Tag: Rusev

  • Lana’s Push To Be Halted In Favor Of Eva Marie?

    WWE is gearing up to give Eva Marie a big push in the coming weeks at the expense of Lana, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

    After getting over in a big way as Rusev’s manager and more recently as his rival and Dolph Ziggler’s love interest, it appears WWE is getting ready to pull back on Lana’s push in favor of Eva Marie.

    Eva Marie has been training hard to improve her in-ring work, which has been universally mocked by the WWE Universe since she started with the company. Higher ups in WWE are looking to feature Eva Marie as one of the cornerstones of the Divas revolution, with the storyline being Eva Marie took the rejection from fans to heart and it drove her to work hard and become Divas champion.

    Many fans have been calling for Lana to be reunited with Rusev, since both of them saw the most success when they were paired together. During a recent workout video clip published by WWE, Lana teased that she’s been working on her own in-ring work and sent a message to the other Divas that she’s becoming a threat they need to watch out for.

    It remains to be seen if Lana does eventually become an active competitor, but expect to see some pullback on how much TV time she’s been getting.

  • Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman Announced For MSG Live Event In October

    WWE has announced that Brock Lesnar will be working the October 3rd live event from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

    Currently, there is no word on who Lesnar will be wrestling, however we can confirm that Paul Heyman will also be part of the show, which is Lesnar’s first domestic live event since returning to WWE back in 2012.

    Also announced for the show is John Cena vs. Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev, Randy Orton vs. Sheamus and an appearance by Chris Jericho.

  • Backstage News On WWE Demoting Kevin Owens To “Upper Mid-Card Position”

    As seen on Monday’s post-Battleground edition of WWE RAW, former NXT Champion Kevin Owens was one of the wrestlers involved in breaking up the brawl between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, a spot usually designed for lower to mid-card talent.

    Since beating John Cena at the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in May, Owens has not had a televised victory over a main event talent. In fact, Owens’ last win on television — excluding NXT — was at the June 16th SmackDown television taping, where he pinned Cesaro.

    Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez reported on Tuesday that Owens has been dropped to an “upper mid-card position” due to the fact that WWE officials do not see him being on the level of Cena, Randy Orton or Seth Rollins.

    Based on recent storylines, it appears that Owens will be feuding with Cesaro and Rusev for the foreseeable future.

  • King Barrett Returning To “Bad News” Gimmick?, Lana’s In-Ring Status, NXT Brooklyn

    – Lana is being advertised to team with Dolph Ziggler against the team of Rusev and Summer Rae in mixed-tag-team action at the WWE live event in Hampton, Virginia on September 4th. Also scheduled for the event is Sheamus defending his Money In The Bank briefcase in one-on-one action against Neville, as well as John Cena vs. Kevin Owens in a “Street Fight.”

    – The NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on August 22nd from the Bayclays Center is close to being sold out, as more tickets for the event were released on Saturday afternoon. The event will likely end up drawing 10,000 or more fans, making it the biggest NXT event to date.

    – WWE banned the name “Wade” in reference to King Barrett a while back, which is why Barrett no longer uses it. There’s been speculation that Barrett will go back to the “Bad News” gimmick after Battleground tonight, as his “Crown” is on the line in his Kickoff Show match against R-Truth.

  • Jim Ross Q&A: Scripted Promos, Cesaro/Rusev, GFW & TNA Working Together

    WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official Q&A section, answering questions from fans on a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights.

    On if WWE will induct The Honky Tonk Man: “I have no idea. In my eyes HTM is certainly a WWE HOFer. All we can do is stay tuned.”

    On Cesaro vs. Rusev from RAW: “Thought the match overachieved and was entertaining. No wasted motion. Happy for all involved.”

    On WWE going with Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall at WrestleMania 18: “I have no idea as that’s been 13 years ago. The storyline featured the nWo, so that was the direction that was taken.”

    On why there aren’t as many good mic workers: “Some guys have potential but they will be challenged to find their voice as long as their promos are scripted for them.”

    On TNA and GFW’s working relationship: “I have no idea but anything is possible and the two organizations working together is a timely idea.”

    On GFW having tournaments to decide their first-ever champions: “Time will tell, but having tournaments is the natural way to determine champions in a new promotion. I hope GFW succeeds. The titles will help establish the personalities.”

    Check out more JR Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

  • Kevin Owens Talks Battleground, Neville/Stardust, Mundo On Austin’s Podcast

    – Lucha Underground star Johnny Mundo (aka John Morrison) is the guest on the latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast, which you can download right now at PodcastOne.com.

    – On this week’s SmackDown Fallout videos, which you can view below, Kevin Owens predicts victory at WWE Battleground this Sunday, Neville calls Stardust a coward, Cesaro talks about defeating Rusev and Mark Henry offers advice to the WWE Tag-Team Champions, The Prime Time Players.

  • Doctors Tell Sabu To Retire, Rusev Tests His New Boots Out, More

    – Sabu, who is currently suffering from two broken bones in his shoulder, was told by doctors that he should retire. The ECW Original, however, decided instead to fly to Europe to work more independent wrestling dates.

    – This week’s edition of SmackDown Fallout features Rusev and Summer Rae after Rusev “tested out his new boots” on Fandango. Check it out below.

  • Chris Jericho Suffers Neck Injury In Japan, Rumored WWE Battleground Matches

    – Chris Jericho suffered a neck injury during his match in Japan with Neville this past weekend. The injury happened when Jericho caught Neville on a dive spot. Originally, the injury was believed to be a serious one, however he has reportedly recovered from it already and is under the belief that it will be completely gone in a few days.

    – In addition to the announced matches for this month’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view, Randy Orton vs. Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev and Nikki Bella vs. Paige are expected. While Bella-Paige isn’t official yet, we can confirm that it was on the books for the event as recent as a week ago. In the case of Ziggler and Rusev, WWE is doing an angle where Ziggler is “out indefinitely,” so they might hold off on that match.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • Dolph Ziggler Out Of Action Indefinitely After Storyline Attack On RAW

    As we reported on Tuesday, the storyline after Monday’s RAW angle was that Dolph Ziggler was “rushed to a local hospital” after suffering a “throat injury” during the attack he suffered at the hands of Rusev.

    WWE has since updated their official statement on Ziggler and noted that he is “out of action indefinitely” and is suffering from a “severely bruised trachea.”

    WWE’s statement now reads as follows:

    “Further evaluation by medical staff revealed that Ziggler is suffering from a severely bruised trachea. He was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon after being monitored overnight to make sure his windpipe didn’t close. He is having issues talking and swallowing and will be out indefinitely.”

  • WWE RAW Fallout Shows Dolph Ziggler After Rusev Attack, Tyson Kidd Update

    – WWE posted the following Fallout video showing Dolph Ziggler being taken into the back of an ambulance after being attacked by Rusev.

    WWE.com posted an injury update which reads:

    “Dolph Ziggler was rushed to a nearby medical facility after an attack by Rusev on Raw, WWE.com has learned. The Bulgarian Brute slammed a crutch across Ziggler’s throat, causing trainers to tend to The Showoff and take him out of the arena on a stretcher after the vicious assault.”

    – Following his surgery on his injured neck last week, Tyson Kidd posted the following update on Twitter, while his wife Natalya shared a photo of the pair together on Instagram:

    https://instagram.com/p/4z4ANzy1Fh/

  • 5 Things John Cena Hasn’t Accomplished Yet, Rusev Continues To Taunt Lana & More

    WWE.com has published a new feature looking 5 things John Cena has not yet accomplished yet in his career, including an IC Title reign, winning King of the Ring, matching Ric Flair’s 16 World Title reigns and more.

    – After Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings from Lafayette, Louisiana, Dean Ambrose defeated Bray Wyatt with Dirty Deeds.

    – Rusev continues to taunt Lana on Twitter. She posted an update on her ankle and Rusev replied with the following:

    – Vince McMahon has Tweeted the following to hype Tough Enough:

  • Update On WWE Tough Enough Filming, Rusev Threatens Lana, RAW Note

    – The final 40 contestants for the new season of WWE Tough Enough are flying to Orlando today to begin filming at the WWE Performance Center. Talents were informed that the cameras will be rolling as soon as they arrive. The filming that is going on today will be included in the WWE Network special that will air on the show next week.

    – WWE is scheduled to return to New Orleans, the site of last night’s edition of RAW, for another RAW show on January 11, 2016. A pre-sale for tickets is going on right now with the password: WWERAW.

    – Following last night’s RAW angle where Rusev caused Lana to suffer an ankle injury, Rusev has taken to social media to taunt and threaten Lana. Check out Rusev’s tweet from Tuesday morning below.

  • Rusev Injury Update: Will He Wear Boots From Now On?, Innocent Bystanders In WWE

    – It is still unclear what specific injury Rusev suffered last week, although it is either a broken foot or a broken ankle, and he suffered the injury when he took a bump over the top rope during his May 26th SmackDown match against Ryback.

    According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is a possibility that Rusev may be forced to wrestle in traditional wrestling boots, as opposed to wrestling bare foot, as a way to prevent similar injuries from taking place in the future.

    – The latest edition of WWE Top 10, which you can check out below, looks at innocent bystanders in WWE.

  • Daniel Bryan’s Status For RAW, Returning Star Backstage, Rusev Out Indefinitely

    – NXT star Hideo Itami is in Japan this week to promote WWE’s live events tour of the country scheduled for next month. After recently undergoing shoulder surgery, Itami will be out of action 6-8 months.

    – Daniel Bryan is scheduled to for tonight’s WWE RAW. Bryan announced last night that his in-ring career is not over and will likely be there to promote his new DVD/Blu-Ray set, which will be released tomorrow.

    – Big Show is currently backstage at the site of tonight’s RAW. No word on if he’ll be appearing on TV, but he’s expected to be back in action soon.

    – There is currently no timeframe for Rusev’s return. He injured his foot at last week’s SmackDown tapings.

    – Former WWE Superstar Trevor Murdoch has been working for Harley Race’s World League Wrestling promotion, which is based out of Missouri.

    (Source: PWInsider.com)

  • Rusev Expected At Elimination Chamber, The Rock’s Movie Does Great, Chris Jericho

    – As noted earlier today, Rusev’s status for tonight’s Elimination Chamber Intercontinental Championship match is still in question. If he is unable to work an actual match, however, he is still expected to appear on the show.

    – The Rock’s new movie “San Andreas” is up to $55 million for its’ opening weekend, doing better than most estimates and giving Rock his biggest movie opening weekend numbers excluding the “Fast & Furious” franchise.

    – The Tampa Tribune has a new piece up today on Chris Jericho, which focuses more on his career outside of the pro wrestling business. You can check it out at TBO.com.

  • Latest Update On Rusev’s Status For Tonight’s WWE Elimination Chamber PPV

    As noted, Rusev suffered an injury during his match at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown television taping, leaving his status for tonight’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in question.

    Rusev did not work any of the WWE live events this weekend and no update has become available on his condition, so unless we hear something in the next few hours, we will find out Rusev’s status for the show during the event itself.

    If Rusev is unable to compete, Bray Wyatt is scheduled to be his replacement in the Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber match.

    Make sure to join us here tonight at SEScoops.com for the best WWE Elimination Chamber live results coverage on the web!

  • Triple H To Eat A Lot Of Food (Photo), Rusev Injury Note, NXT

    – WWE will be holding a NXT live event tonight at the Venice Community Center in Venice, Florida. If anyone is attending the show, feel free to send in a report.

    – WWE is also holding a live event tonight at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The scheduled main event is John Cena vs. Rusev in a steel cage match, although it will likely end up being Cena vs. Kane in a cage instead due to the fact that Rusev is nursing an injury. As noted, Rusev’s status for Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber is still in question.

    – Triple H showed off the next three days worth of food he plans to eat in a new photo posted on his official Twitter account. You can check out the picture below.

  • Neville On Working With Rollins & Cena, His Feud With Barrett, Elimination Chamber

    WWE Superstar Neville recently spoke with the U.K. Mirror to promote this Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Below are some of the highlights from the interview

    On facing Seth Rollins on his second RAW appearance: “It’s crazy and I think to be given that opportunity so early on, it’s very, very flattering and I think it’s testimony to the faith they have in me. There are opportunities that I want to grab with both hands and run with and I feel like I did that to a certain extent. It’s very gratifying to be able to do that, to get an opportunity like that and to be able to perform well, on that level in front of the world, it’s really quite cool. For me personally, for my career, I think it was priceless. I’m very fortunate to get that chance.”

    On his match with John Cena before Rusev interfered: “I know mate, it’s hard to believe. Honestly I have to pinch myself. I’m just trying to enjoy it – these are memories I will have for the rest of my life. I’m really just enjoying every step of the way and whether I beat John Cena or Seth Rollins or whoever, anytime I go out there I make the most of whatever is thrown at me and I’m going to enjoy it at the same time. It’s been the most incredible couple of months in my life. I’m just hoping it continues, it’s been quite unreal.”

    On his feud with Bad News Barrett: “I was very happy to be able to do that. I’m a very proud Englishman, I came up through British wrestling, through the independents in Britain, and what we’ve seen in Britain is something really special. There is a lot of great talent out there so to be able to represent that on the big stage is something I take very seriously, something I’m very proud of, that is very important to me. To be doing it with someone like King Barrett who is an exceptional talent himself and has achieved a lot of success in WWE, I felt like it was a really good test for me. Also to represent England both of us together I felt was a real privilege and I think Barrett felt the same. We’re both very proud of where we’re from so it’s very cool to be able to do that.”

    On his match at Sunday’s Elimination Chamber PPV: “I think Bo is certainly one of the most underrated superstars on Raw and SmackDown. I think a lot of the time maybe he gets overlooked because maybe he is a bit deluded and a bit of an eccentric character! But the fact of the matter is, when it comes to in-ring action, performing and competing, Bo can certainly go. We have a lot of history and I know what he is capable of. We had some really grueling matches in NXT that really tested me and I’m looking forward to doing the same on Sunday. I think we’re both ready for the challenge and we could both certainly do with the victory.”

    On if he had any input in his ring entrance in WWE: “Yeah, I actually had a lot of input. That was a concept I came up with along with a few of the agents. We thought it would be cool. The concept is that it’s like every time I appear on the stage it’s almost as if I have been shot down from somewhere in space, like I’m a meteor that arrives on Earth. More than anything it’s a cool concept and then I got together with the production team and stage crew and we bounced ideas around. I don’t know if you’ve noticed the first few weeks we were kind of hashing around trying different things and I feel like now we’ve really got it down. We’ve got the pyro and the ziplines that look like the meteor hitting Earth and it’s a very cool visual that I’m very happy with.”

    Check out the complete interview at Mirror.co.uk.

  • WWE To Do Angle Between Stephen Amell & Stardust, SmackDown Preview, More

    – Actor Stephen Amell of “Arrow” fame has expressed interest in guest hosting and possibly even wrestling in the past. The actor shot a brief angle with Stardust while attending RAW this past Monday night and now we can confirm that WWE is looking at doing a program of sorts between Amell and Stardust.

    – WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins is celebrating his 29th birthday today. Rollins was born on May 28, 1986. Also celebrating birthdays today are WWE legend Kamala (65), former WWE Tag-Team Champion Chaz “Headbanger Mosh” Warrington (44) and Randy Orton’s uncle, former WWE Superstar Barry Orton (57).

    – WWE taped the following matches this past Tuesday night for tonight’s edition of SmackDown.

    Lumberjack Match: Sin Cara and Kalisto vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
    R-Truth vs. King Barrett
    Rusev vs. Ryback
    Paige vs. Naomi
    Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Kane and Seth Rollins
    Michael Cole interviews Kevin Owens

    For complete SmackDown spoilers, click here.

    (Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • WWE Confirms Rusev’s Injury, Possible Replacement For Elimination Chamber

    WWE has confirmed our earlier report that Rusev suffered an injury at Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings.

    The former United States champion is being evaluated for a ‘lower leg injury’ and it’s unknown at this time if he’ll be able to compete at Sunday’s Elimination Chamber PPV.

    In the event that Rusev is unable to compete in the Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, it’s expected that he would be replaced by Bray Wyatt.

  • Rusev Injured At Tuesday’s SmackDown Tapings

    Rusev injured his ankle right during his match against Ryback at Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings from Wilkes-Barre, PA.

    The match ended abruptly, with Rusev getting the win via DQ after Ryback sent him head first into the ring post. WWE trainers came to ringside and helped Rusev to the backstage area.

    The following photo has been circulating on Twitter showing Rusev in a wheelchair with crutches after the taping.

    Rusev is scheduled to compete for the vacant Intercontinental championship match this Sunday at Elimination Chamber. We’ll post an update when it becomes available.

  • Daniel Bryan On Elimination Chamber Kickoff Show, SmackDown Main Event

    – WWE announced one of the main events of this week’s SmackDown during the Elimination Chamber “go-home” edition of RAW. During the show, it was revealed that Rusev and Ryback will be going one-on-one on the final major television show before this Sunday’s pay-per-view.

    – Also announced during RAW was one of the segments scheduled for this Sunday’s pay-per-view “Kickoff Show.” During the PPV pre-show, which will air on the WWE Network, there will be a “MizTV” segment with special guest Daniel Bryan.

  • Lana Still Helping Rusev At Live Events, Update On Lana/Dolph Ziggler Storyline

    Although Lana turned babyface and sided with Dolph Ziggler on television recently, she is still working alongside Rusev at non-televised WWE live events.

    At the WWE live event on Friday in New Hampshire, Lana tried to assist Rusev during his steel cage match with John Cena, which Rusev ultimately lost. Lana ended up walking out on Rusev and he started yelling at her. At one point, Lana did help Rusev by slamming the cage door in Cena’s face, but in the end, she left him high and dry.

    Lana and Ziggler had no interaction at the live event to follow up their television angle, as Ziggler is working a different live event tour this weekend.

    In terms of the Lana/Ziggler storyline, WWE is teasing that we will find out what is next between the two on Monday’s WWE Elimination Chamber “go-home” edition of RAW.

  • Rusev Returning To His Bulgarian Roots

    It appears that Rusev is returning to his Bulgarian roots. WWE.com has released a new entrance video for the former United States champion and all references to Russian Federation have been replaced with his native country, Bulgaria.

    Rusev broke into WWE as the Bulgarian Brute, but soon shifted his allegiance to the Russian Federation. Now that Rusev has parted ways with Lana in WWE storylines, we’ll see if he continues to parade the Russian flag and the Hero of the Russian Federation “Gold Star” medal.

    Here’s Rusev’s latest (8th) entrance video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4YWhhWJasA

  • Lana Now With Dolph Ziggler, What Happened After RAW

    – Roman Reigns, who did not appear on RAW, teamed with John Cena after RAW went off the air to defeat Seth Rollins and Rusev in the dark match main event.

    Reigns returns to TV this Thursday on SmackDown to address coming up short at WWE Payback.

    – Last night on RAW, Rusev and Lana finally parted ways, with Rusev firing his former spokeswoman after she quit on his behalf at Payback. After screaming at Lana for several minutes, she eventually slapped Rusev in the face.

    Later in the show, Lana came out while Dolph Ziggler was cutting a promo and the two kissed in the ring – twice.

    Lana tweeted that it’s now time to make her own decision and build her legacy.

    Meanwhile, Ziggler channeled Sterling Archer: