The Hardy Boyz defeated Gallows & Anderson last night on WWE RAW. After the match, The Revival tried to attack Matt and Jeff on the entrance ramp but The Hardys beat them down. WWE has posted a RAW Fallout video in which Mike Rome interviewed Matt and Jeff backstage. In the video, Matt spoke in the “broken” accent and made a bunch of bizarre facial expressions. Matt Hardy posted the video on Twitter and stated “IT’S HAPPENING #Broken”.
As noted earlier, John Cena has landed a major role in the new “Bumblebee” Transformers spinoff movie that will be released in theaters in December 2018. Cena stated that he was thrilled to join the Transformers franchise and Rusev responded with the following:
Roman Reigns was interviewed after his victory over Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe on last night’s episode of WWE RAW. Reigns said that he doesn’t need to go over his resume and that he now holds all the momentum heading into the Fatal 4-Way match for the Universal Championship at WWE SummerSlam.
Sasha Banks, Bayley & Mickie James predict tonight’s Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match
Sasha Banks, Bayley and Mickie James gave their predictions for tonight’s Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match at WWE Battleground. Tamina, Natalya, Lana, Becky Lynch and Charlotte will square off tonight to determine who will become the #1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship currently held by Naomi. Mickie James chose Natalya, Bayley went with Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks predicted either Tamina or Natalya will win the match.
Rusev vows to take John Cena down tonight at WWE Battleground
Rusev will face John Cena in a Flag Match tonight at WWE Battleground. Earlier this week, John Cena uploaded a promo about tonight’s match and asked people in Philadelphia to come to WWE Battleground. WWE uploaded a video of Rusev backstage earlier today. In the video, Rusev vowed to take John Cena and the USA down tonight.
Baron Corbin teases cashing in his MITB contract tonight
WWE uploaded a video of Baron Corbin arriving at the Wells Fargo Center earlier today for WWE Battleground. Corbin stated that after he takes care of Shinsuke Nakamura tonight, he will being paying attention during the Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship. Corbin said that maybe there will be an opportunity for him tonight to walk out of Battleground as the new WWE Champion.
Global Force Wrestling has announced that their new post Impact Wrestling show “After Impact” will make it’s debut this week. The show will me hosted by Josh Mathews and Tyrus and will premiere this Thursday on ImpactWrestling.com
John Cena wants fans to attend WWE Battleground this Sunday
John Cena tweeted out the following promo about his Flag Match against Rusev this Sunday at WWE Battleground. Cena told people to “get their butts to Philadelphia for the good ol’ USA!”.
Rusev makes fun of Shane McMahon’s helicopter accident
Shane McMahon took the biggest bump of his life earlier today when the helicopter he was in had to have an emergency landing in the ocean. As to be expected, Shane McMahon emerged uninjured.
SmackDown superstar Rusev took to Twitter and referenced Shane McMahon not responding to his previous video messages he uploaded on Twitter. Rusev demanded a title shot at Money in the Bank but never heard back from Shane McMahon or Daniel Bryan. Rusev wound up making his return recently and will face John Cena at Sunday’s WWE Battleground PPV.
Rusev is tired of listening to “the same old American crap” from John Cena
WWE Superstars John Cena and Rusev made their returns on this past Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown. Cena cut a promo about the significance of Independence Day and Rusev proceeded to interrupt him. Rusev came down to the entrance ramp carrying the Bulgarian flag and bashed Americans for celebrating their independence by shoving hot dogs and burgers down their throats. Cena challenged Rusev to a Flag Match on SmackDown but Rusev declined. SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan then made the Flag Match official for WWE Battleground. Rusev took to Twitter earlier today and bashed John Cena:
Tired of listening the same old American crap from Cena. You are just like Your "old glory" glory in the past DOOMED in the future. ??
Seth Rollins on potential WrestleMania match with The Rock
A fan tweeted a screenshot from WWE 2K16 of a match between Seth Rollins and The Rock at WrestleMania. The fan stated that it was a match he really wants to see. Seth Rollins responded to the fan by saying that WrestleMania was only 8 months away.
Discussion: A match between Seth Rollins and The Rock at WrestleMania 34 seems highly unlikely. However, anything can happen in WWE. If The Rock does return to the ring in the future, which current WWE Superstar would you like to see him face?
On tonight’s (Tues. July 4, 2017) Fourth Of July episode of SmackDown Live, former WWE Champion John Cena made his highly-anticipated return to WWE TV. While “The Leader Of The Cenation” was paying homage to the good ole’ US of A, he was interrupted by former United States Champion Rusev:
Cena challenged Rusev to a Flag match for later that night as a result, however, “The Bulgarian Brute” declined Cena’s offer and said he’d face him on his own terms. Soon after, SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan took to Twitter to confirm that Cena and Rusev will, in fact, meet in a Flag match at the upcoming Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) on July 23rd from Philadelphia:
During the WWE’s Money In The Bank (MITB) ladder match this past weekend, many WWE fans thought that we’d be seeing a run-in from former United States Champion Rusev thanks to “The Bulgarian Brute’s” comments on Twitter. In the midst of the six-man MITB Ladder match, which was eventually won by Baron Corbin, Rusev began tweeting things such as “Ok I had enough of this…..” and “Here we go”:
Rusev’s WWE return was directly affected by Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title win at Backlash over Randy Orton last week. Per a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, original plans had “The Bulgarian Brute” challenging for the WWE strap at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV).
The WWE never confirmed that match, however, they began to set it up after Rusev took to Twitter to demand SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon a shot at the WWE Title or else he’d leave the company. Rusev then vowed to return to Tuesday nights to confront McMahon, however, he never showed – stating he went to a hockey game instead. Rusev has not been mentioned on WWE programming since.
Per the report, the late decision to hold Rusev off TV indicates that Mahal’s title win was also a late decision by the company that was most likely made the Friday before Backlash. Now creative is tasked with the job of finding a new way to introduce Rusev back to WWE TV.
Last week, Rusev posted the following video and said that he will be showing up at tonight’s episode of SmackDown to confront Shane McMahon and demand a title shot at the Money in the Bank PPV.
As it turned out, Rusev did not appear on tonight’s SmackDown. Instead, Rusev attended the Nashville Predators NHL playoff game against the Anaheim Ducks.
WWE has posted their new opening video for SmackDown Live. John Cena and Nikki Bella have both been removed from the video. Chris Jericho was included in the video even though he is currently touring with his band Fozzy.
Rusev has been out of action for several weeks while he recovers from shoulder surgery. During that time, he and Lana were traded to SmackDown Live during the Superstar Shake-Up. Rusev isn’t happy about getting moved to SmackDown and recently issued a video stating that Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan need to grant him a title shot at Money in the Bank or he’s going back home to Bulgaria.
On Tuesday, Rusev followed up on his ultimatum with another video message directed at SmackDown’s commissioner. Rusev says Shane McMahon has not responded to his demands and he’ll be at Smackdown next week to get an answer from Shane in person.
Rusev is not happy about being traded to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shake-Up and refuses to wrestle for WWE’s blue brand unless he’s given a championship opportunity.
Rusev has been out of action since before WrestleMania recovering from shoulder surgery. The Bulgarian Brute says he doesn’t like SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon or GM Daniel Bryan and won’t wrestle for SmackDown just because they want him to. The only way he’ll agree to wrestle for SmackDown is if he’s granted a match for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank. Otherwise, it’s back to Bulgaria for him.
No word on what this would mean for Lana, who has been working on a new gimmick in NXT and is ‘coming soon’ to SmackDown.
WWE Money in the Bank 2017 takes place on Sunday, June 18th from St. Louis, Missouri at the Scottrade Center.
During Smackdown, it was announced that New Day are coming to Smackdown. The former Raw Tag Team Champions will make their SmackDown debut soon. The announcement was made in a short video package and New Day did not appear on the show. You can check out the video below.
It was also announced that Lana will be joining the Smackdown roster. Lana was shown dancing in a new video and will be make her Smackdown debut sometime in the near future. It was also announced that Rusev will be coming to Smackdown when he returns from injury
Check back here on SEScoops and join our SmackDown live chat to find out which other WWE Superstars will be changing brands during the Superstar Shake-Up.
WWE Superstar Lana was a guest on Busted Open on Sirius XM and provided an update on her husband Rusev’s shoulder injury. Lana revealed that Rusev had shoulder surgery and has just recently started working out again. Lana stated that Rusev will return to WWE in 2-4 months.
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 5, 2017
.@LanaWWE on @RusevBUL injury "He got shoulder surgery, just started working out again. He'll be back in 2-4 months" #RAW
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 5, 2017
Karl Anderson Vows To Get Revenge On Hardy Boyz
Karl Anderson took to Twitter to congratulate the returning Hardy Boyz on winning the Raw Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania 33. The Hardy Boyz defended the titles against Gallows and Anderson the following night on Monday Night Raw. Matt and Jeff Hardy once again got the best of Gallows and Anderson and won the match. Anderson vowed to get revenge in a post on Twitter.
Hardys beat us on #WWERaw ,so what.. We will get our revenge, always do.. Congrats to them on returnin to New York..
As noted earlier this week, Rusev is out of action with a shoulder injury and won’t be competing at WrestleMania 33. Following up on this story, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Rusev underwent shoulder surgery back on 3/9 and is expected to be out of action for two months.
It was known for a few months that Rusev needed the surgery and he was reportedly trying to put it off a little longer so he could work WrestleMania. His most recent match took place at Fastlane (3/5) when he suffered a decisive loss to Big Show. The surgery and subsequent recovery period is the reason his team with Jinder Mahal was split up so abruptly.
While Rusev is out of action, Lana is continuing her in-ring training. She was spotted at the WWE Performance Center last week and we’ll probably see her working occasional NXT live events.
Rusev is rumored to be dealing with a shoulder injury that could keep him out of action for WrestleMania. Rusev lost a somewhat thrown together match to the Big Show at Fastlane, getting in limited offense against the giant and taking several chokeslams. Show ended it with a knockout punch, giving himself momentum headed into WWE’s biggest show of the year.
Big Show allegedly told a fan at a recent convention that Rusev is undergoing surgery. F4wonline confirms Rusev will be out of action for several weeks, but it’s unknown if he is in fact going under the knife.
Last week, Rusev mentioned on Instagram that he is taking 30 days off from weight training, another indication that he’s injured and won’t be competing at WrestleMania.
RAW Superstar Rusev is sporting a new look. The Bulgarian Brute posted this photo on Instagram on Tuesday night showing off a much shorter haircut than we’re used to seeing from him.
– WWE Champion John Cena will be on this Thursday’s “Off the Top Rope” ESPN SportsCenter segment with Jonathan Coachman.
Cena achieved a major milestone when he tied Ric Flair’s record for the most world championship reigns by defeating AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble, but WWE did not make a huge deal out of Cena tying Flair’s record. We’ve heard from multiple people that a more elaborate celebration was planned, but WWE wound up writing it out of the show. WWE did acknowledge Cena tying Ric Flair’s record and Flair was on hand to congratulate the champ, but what we saw was far from the original plan.
Cena defends the WWE Championship this Sunday inside the Elimination Chamber and a short-title reign could be the reason for the lack of recognition at the Rumble.
– WWE posted this slow motion video from Samoa Joe’s RAW debut last night against Roman Reigns.
Speaking of Joe’s RAW debut, Triple H tweeted the following after Joe defeated Roman Reigns in the main event of the evening.
Breakdown: The build to this match has mainly focused on Enzo Amore and Rusev. Enzo got suckered into meeting Lana at a hotel and Rusev beat the hell out of him. Big Cass now has his chance avenge his friend Enzo in a match against Rusev.
Prediction: This is a tough match to predict. Enzo and Cass haven’t really been in the Tag Team Championship seen at all recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if the WWE wants to start a singles push for Big Cass. I think Enzo and Cass are a solid tag team but once you get past the entrance, they have the same match every time. Enzo gets destroyed and then Big Cass gets tagged in and takes care of business. In a perfect world, Rusev wins this match but Big Cass has a good showing.
Winner: Rusev
Sami Zayn vs Braun Strowman (10 Minute Time Limit)
Breakdown: Sami Zayn has been obsessed with Strowman the past few weeks and Braun simply couldn’t care less. The two Superstars had a match a couple of weeks ago and Raw GM Mick Foley put a stop to it because Zayn couldn’t defend himself. Zayn demanded a rematch and finally Foley caved in and gave it to him this Sunday at Roadblock. Foley also put a 10 minute time limit on the match.
Prediction: I cannot come up with a scenario in which it would make sense for Sami Zayn to win this match. Obviously, Sami Zayn has been underutilized on Raw since the brand split. However, Raw has spent far too much time building up Braun Strowman for him to lose a relatively meaningless match against Sami Zayn. I think Sami Zayn will last the 10 minutes and that will piss Strowman off. The match will conclude with Strowman beating down Zayn after the 10 minute mark was reached. Foley may come out to try to put a stop to it and maybe Strowman will attack him as well. I think this would be a good way to show that Sami Zayn never quits and that Braun Strowman is an uncontrollable monster that the Raw locker room should fear.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: New Day (c) vs Sheamus & Cesaro
Breakdown: This match was announced at Tribute to the Troops on Wednesday. Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Golden Truth, Gallows & Anderson and The Shining Stars in a Fatal 4-Way match to become the #1 contenders. The New Day are now the longest reigning Tag Team Champions in WWE history.
Prediction: A lot of people seem to believe that the New Day’s title reign is coming to an end. Sheamus and Cesaro got off to a rocky start when it came to crowd reactions but they have overcome that. They now work well as a tag team and are pretty much the only team on Raw that is ready to take the titles from the New Day. I think that will happen in due time. However, I do not think that will happen at Roadblock.
Winners & Still Tag Team Champions: New Day
Cruiserweight Championship Match: Rich Swann (c) vs The Brian Kendrick vs TJ Perkins
Breakdown: TJ Perkins lost the Cruiserweight title to Kendrick and then Kendrick lost it to Swann. On 205 Live, TJ Perkins submitted Rich Swann in the middle of the ring. On Monday Night Raw, Kendrick defeated Perkins easily. Perkins and Swann are friends but they seem ready to turn on each other. Kendrick’s strategy has been to play mind games with both Swann and Perkins.
Prediction: This is one of those matches that could go a million different ways. I don’t like the idea of Kendrick getting the title back so quickly. He really doesn’t need it. I think that the WWE has been dropping some subtle hints that Perkins is gearing up for a heel turn. His interactions with Swann backstage have been bizarre. I think Rich Swann is going to retain his title but Perkins is going to attack him after the match. Brian Kendrick may even join in on the attack or simply smile and cheer Perkins on.
Winner & Still Cruiserweight Champion: Rich Swann
Seth Rollins vs Chris Jericho
Breakdown: Rollins and Jericho have been battling for awhile now. Rollins was mainly focused on Kevin Owens but Jericho kept getting involved in their matches. Rollins hit a Pedigree on Jericho on top of a car a couple of weeks ago on Raw. Seth wants to defeat Jericho, take the Universal Championship from Kevin Owens and then fight Triple H. Jericho has a lot on his mind but mainly his beloved list and his broken friendship with Kevin Owens.
Prediction: The only way Jericho can win this match is by some sort of outside interference. I do not believe that Triple H will be showing up at WWE Roadblock but you never know. I think it is more likely that this match is earlier in the show and Kevin Owens tries to help Jericho out. Owens is desperate to fix his friendship with Jericho. If he can accomplish that, maybe Jericho will show up later in the night in Owens’ title defense against Roman Reigns. Even if Owens interferes, I think Rollins overcomes it and still wins the match.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Iron Man Match For The Raw Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs Charlotte
Breakdown: Sasha Banks and Charlotte have essentially been trading the Raw Women’s Championship back and forth since the brand split. Sasha Bansk won the title back on Raw recently and celebrated with Ric Flair in the ring. The following week, Charlotte pretended to apologize to her father for embarrassing him back in May on Raw. Charlotte once again talked down to Ric Flair and then beat up Sasha Banks in front of him. Ric Flair stood there helplessly as his daughter beatdown Banks.
Prediction: Charlotte is undefeated at PPVs and I wouldn’t be surprised if that continues. I think this match will be excellent and will showcase how talented both Sasha Banks and Charlotte are. However, I think the ending will involve Ric Flair helping out his daughter Charlotte. I don’t think the WWE is bringing back Ric Flair as an on-screen character for him to be in the corner of Sasha Banks. Thus, the Raw Women’s Championship will once again change hands and Charlotte will leave Pittsburgh with the title.
Winner & New Raw Women’s Champion: Charlotte
Universal Championship Match: Kevin Owens (c) vs Roman Reigns
Breakdown: Roman Reigns has gotten the upper hand on Owens recently. Roman Reigns both want the Universal Championship. Reigns gets his shot on Sunday and Rollins battles Owens’ former best friend Chris Jericho. Reigns has already defeated Kevin Owens clean recently and that victory gave him the oppurtunity at the Universal Championship.
Prediction: Much like the Jericho and Rollins match, the only way Owens can win this match is by someone interfering. Owens has been booked as a paper champion his whole title reign. He has relied on Chris Jericho to help him retain his Universal Championship. If Jericho or Triple H does not interfere, there is no way Kevin Owens is going to defeat Roman Reigns at Roadblock. Roman Reigns is currently the United States Champion and that is the only thing preventing me from picking him this Sunday. I think the person that is going to take the Universal Championship from Owens will be Seth Rollins. I think Owens retains by getting himself disqualified, running out of the arena or outside interference.
Winner & Still Universal Champion: Kevin Owens
What do you think will happen this Sunday at WWE Roadblock: End of the Line? Let us know in the comments below.
– Above is a teaser for next Wednesday’s Total Divas episode with Lana and Rusev’s mother clashing over wedding plans.
Next Wednesday’s episode will also feature Renee Young having a meltdown and more. Below is the official synopsis for the episode, titled Mother of the Groom:
“Mother of the Groom: Maryse and Mike panic when they find their home invaded; cultural differences cause a family feud; arguments over whether the wedding should be in Malibu or Bulgaria; Renee has a meltdown; Dean Ambrose in Vegas for the first time.”
– Bubba Ray Dudley took to Twitter this week and offered his thoughts on President-elect Donald Trump appointing Linda McMahon as the head of the Small Business Administration and as you can imagine, Bully’s comments didn’t go over well with many fans:
If liberals were pissed and crying about @realDonaldTrump winning, wait till they see @VinceMcMahon struttin through the White House. ???
– In addition to The Undertaker being backstage at last night’s RAW, his wife Michelle McCool and her daughters watched the show from ringside.
– After RAW went off the air, Rusev came to the ring to cut a promo on Enzo Amore and Big Cass. This brought out Cass, who cleared the ring and sent fans home happy.
– Trish Stratus revealed on Lilian Garcia’s latest podcast that she and her husband are expecting their first baby girl soon. Trish previously gave birth to a baby boy. Trish announced her second pregnancy back in the fall but is just now revealing the gender.
– Charlotte and Big Show are on their way to Afghanistan to meet troops. Footage from the trip will air on the WWE Tribute to the Troops next week. No word yet on if Vince McMahon is with them.
It took Brock Lesnar less than 5 minutes to defeat Rusev at tonight’s WWE house show in Mexico City.
This was Lesnar’s first time in the ring since losing to Goldberg at Survivor Series last month. He will be back in the ring for the Royal Rumble main event next month from The Alamodome.
Below are a few photos and video from tonight’s match in Mexico:
We noted earlier in the week that Brock Lesnar had been confirmed for the 12/3 WWE house show from Mexico City.
As seen below, WWE issued an updated announcement today and revealed that Lesnar will be facing off against Rusev. Paul Heyman will also be there.
Brock Lesnar heading to Mexico City for Dec. 3 Live Event
Mexico City becomes Suplex City this December! WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar will step into the ring in Mexico City, Saturday, Dec. 3, for a thrilling WWE Live Event at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The show starts at 8 p.m. local time.
Joined by his advocate, the always-outspoken Paul Heyman, this Live Event marks The Beast Incarnate’s first in Mexico with WWE. And it won’t be an easy night for Lesnar, since his opponent that evening will be none other than The Bulgarian Brute, Rusev.
Get your tickets now to see Lesnar in action in Mexico City Saturday, Dec. 3. And be sure to check out more ring action and entertainment when the WWE Live Mexico Tour concludes in Monterrey Sunday, Dec. 4. The WWE Live Mexico Tour is presented by Gowin.
– WWE applied to trademark the following Superstar names – Bobby Roode, Drew Gulak, Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, Carmella, Tony Nese and TJ Perkins.
– Seth Rollins took on Kevin Owens following last night’s WWE RAW in Hartford, but the match ended via disqualification when Chris Jericho interfered. The Canadian duo double-teamed the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, until Rollins came back with a powerbomb to Jericho and a pedigree to Owens.
– Rusev tweeted the following regarding the Jackhammer he took from Bill Goldberg this week on WWE RAW. As noted, Goldberg admitted on Twitter that the segment was botched due to his own ring rust.
Ha! @Goldberg knows that SPEARS don't faze me! That JACKHAMMER though …….hats off to him. He still got it. Btw I can still crush him.
Goldberg returned to WWE TV on tonight’s RAW from Hartford and ended up taking out Rusev with a Jackhammer and Paul Heyman with a spear before the segment was over.
Heyman interrupted Goldberg’s show-opening promo and teased that Brock Lesnar was coming out to fight. Lesnar never showed but Rusev did. Rusev had words for Goldberg before attacking him. Goldberg fired back with some botched knees and a Jackhammer, then a spear for Heyman.
You can see photos and video from the segment below.
Goldberg and Lesnar are both scheduled to be on the 11/14 RAW from Buffalo. They will wrestle at the 11/20 Survivor Series PPV from Toronto.
– Smackdown Superstar Carmella noted via Twitter that she’ll be unveiling brand new merchandise available this Tuesday on WWE Shop.
– An upcoming issue of “Inside Weddings” magazine is scheduled to feature WWE RAW Superstars Lana and Rusev. Lana will appear on the cover of the magazine, as she noted below:
