After Monday’s edition of WWE RAW went off the air, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan all looked dejected after being “fired” by The Authority. Eventually the three left with their heads hanging and headed to the back while John Cena remained in the ring looking upset.

Cena got on the microphone and said that there was no way he was going to leave “Whataburger’s Hometown” without a fight, which led to him calling out Seth Rollins.

Rollins came out, but ultimately decided to walk off. This led to Cena calling him out again and getting the fans to chant “You Sold Out” at him. Rollins returned to the ring with Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble and the dark match main event of the evening was set.

Mercury and Noble attacked Cena before the match officially got underway. Finally, things settled down and the actual match began. The match lasted approximately ten minutes, with the finish seeing Big Show come out to interfere. Rollins tried to hit Cena with his Money In The Bank briefcase, but Cena moved and Rollins hit Big Show by accident. This led to Cena hitting Rollins with the Attitude Adjustment for the pin.

• DIRECT LINK: Photos From This Weekend — CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner, Hanging With SHAQ At UFC & More!

As noted, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan were all “fired” by The Authority on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. In this week’s RAW Fallout video, which you can watch below, the three “former” WWE Superstars react to their “firing,” all of whom look depressed in the ring shortly after the announcement was made.

Also on this week’s RAW Fallout, Bad News Barrett talks to Renee Young about winning back the WWE Intercontinental Championship. You can check that one out below.

• DIRECT LINK: Photos From This Weekend — CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner, Hanging With SHAQ At UFC & More!

On Monday’s WWE RAW, the first edition of the show of 2015, a “John Cena Appreciation” night, with a sarcastic tone, was promoted throughout the evening by The Authority — Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

As the show went on, it became clear that anyone who was part of Team Cena at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, where The Authority ended up getting fired, was going to be punished and beaten down.

Finally, when the “John Cena Appreciation” main event segment came, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon revealed that Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan, the other members of Team Cena, were all fired.

For complete WWE RAW results, click here.

• DIRECT LINK: Photos From This Weekend — CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner, Hanging With SHAQ At UFC & More!

The general idea behind Ryback’s lengthy promo segment on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW was to give him an opportunity to connect with the fans on a new level by telling an emotional, personal story.

Ryback told pretty much the same story during his recent appearance on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast and in an interview with Sam Roberts from back in 2013.

Mark Henry posted the following update on his condition via Twitter on Tuesday:

Thank you WWE fans for all the respect. Yes I'm still hurt, I see the things people are saying. I will respond when the time is right.

— TheMarkHenry (@TheMarkHenry) December 30, 2014

Henry hasn’t competed in a match since the November 24th edition of RAW, where he lost to Ryback in singles competition. The night before, Henry was part of Team Authority in their traditional elimination match against Team Cena at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley posted the following blog on his official Facebook page regarding his thoughts on a Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan match at WrestleMania 31, as well as Ryback’s promo from RAW.

LESNAR/BRYAN AT MANIA? I SAY “YES”!

I’m not going to smash any TV sets this January. I’m hoping not to say, write, or tweet things that make my relationship with WWE difficult. But following Daniel Bryan’s emotional speech on WWE Monday Night Raw last night, I think he could be the guy to face Brock Lesnar at this year’s ?#?Wrestlemania?.

As opposed to the earlier Ryback – WWE promo, where Ryback seemed uncomfortable, and in too much of a rush for us to appreciate the substance of the words, Daniel Bryan allowed his emotions to tell the story – reminding us of the journey he’d been on this past year, while not letting us forget what it was about him that made so many of us root for him to begin with. He fights from underneath like few before him ever have, and (despite what some of my colleagues may think) would be a credible threat to knock down the mountain that Lesnar has been built to be. It would be the ultimate David, facing the ultimate Goliath. Man vs Beast. Man vs himself – really no need for Man vs company here. Give Paul Heyman free creative reign to bring out the best in Daniel Bryan – and for the WWE Universe to bring out the best in themselves – and we have got ourselves a compelling Mania main event.

The following is a video clip featuring part of Hulk Hogan’s appearance on Monday’s Christmas-themed edition of RAW, which features Hogan fully dressed up as Santa Claus.

Below is a portion of last night’s “Piper’s Pit” segment from RAW, which featured Roddy Piper, Rusev, Lana and Ryback.

After being attacked by Rusev on Tuesday’s live edition of WWE SmackDown, Ryback was helped to the backstage area by WWE officials. While he’s being helped to the back, there is a quick shot in the background of the person who played The Bunny, believed to be Hunico (aka Sin Cara) without his Bunny-mask on.

WWE has since edited the video to remove the shot of The Bunny sans-mask in the background, however it has been re-uploaded by a fan to YouTube in a video that you can check out below.

http://youtu.be/pIU3Se_1WAQ

Below are some screen shot photos of The Bunny without his mask on in the background from the above video.

As noted, Ryback was Chris Jericho’s guest on his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this week. During the interview, Ryback addressed recent comments made about him by CM Punk on Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast.

Below is an excerpt from the interview where Ryback talks about the subject.

“I went and heard part of it. Punk was always good to me when he was here and I felt I was good to him. He was never like that to my face and I felt we always had good matches for the most part on the live events. To leave and say the things he said, I try not to take anything personal anymore. So whatever he’s going through, if he feels the need to say that, I can tell you it’s not true.

It’s one of those things, it’s like, come on man. I don’t understand if it’s a personal thing with me. I don’t know but I have no ill feeling towards the guy, I wish him the best.”

You can listen to the full Ryback interview on Talk Is Jericho right now at PodcastOne.com.

– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features Ryback, is now online. The official description for the show reads as follows:

TIJ – EP101 – WWE’s Ryback

“Ryback is speaking about the CM Punk’s recent comments & he’s doing it right here on TIJ! Ryback’s also got a great Dusty Rhodes impression, the back story on “Skip Sheffield,” his very own WWF bell hammer, an update on the injuries that nearly ended his career, and words of wisdom he never actually heard from Arnold Schwarzenegger! ‘Feed Me More! Feed Me More!'”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

– The latest edition of “WWE Inbox,” which you can watch below, features WWE Superstars and WWE Divas discussing the worst gifts they have ever received.

Below are this week’s SmackDown Fallout videos.

In part one, Rusev is backstage with Lana after attacking Ryback.

Part two features Ryback being helped to the back by WWE officials after the attack.

http://youtu.be/rxdv8p6Gy3M

Finally, part three focuses on Roman Reigns’ return.

The following is the final lineup for tonight’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

Tables Match (#1 Contendership On The Line)
– John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

TLC Match
– Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose

WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
– Luke Harper (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Miz & Damien Mizdow (c) vs. The Usos

WWE United States Championship
– Rusev (c) vs. Jack Swagger

WWE Divas Championship
– Nikki Bella (c) vs. AJ Lee

Chairs Match
– Ryback vs. Kane

Stairs Match
– Big Show vs. Erick Rowan

WWE TLC Kickoff Show
– A New Day vs. Goldust & Stardust

Make sure to join us here tonight for live WWE TLC play-by-play results coverage.

• BACKSTAGE NEWS: Main WWE Roster Concerned Over Being Out-Done By NXT Roster …

The final pay-per-view of 2014 is only a few hours away, and there should be enough tables, ladders, and chairs to fill a large dining hall. (I’m not entirely sure that I’ve seen a ladder in a college dining hall, but whatever.) The card will feature a total of nine matches, including a main event featuring Seth Rollins and John Cena. With that said, here are my predictions for this Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view.

The New Day vs. Gold and Stardust

The New Day hasn’t done much since returning from a brief hiatus, as they’ve been largely relegated to SmackDown and other programs that aren’t worth watching. However, they’ve looked impressive the few times they’ve been on Raw and all three are above average workers. The New Day has more to gain from a win here, so I’m expecting Big E finish off Stardust after hitting the Big Ending.

Winners: The New Day by pinfall

Ryback vs. Kane (Chairs Match)

Each December, fans can usually look forward to a Chairs Match at TLC. It’s like receiving a Christmas gift you didn’t request or care to receive. You put a smile on your face, do your best to enjoy it, but nine times out of ten, it ends in disappointment. This year’s edition should be no different. Nobody would want to see these guys square off in a singles contest, and throwing a few chairs into the mix will do little to save it. Ryback will win after a “brutal” match where the two exchange chair shots to the back for ten minutes.

Winner: Ryback by pinfall

The Miz and Damien Mizdow (Tag Team Champions) vs. The Usos

This contest should be an entertaining way to fill ten to fifteen minutes of the midcard. Mizdow is perhaps the hottest thing in WWE right now, so I expect he and the Miz to go over. However, it likely won’t be without some dissension. Overall, this should be an entertaining contest with a lot of back and forth action. If booked correctly, it should advance the tension between Miz and Mizdow, hopefully leading to a payoff at WrestleMania.

Winners: The Miz and Damien Mizdow by pinfall

WWE will attempt to deliver an early Christmas present this Sunday during its annual TLC pay-per-view. It will be the last pay-per-view of 2014, and should also be the last special event before Brock Lesnar’s return to the ring. The card is set, but how will it play out? Here are 5 potential shockers for Sunday’s TLC.

5. Mizdow Turns on The Miz

It seems obvious that the Miz and his stunt double will be breaking up sooner rather than later, and for good reason, as Mizdow is perhaps the most over superstar in the WWE.

There was tension once again during Monday’s Slammy Awards after the Miz accepted his partner’s award on his behalf. Although their time together seems to be limited, I’d be shocked if the two break up on Sunday. It would make more sense to have the dissolution occur at the Royal Rumble, setting up a WrestleMania payoff that could be one of the top matches on the midcard.

Last night on Raw, the WWE handed out some shiny plastic hardware, and more importantly, finalized the card for this Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view. With CM Punk badmouthing WWE before signing with UFC, and Brock Lesnar sitting at home while the title collects dust, it seems like the most exciting WWE-related action these days is taking place outside of the squared circle.

With that said, TLC actually looks like a solid pay-per-view on paper, especially considering it’s another event without a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.

Ziggler has performed well in ladder matches during his career. Will the Show Off steal the show on Sunday?

In general, gimmick pay-per-views can be pretty lame. With events such as Elimination Chamber, Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Extreme Rules, the stipulations often seem forced and predictable (Money in the Bank is the only exception). However, it seems like the gimmick could be highly beneficial this time around.

This is due to the fact that most of the matchups would be forgettable without a special stipulation. Take Ryback vs. Kane for example. Nobody wants to see a washed-up Libertarian and supposed steroid user battle in a regular singles contest; that’s the same garbage fans are served up every week on Raw. However, if the two are going to beat the hell out of each other with chairs, it increases the possibility (albeit slightly) that fans will remain interested.

The same holds true for Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper. They are two of the better workers in the company, and they’d undoubtedly put on a great show without any gimmick at all, but the ladder match stipulation gives them the opportunity to completely steal the show.

Not only will the midcard benefit from the TLC gimmick, hardcore stipulations were necessary at the top of the card to get this event over with the fans. In particular, the tables match between John Cena and Seth Rollins should be one of the highlights of the night, as Cena will attempt to remain number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Regarding CM Punk’s comments about Ryback intentionally injuring him on the first Colt Cabana “Art of Wrestling” podcast appearance, there was said to be a feeling with WWE that it was unprofessional on Punk’s part and was seen as a cheap shot.

Additionally, many were under the impression that Ryback didn’t purposely kick Punk as hard as he could, nor did he intentionally try to break Punk’s ribs.

On a related note, almost no one had sympathy for Punk talking about how banged up he was. The feeling was that almost every top guy in WWE works under similar conditions, remaining on the road and working through a litany of injuries.

Next Sunday, the WWE will dust off the tables, ladders, chairs, and apparently stairs for its annual hardcore spectacular. This year’s event will be held in Cleveland, Ohio and will be the sixth incarnation of the pay-per-view.

This will be only the second TLC pay-per-view to not feature a WWE Championship match, as Brock Lesnar is still sitting at home collecting a paycheck. In the past, the WWE has used this event to lay the groundwork for the Road to WrestleMania while providing a sense of finality to various feuds with the hardcore element. With that said, here is a look back at the first five TLC pay-per-view events.

The following are highlights of a new Busted Open Radio interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

CM Punk’s Money Issues With WWE: 

“It was nothing I haven’t heard before as head of talent relations. There was a guy named Stone Cold, you might remember him who was gone for 8 months. He was angry over creative and money; he had a lot of negative things going on in his life and he needed a break, but he didn’t know how to create that break and we didn’t either; and it blew up. He went home and I remember sitting in my office. I sent him a card that said, “If you ever need to talk, I’m here for you.” He wasn’t going to call WWE; so he calls me, and I broker a meeting with Steve and Vince in Houston. And both of them wanted me to come to the meeting and I refused, because it needed to be the two of them, unfiltered and express themselves without an audience, I didn’t need to be there so I didn’t go. But they talked it out, they talked it through, and saw each other’s point of views, and Steve came back, made the company a lot of money, and WWE made good money and had a good ending except for a mother nature and the injuries.”

“The whole CM Punk situation is a lot of miscommunication. It should have been addressed earlier. You can’t read a talents mind to see if they’re upset. WWE has a lot on their plate. And I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, but at the end of the day the whole thing should have been addressed earlier, rather than be left as an open wound. I’m a CM Punk Wrestling Fan. I like Phil Brooks the guy. I haven’t talked to him one time, but he might put me as a “Wrestling Guy” although I’m more than a wrestling guy. I don’t wish him ill will and I’m not taking up for WWE. I’m not taking up for Phil. It’s just very unfortunate because they both needed each other in the world of pro wrestling.”

How The WWE Locker Room Reacted To Punk’s Podcast:

“I wish I could defend that answer and if I was there, I could do that, but you will find that in any other locker room. I heard Ray Lewis endorse Ray Rice…then you’ll have other guys who don’t want him on his team. You won’t find a unanimous decision on anything; which is why wrestlers won’t ever form a union. They can’t even form what they want to have for lunch or even stop for lunch when their on the road.”

“Trust isn’t a big prominent thing in pro wrestling because they know their shelf-lives are short. Some guys will be very leery of trusting Phil because he brought up one of his own and shined unflattering light on Ryback, without any knowledge and based off how he looks. There will be a lot of guys alienated from that statement. Phil won’t care because he washed his hands of it. The guys who were Phil’s friends would probably just leave it alone. I think the whole thing could’ve been avoided if the problem was identified by both parties. The locker room is a very cruel place; and guys will lie to stir up a hornets nest especially when it comes to money; say a guy gets $50,000 for a PPV and they usually say they got $100,000 just to stir it up.”

“I had a talent come up to me and said that I screwed him on his PPV pay out and I said ‘based on what’ and “I know guys that made double than what I made” and I knew that wasn’t true. So I made him tell me who it was and then I sent somebody after that person bring him into my office and said “Here’s the deal did wrestler A tell wrestler B make a 100 grand on the last PPV?” Silence. Then the wrestler said “I was kidding he should know I was kidding.” The locker room is a very cold place at times and it’s not the warm fuzzy all for one, one for all situations. Everybody wants the spot and there is only one big money spot. If this were the old territories days I would try to get Phil as a booker. He has a great mind and he has a great desire for the product and I could relate to that but the problem is there are no territories to book.”

Wrestlers Being Featured In The Main Events Earning More Money;

“Back in the Attitude Era, everybody couldn’t be in the Main Event. They contributed to the success, but they can’t go on last. If you believe that you’re only the Main Event if you go on last, that’s not applicable, especially at WrestleMania and in my view, and I am a Undertaker mark and when that streak got going. It had more cache than the titles did because the titles weren’t hot. The title didn’t have the strong enough personal issue. I booked Austin in a tag match in LA and he calls me and complains about being in a tag team match and he said “I didn’t work my ass off to be someone else’s tag partner.”

“So you’re saying you want to work a tag match in LA. I have the greatest power in world and that was an eraser. Okay now you are not in a tag match. All I’m saying is that the CM Punk situation unraveled and people didn’t re-gather it and Phil made his mind up and when you feel your body is starting to give up on you and your physically hurting, you and your self-esteem starts to get hammered and depression starts to come in. I wasn’t there for the meetings but I just feel very badly because Phil Brooks deserves to be, if that’s what he wants, in the last match at WrestleMania. That might not happened but never say never.”

“The second thing, when you’re using formulaic paying system that has been in the business for over 40 years, it’s essentially the same formula that has been in the business for all the territories. You are splitting up money and you are always going to have guys that are not happy with their pay off. I never had any talent say “Hey JR that was a great pay off for that last run and I really appreciate it.” I had tons of guys come up to me to talk about their pay offs. I said this on my podcast about the Hardy Boys and Bubba Ray Dudley coming to me about their TLC match saying they feel they were under paid for match. I went back to the Vince and he said” how you feel about it” and I went back to review it and I changed the pay off. Those guys had a hell of a match.”

• HUGE Update On Backstage Reaction To CM Punk Interview w/ Very DETAILED & SPECIFIC Stories

WWE Superstar Ryback was interviewed this week on the Zach McCrite Show for Oklahoma City’s Franchise 107.7 Sports Radio.

Ryback fired back at CM Punk for his comments on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast last week after Punk accused him of taking steroids and intentionally breaking his ribs.

Check out the related articles below for much more on the fallout of CM Punk’s pipebomb podcast:

• Detailed Backstage Update On The Reaction To CM Punk’s Controversial Interview
• AUDIO: Part Two Of CM Punk On Colt Cabana’s “Art Of Wrestling” Podcast
• Jim Ross Blogs About CM Punk’s Pipebomb Podcast
• Colt Cabana Explains Why CM Punk Told His Story, Cabana Mocks WWE, More
• WWE Reaction To CM Punk Interview, Vince McMahon Unhappy, Triple H Furious
• Ryback Blasts CM Punk On Twitter, Deletes Tweets
• WWE Employee Argues With Fans On Twitter Over CM Punk Interview Comments
• Ryback Reacts To CM Punk Calling Him A Roided-Up Dumb F*ck

As we reported recently, CM Punk’s appearance on Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast had a lot of people within WWE upset, particularly executives such as Triple H and Vince McMahon. It’s said that while most everyone kept quiet about it in public, outside of guys like Ryback and Brian “BG” James, that most, if not all WWE talents loved a lot of the stuff that Punk had to say about WWE.

On the flip-side of the coin, however, a lot of people in the company were said to be unhappy with Punk complaining about the way he was booked, due to their feeling that he was booked better than almost everyone outside of a very select few talents over the past several years.

The feeling among some is that while Punk complained about having to put over part-time guys like The Rock, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, they would have loved to of been in that position.

One particular WWE Superstar, who is said to be a top guy, felt that much of the Punk interview came off as “sour grapes.”

Others in the company apparently felt that Punk came off bad complaining about being booked to work against Triple H at WrestleMania XXX, with their feeling being that it would be positioned as one of the very top matches on the show, with plenty of television time to promote it during the build-up to the show.

While some agreed with the “two sides to every story” cliche’, there was also said to be a general consensus that what Punk said about his experiences in WWE is the same way many others would describe theirs as well, outside of the fact that Punk made more money than most, but that they admired the guts it took to say all that he did in a public forum.

Regardless of whether or not talents agreed with all that Punk had to say during the already infamous interview, almost everyone was said to be aware of the fact that agreeing with him publicly would be nothing short of career suicide unless it was done by one of the very few “untouchable guys.”

$9.99 a month.

We’ve heard it to death, but what do we actually get for that ten bucks?

Thus far, we’ve had a couple of cool shows — The Monday Night War and WWE Rivalries series, a couple of decent shows — WWE Countdown and WrestleMania Rewind, the pay-per-view events and NXT programming, as well as access to a bunch of old crap we’ve seen — and for the most part, can still see — 1,000 times on YouTube.

It sounds like a decent amount of programming when you list it out like that, but let’s be honest, the WWE Network isn’t what it could be.

Perfect example, last night’s live broadcast of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast with special guest, WWE Chairman — Vince McMahon.

Now THAT is how you get WWE Network subscriptions.

That was one of the first true examples of “must-see” programming on the WWE Network. Going in, you couldn’t know that ahead of time, although many expected it to be compelling programming, and luckily in this case, that’s exactly what it turned out to be.

Personally speaking, I think WWE should take notice of the feedback to the show, which has been universally positive and enthusiastic in nature, and offer similar content on as a consistent basis as possible.

We hear a lot about production costs and things of that nature making it hard to churn out content on the WWE Network, but for shows like last night’s Austin-McMahon special and the recent “ECW Exposed” specials, all you need is a room, two human beings, a microphone, a camera and some lights.

That can’t be that expensive.

I’m of the opinion that WWE should make the Austin-McMahon live podcast a regular staple on the WWE Network. Once every quarter, the WWE boss man checks in with “The Texas Rattlesnake” for somewhat of a “WWE State of the Union Address” type of deal, but produced and aired in similar fashion to last night’s special.

It’s inexpensive, basic and simple, but most importantly — effective.

If you offer that up every few months when there will no doubt be a plethora of items within the “WWE Universe” world to speak of, I believe fans will come in droves to tune in and make sure they’re watching it live, especially those who watched live — or even after the fact — last night.

Anyone who saw the Austin-McMahon live podcast had to of enjoyed at least some, if not all of it. I’m in the latter category, as I was glued to my monitor for the entire 70 minutes.

I was so into the program, in fact, that I’m not ashamed to admit I literally popped — out-loud — when Austin was telling McMahon that they were being wrapped up off-camera, only for McMahon to inform him that he owns this Network, and it’s going to continue for another ten or 15 minutes.

Anyone who is familiar with Austin’s weekly “Steve Austin Show” podcast at PodcastOne.com is aware of the fact that ole’ “Stone Cold” has some pretty superior skills in the interviewing department.

With that being said, I think it’s safe to assume that Austin doing a similar show to that in which we witnessed with McMahon last night, with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, would be just as intriguing and entertaining.

It’s cheap, it’s simple, it’s effective.

Key word — effective.

You can cut as many “for only $9.99 a month” promos you want. You can offer as many free months as you want. You can give us access to as much old crap you have laying around that you want, but stuff like last night is what is going to up your subscription count.

To date, I’d put last night’s Austin-McMahon show right up there with the Ultimate Warrior documentary as the single most compelling program to air on the WWE Network thus far. Unlike the Warrior documentary, there’s no reason why WWE can’t do something like last night on a consistent basis.

It’s times like last night that makes “the norm” so frustrating. Every once in a while, WWE will prove that “they still got it” (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap) only to turn around the next week and go back to the “same old sh*t” (same old sh*t! same old sh*t! same old sh*t!) and make me as a fan want to chant in their face “you f*cked up! you f*cked up! you f*cked up!”

It’s not rocket science, folks. Last night proved it. You want subscribers? You want the WWE Network to be a success? Start offering content that the people dig instead of lame, B-level “junk” that you have laying around.

“If you build it, they will come.”

Last night, WWE built a foundation and laid out a blueprint on how to make use out of this “over-the-top” digital service. And the fans came (I’ll spare the attempt at spinning that last line into a sexual-related, lame-ass joke).

Ryback wants to be “fed more,” and so do the WWE fans. Give them more stuff like last night’s show, and our collective appetites will be full.

THAT, for $9.99 a month? That’s a steal, my friends. I’ll gladly open up the billfold every 30 days for that type of programming.

Unfortunately, and I hate to be a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy on this one, but I’m afraid we’ll probably go back to our “regularly scheduled (lame) program” from here on out, and have to wait quite a while before we see something as cool as the live broadcast of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast on the WWE Network again.

But hey, that’s just one man’s opinion. What do you think? We’d like to know, and you can let us know by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also follow me on social media for more news and views at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR, and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.

– Ryback vs. Kane in a “Chairs Match” is now official for the upcoming WWE TLC pay-per-view. The only other officially confirmed match for the pay-per-view at this point is Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt in a TLC match.

– Mick Foley tweeted Colt Cabana regarding his recent interview with CM Punk. You can check out Foley’s comments to Cabana, as well as Cabana’s response below.

@realmickfoley its not about landing anything Mick… It's about giving my friend a safe place to talk. I'm not competing with anyone.

— Colt Cabana? (@ColtCabana) November 29, 2014

While it should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody who actually heard the interview, the Colt Cabana “Art of Wrestling” podcast with CM Punk earlier this week has been the talk of the locker room in WWE since it first appeared on the internet.

The general consensus is that virtually everyone within WWE — most notably the talent themselves — thought it was one of the greatest things ever.

It’s widely known within WWE that in certain circles, CM Punk is well-liked, while in others, which is a big much bigger circle, by the way, everyone — fans and detractors of Punk — all thoroughly enjoyed the interview.

The key reason that everyone was in favor of Punk’s appearance on the show was because whether you like him or not, he pointed out — in what is said by many to be in very honest fashion — many issues that the current pool of talent within WWE deal with, and have dealt with, for quite a while. Many are said to be afraid to speak up about many of the issues that Punk touched on, but universally applauded him for having the gull to do so without any fear of repercussions.

The reason of Vince McMahon himself was said to be not as bad as you would think. While McMahon is notorious for “no-selling” issues that do in fact bother him, the general consensus was that while he wasn’t pleased with Punk for many of the comments he made, to say the least, he wasn’t as over-the-top angry or upset as two other key WWE high-ranking executives.

Those executives are none other than Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Triple H was said to be outraged and furious, and according to one person close to the situation, outright said he “wants to kill CM Punk.”

While this is likely a moot point, as Punk himself made it clear during the podcast that he has no desire to return to the world of professional wrestling, much-less WWE, that he is on one of those unofficial “banned for life” lists.

Some people believe that while Vince McMahon is still alive and in complete control of the company, anything is possible in terms of being willing to bring Punk back one day, however, those same people are under the belief that when and if it becomes up to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Punk has no chance whatsoever at stepping foot back onto a WWE television, or non-televised program, for that matter.

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Ryback has again responded to former WWE Superstar CM Punk’s “slander” of him in an explosive two-hour interview with Colt Cabana on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast that was released Thursday (listen here).

Ryback wrote on Twitter on Friday afternoon, “Last message on this. I will tell the truth about @CMPunk comments in due time. Not once did he ever confront me. Let’s all move on. Thank u.”

Beginning at 51:50 in the interview, Punk griped about his experience working with Ryback, who he labeled a dangerous worker and steroid user. Punk said wrestling Ryback “took twenty years off my fucking life” and blamed him for injuring him on multiple occasions.

“I’m already beat up and I have to wrestle steroid guy,” Punk said as he recalled being asked to work a program with Ryback in the fall of 2012 since management felt he could carry him in matches. “I call it like I see it. He’s very hurty, sometimes deliberate. There was one time he kicked me in the stomach as hard he could and he broke my ribs, right at the tail end. I never got an apology for that. He was something else. A real piece of work that guy.”

Later in interview, Punk took a jab at Triple H for failing to elevate Curtis Axel after promising he would. Punk offered to work with the third-generation wrestler, but WWE officials ignored his request. Instead, he was continuously booked in matches with Ryback—now paired with Paul Heyman—who he had requested to management to not to work with. Punk later agrees to work with him and gets injured in an encounter at Night of Champions.

“I go up to Ryan [Ryback’s real name] and I go, ‘Hey man, clean slate. Let’s fucking kill this. Let’s fucking show them that you’re better than they think you are. Let’s show them I’m better than they think I am and let’s turn this mid-card shit into a fucking main event,” said Punk.

Imitating Ryback’s voice, “‘Yeah, I’m really excited, blah, blah, blah.'”

Punk recalled, “First night out, Gorilla Press through a table…fucking misses the table. Dumps me on the concrete fucking ground. Tilts my fucking pelvis, fucks me up for weeks.”

Punk said he later asked Ryback if he hurt him on purpose or if he’s “dumb as fuck.”

He continued to Cabana, “I’m compensating because my knee is still fucked, both my knees, you know what I mean? The one I just had surgery on six months ago and the one that was fucking torn up and I refused to have surgery on. I just wanted to rehab it, which I did. And now it’s at the point where I walk up to him and I go, ‘You can’t tell me you didn’t do that on purpose because you’ve done it so many times now. You either tell me right now you’re dumb as fuck and you suck, or you did it on purpose. And he was like, ‘I’m dumb as fuck. I’m sorry.'”

Punk said, “At that point, there was nothing I could do. In my mind it was like, ‘Great. Fuck, there’s nothing I can do.'”

“The Big Guy” fired back at Punk on Twitter with an image of an action figure diorama before saying, “For the record if I quit for being fragile and insecure I would make up excuses too,” Ryback wrote. “Things didn’t go my way for a long time and I kept going day in and out. Slander is a powerful thing and to state complete made up nonsense for no reason shows his insecurities. I will continue to bust my ass study matches every chance I get, cut promos when driving and push myself for hours on end even when hurt. Thank you.”

See GIF of Ryback’s botch dropping CM Punk on concrete

Ryback posted the following statement on Twitter in response to CM Punk’s negative comments towards him:

“For the record if I quit for being fragile and insecure I would make up excuses too. Things didn’t go my way for a long time and I kept going day in and out. Slander is a powerful thing and to state complete made up nonsense for no reason shows his insecurities. I will continue to bust my ass study matches every chance I get, cut promos when driving and push myself for hours on end even when hurt. Thank you”

The tweets were later deleted.

Ryback Reacts To CM Punk Calling Him A Roided-Up Dumb F*ck