean, wrestling everyday with those guys; your grandma could get better at wrestling if she was able to do that.
On what would be his focus if he were to find himself next to his partners in the Royal Rumble: Oh that’s simple. We’re all in there together. Nothing changes for us. It’s business as usual. We’re gonna eliminate everybody and we’re going to do it with the most efficient teamwork possible. And then once we get to where it’s us three we’re gonna have to figure that out then. The gloves may come off or maybe we’ll make a stand. Maybe we’ll do something no one’s ever done before. We walk out of that sucker; who knows? That’s gonna have to be up to everybody to tune in and pay attention. Cause we’re gonna put on a good show.
On what is his goal for 2014: I think just to stay on the track that I’m on. Continue to dominate in these singles opportunities I get. And then when the right opportunity presents itself, I’d like to capture a singles title. There’s plenty of room in The Shield for another singles title; if not two more. I know Seth is thinking the exact same thing. And that’s what makes us money is we’re all on the same page as far as where we’re trying to go. If you’re not trying to climb to the top; if you’re not on that ladder; you’re in trouble, man. You might as well just stay over there by the water cooler and watch us dominate. So if we can get a couple of singles titles along with that US title; that’ll be key for us in 2014.
His thoughts on the WWE Network: I mean just groundbreaking stuff. This is something for a damn near century we’ve been working towards. Since pro wrestling started and then evolved into Sports Entertainment. This is kind of what we’ve been pushing towards for years and years now. For the WWE, that was really the next step; to broadcast and advertise under our own name. So it’s a big, big moment for our company. And I’m sure nothing but the best is lined up in our future.
His thoughts on possibly being the “face” of the company in 2014: I don’t know about the “face” of the company. That’s kind of being used right now. I’d like to come up with something a little more fresh. You know Randy Orton is doing that whole “face” of the company thing. I think I’m better than him so if we can get a one upper situation, that’s—maybe the “backbone” of the company. Maybe the “balls” of the company. Something cool like that, you know? I don’t know about the “face” of the company. Maybe the “man” of the company. That sounds about right.
– Today marks 212 days that AJ Lee has held the WWE Divas Championship. She will pass Maryse’s reign of 216 later this week.
– Vince McMahon and George Barrios will host a conference call this morning at 11am EST to discuss the WWE Network. Check back later for our full report of the call.
-Fandango has been added to the 2014 WWE Royal Rumble match. Here’s an updated list of the confirm entrants:
– CM Punk
– Batista
– Big E Langston
– Cody Rhodes
– Goldust
– Rey Mysterio
– Alberto Del Rio
– Kofi Kingston
– The Miz
– R-Truth
– Xavier Woods
– In addition to the previously reported names added to the Royal Rumble on RAW this past Monday night, it was also revealed during the show that CM Punk will be an official entrant in the match.
– One of the main events for this week’s SmackDown was revealed during WWE RAW on Monday night. In a non-title match, Attitude Era greats The New Age Outlaws will square off against the WWE Tag-Team Champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes.
As previously reported in a spoiler article based off of Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown television taping in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar’s match at the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 26th is now confirmed to be a one-on-one match against Big Show.
The Lesnar-Big Show match was made official during SmackDown this week, as Lesnar’s on-air manager Paul Heyman accepted the match against Big Show on his behalf during a MizTV segment.
With the Lesnar-Show match now official, here is the updated official lineup for the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view:
WWE Royal Rumble Match
– Confirmed participants thus far: Batista and Alberto Del Rio
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
– The full WWE NXT episode from this past Wednesday night, January 8, 2014, has been added to the Hulu website. In addition to the WWE NXT wrestlers featured, WWE main roster Superstars Tyson Kidd and Xavier Woods, along with WWE Diva Summer Rae, are all in action on this week’s show.
Those interested in checking out this week’s WWE NXT episode can do so at Hulu.com.
– WWE has added the latest “Top 10” video to their official YouTube channel. The latest “Top 10” installment is called, “Royal Rumble Fails – WWE Top 10.”
The video, which you can watch below, is accompanied by the following description: “Anything can and will happen in the Royal Rumble and that includes some epic fails! Check out the top 10 Royal Rumble fails including Santino Marella, Dolph Ziggler and even the Undertaker!”
– Former WWE announcer and ESPN host Todd Grisham celebrates his 38th birthday today. Grisham was born on January 9, 1976.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley joked on Twitter that the content during his comedy shows scheduled for this weekend may not make WWE too happy. Foley tweeted:
I'm pretty sure this week's shows are going to get me fired from @WWE. Should be fun!
– WWE has added the following video to their official YouTube channel featuring bloopers from the shoot of the WWE Royal Rumble 2014 commercial. The video, which you can watch below, is accompanied by the following description: “Randy Orton, Goldust and other WWE Superstars come unhinged in these outtakes from the 2014 Royal Rumble speed dating commercial.”
WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who returned at Old School RAW this past Monday night, posted the following update on his official Twitter account regarding his future with WWE. Jake tweeted:
Only time I will answer this. As of this moment, I don’t know @StingerForLife Between you & me will there be more magic like last monday…
Speaking of Roberts, he recently spoke about his Old School RAW appearance, Royal Rumble aspirations and the WWE Network announcement in a new video chat with veteran wrestling journalist Bill Apter. You can check that video out below:
– Following the ratings success of Monday’s Old School RAW, WWE is planning to make the themed show an annual event every January.
– According to a source in WWE, Jake “The Snake” Roberts is a lock to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame during WrestleMania XXX weekend in April. There is still no definitive word as to whether or not Roberts will appear in the Royal Rumble match later this month.
At Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings, it was announced that Brock Lesnar will face Big Show at the Royal Rumble. With that match set, here’s the updated card:
* 30 Man Royal Rumble (Batista, Del Rio & 28 more entrants)
* WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena (Pinfall or Submission only)
– Following the second consecutive week of being attacked on RAW by Brock Lesnar, WWE is reporting that Mark Henry suffered a dislocated and fractured elbow due to the kimura that Lesnar applied to him at Old School RAW.
– WWE added the following video promo hyping the announcement that Batista will be an official participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble match: