WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog with his thoughts on tonight’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, as well as other opinions and comments. Below are some of the highlights.
On Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: “WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose will be a match of the night candidate for sure and my expectations for this match are high. I think Rollins retains. Remember, it’s not the kiss of death to lose via another’s finishing maneuver without kicking out of it multiple times.”
On the I-C title Elimination Chamber match: “IC Title match inside the Elimination Chamber is unique and the Intercontinental Title was on its way to becoming meaningful again until Daniel Bryan had to relinquish the title due to injuries. I’d love to see Dolph Ziggler win the championship but it’s to unpredictable to call which I see as a good thing. Ziggler would be a great IC Champion as he can have excellent bouts with anyone on the roster plus he’s over with the fan base. Sheamus is also a strong candidate to win this match.”
On the Tag-Team title Elimination Chamber match: “WWE Tag Title Bout is really a crowded field and the best team in the hunt, Cesaro and Kidd, would be great champions to build around but New Day has the potential to become solid villains so it’s another match that is hard to call. Don’t discount the Matadores in Corpus Christi winning either but my pick is Cesaro and Kidd which is likely just my wishful thinking.”
On John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: “John Cena vs. Kevin Owens is an intriguing match and a great opportunity for WWE to ‘make’ Owens vs the biggest star in the company whose losing would not hurt him a bit. It’s time to make new stars and in order to do that someone who is over has to do the honors and tonight is a great opportunity for Owens to upset Cena. That’s how I’m picking, Owens over Cena, although I’d be shocked if that occurred. Owens is my pick. Win or lose Owens needs to making memorable impact.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
WWE Superstar Neville recently spoke with Sky Sports to promote this Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On working with the likes of John Cena and Seth Rollins: “I have been incredibly fortunate to be thrown into the mix straightaway and you can’t ask for more than that as a newcomer. It is such an opportunity to wrestle those guys, as well as Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus, and it is something I was adamant I was going to grab with both hands.”
On his ambitions over the next few months: “I want to keep seizing my opportunities. I still feel like I am in my introductory period in terms of making my name in WWE so want to keep my head down and work hard. I would also love to have a match with Daniel Bryan. I don’t know exactly what his health is like but if and when he does return it would be great to get in the ring with him.”
On who the biggest influences of his career were: “There are so many role models who I watched and idolised growing up, mainly guys with a similar athletic style to myself. I loved Dynamite Kid, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, as well as Japanese juniors like Jushin Liger, Ultimo Dragon and Tiger Mask. I always wanted to emulate those stars. However, other guys who have been more actively involved in my progression would be people like William Regal, Terry Taylor and Joey Mercury. Those great minds have really helped and guided me to where I am.”
On if he misses the atmosphere in NXT: “I do, yes. A different demographic of people watch NXT compared to Raw and Smackdown; NXT is followed by the real knowledgeable, hardcore internet audience whereas the main shows have a more family feel. The products, therefore, are very different but I am having a blast on Raw and Smackdown and the new challenges they bring.”
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.”
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins recently spoke with the folks at Digital Spy to promote this Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On his match with Dean Ambrose at Elimination Chamber: “Ambrose is a confident performer, like you said he got a couple of wins under his belt against me, but when the chips are down, always bet on Rollins when it comes to Rollins versus Ambrose. assume he thinks things will be different, but you look at the deck and it’s a little stacked against him. There’s really nobody that performs better in big match situations than me. That’s over the last two, three years, even if you go deeper into my career. Any time it’s a big match and there’s a lot on the line and I’m the guy who needs to hit the home run, I do it. I think Elimination Chamber is another one of those and actually every title match is one of those, and I’m looking forward to it.”
On Kevin Owens coming to the main roster: “No. You know, Kevin’s great. I’ve known Kevin for years and years and years. He’s an excellent talent. There’s a reason The Authority sees big things in him, there’s a reason the WWE Universe sees big things in him. But Kevin Owens is Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. So I’m not terribly concerned at this point in time. I think I earn my keep quite well. Maybe down the line we’ll have to consider other options, but that’s definitely not the case right now.”
On John Cena fading down in his career: “The end of John Cena is an interesting prospect. I think that John has given this company and this industry so much for the last 15 years that it’s gotta be taking its toll on him, physically speaking. He’s not a young man anymore and you get in there with guys like the names you’ve mentioned, all hungry, young, exciting performers with styles that he’s not accustomed to. I think that throws him a little off. He likes that challenge. I know John, he loves a new challenge and he looks forward every day in his whole life. The end of John Cena? I don’t know, but definitely the beginning of a new era in WWE for sure.”
On Brock Lesnar’s return: “The suspension is indefinite, luckily, so we’ll see how long it lasts. But I’m sure Lesnar’s got his eyes set on the prize, I don’t know why he wouldn’t. And I would be glad to give him a rematch, when the time is right. When the situation calls for it. Until then he can sit on the sidelines and enjoy his time at home.”
On ROH going to Destination America: “Great for Ring of Honor. It’s tremendous any time our wrestling industry continues to grow. That’s awesome for them. They were a breeding ground for a lot of talent that now exists [in the WWE]: Kevin Owens, myself, Sami Zayn, obviously Daniel Bryan, Cesaro. They have proven to be a valuable asset when it comes to cultivating great talent as far as moving guys up to the bigger ranks. It’s great – I’m super thrilled for them and I hope they can sustain and hopefully we see more talent coming out of there and into NXT and eventually into WWE. It’s a good time to be a wrestling fan, that’s for sure.”
On Samoa Joe in NXT: “I was very thrilled for Joe. He’s a guy who was an idol of mine growing up, someone I watched when I was in my formative teenage years. He’s someone whose style I emulated when I first started. There’s definitely pieces of Samoa Joe in the Seth Rollins repertoire so it’s cool he’s part of the company now – something you thought you’d never see. Like I say, it creates a lot of super-interesting match-ups, so it’s a great time to be a professional wrestling fan, a great time to be a WWE fan for sure.”
– 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
– It has been rumored for a while that Seth Rollins’ finishing move — the “Curb Stomp” — has been banned by WWE. During a recent fan Q&A, Rollins was asked if WrestleMania 31 was the last time we will ever see the move, and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion confirmed it. Check out the clip below.
Although we’re several months away from the next WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, a U.K. online gambling website has released betting odds for the 30-man over-the-top-rope match scheduled for January of 2016.
The U.K. betting site known as “Bwin” has released odds for the top five favorites to win the 2016 Royal Rumble. Below are the lines they are offering, with Seth Rollins being the favorite and Daniel Bryan being the biggest underdog.
Seth Rollins +200
Brock Lesnar +400
Roman Reigns +500
Ryback +600
Daniel Bryan +600
– WWE officials have begun planting seeds for a possible Triple H vs. Seth Rollins feud.
As seen Monday on Raw, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon threw a celebratory party for WWE World Champion Seth Rollins. During “Architect of a Dream,” Triple H said he sees the reflection of himself in Rollins. Between that line and Rollins adopting the Pedigree, there is talk of the two WWE Superstars clashing in the future (according to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter).
– Samoa Joe appears on the This is Awesome Wrestling Show to talk about his debut in NXT, whether he will appear on Raw or SmackDown, leaving TNA Wrestling, his current state of mind, touring the independent circuit and more. The audio interview is available here.
– Former WWE Divas Ivory, Lita, Molly Holly, Trish Stratus and Victoria reunited on Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina at Master of Ring Entertainment’s “Lasting Legacy: A Tribute To Women In Wrestling” event.
– WWE.com has a poll asking fans which former Shield member has the most talent. With over 8,000 votes in, Seth Rollins is leading the pack with 43%, followed by Dean Ambrose (32%) and Roman Reigns (25%).
– Cesaro posted a photo on Twitter of himself as an “extra” on WWE television in a backstage segment with Shane McMahon and DX from 2006. TNA star Ethan Carter III noted that there was another ‘pretty handsome dude’ in the shot, leading to this interesting exchange:
@WWECesaro pretty handsome dude flanking your left
Former WWE Superstar Evan Bourne, who is now working under the name Matt Sydal, recently spoke with the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show about his recovery from injury and the opportunity he has to team with one of his idols — Japanese pro wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger.
Below are some highlights from the interview.
On recovering from injuries in pro wrestling: “Injuries are two-fold, as professional wrestlers we walk to the ring feeling completely invincible. When I step into the ring, there’s no doubt in my mind, there’s no hesitation, there’s no second thoughts, it’s a 110 percent, full force all the time. If you walk into the ring worried about your ankle, if you walk into the ring worried about your neck, that’s only going to increase the likelihood of something bad or something traumatic happening or getting worse. So when you’re coming back from an injury the keys are that mental game, getting that locked up, and then the physical game’s gonna come because as wrestlers we know what we need our bodies to feel like. That first match back it does not feel good, that second match doesn’t feel good. I mean when I came back I felt like I was drowning in a sea of super athletic young wrestlers. These guys were taking me into the middle of the ring, taking me out into deep waters and seeing if I could sink or swim.”
On teaming with Jushin Thunder Liger: “If there was a Hall of Fame for junior heavyweights he would have his own wing. He’s one of the guys who brought wrestling from Canada, Mexico, and Japan, and combined them into a really magical style of wrestling and that’s what connected with me when I was a young man. The style of Jushin Thunder Liger is how I’ve been molding myself.”
On NXT: “It’s brilliant. This is a third brand that can tour, it’s a third stream of revenue for the WWE, it’s extremely cost effective, and you’re giving amazing talent that has a fanbase a platform that can reach more people. That’s the beauty of NXT, because it just goes to show that the men who walk through Ring of Honor are WWE caliber people. Because there is no difference between Kevin Owens, your NXT Champion, and Kevin Steen, your Ring of Honor Champion. Between Seth Rollins, your Ring of Honor World Champion, and Seth Rollins, your WWE World Champion.”
With all the things you can criticize WWE for these days, the company should be commended on doing an excellent job in elevating their secondary championships.
If you flashback to around this time last year, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was virtually ‘on ice,’ only being defended on major pay-per-view events due to the champion at the time — Brock Lesnar — working under a special, limited-date contract.
Now, at the time, you could make sense of it, and even Vince McMahon himself did when asked about the topic during his interview on the short-lived “Steve Austin Show” live WWE Network podcast, as he pointed to the fact that having Lesnar defend the biggest title in the company on an infrequent basis made World Title matches feel that much more important.
Fast forward to the present day, and when it comes to championships in WWE — all systems are “go.”
First and foremost, we finally have a fighting WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Sure, the storyline surrounding Seth Rollins, the current world champion, is that he chickens away from ‘the big fight.’ At the end of the day, however, the bell eventually rings, the referee raises the golden belt up high, and two or more competitors end up vying for the richest prize in all of sports entertainment.
Now, move down one level to the two secondary championships. For the longest time, the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship, for all intents and purposes, were viewed as a total joke by the WWE Universe — and rightfully so.
Not anymore.
WWE came up with a great idea heading into WrestleMania 31 this year — put more significance behind their secondary titles. First, slap the U.S. title belt around John Cena’s waist. In a bit of irony, it was Cena who really launched his career off of his first U.S. title run, so in a story-telling fashion, his story comes full circle.
So, basically, WWE decided that now that they want to elevate some new blood into the top spots in the company, they decided to put one of their secondary titles — in this case the U.S. title — on arguably the biggest star in the company today.
On the flip side of the coin, when it comes to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE decided to put that belt on the most popular wrestler in terms of the fans — the leader of the “Yes! Movement,” Daniel Bryan.
And that brings us to Monday’s WWE Payback ‘go-home’ edition of RAW.
After being unable to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett at the recent WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view as originally scheduled, WWE played the waiting game to find out how the latest round of the Daniel Bryan injury-bug would work out. As it turns out, whatever Bryan is going through is serious enough that WWE felt they had no choice but to have him surrender the Intercontinental Title on live television, much like they had him do shortly after he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX last year.
The idea behind his forefitting of the title last night was where the plan regarding secondary titles in WWE remains in tact. The reason given by Bryan, delivered in a passionate way I should add, was that the WWE Universe deserves a fighting champion. A top contender who deserves the right to bust his ass day-in and day-out, city-to-city, state-to-state, country-to-country and even continent-to-continent, all for the right to try and earn what is now once again slowly being viewed as a title of importance. One of value. One worth fighting to obtain.
Where WWE goes next with the Intercontinental Championship in particular remains to be seen in terms of how far they are willing to go to try and elevate the perceived importance of the title.
Basically put, the company can go one of two ways, as I see it. You can follow the mandate that they have been following since this year’s WrestleMania, which is find the most over performer with the fans, give him the I-C title, and try and get the belt over that way, so that in the future, the belt can make the man, as opposed to the current formula, where the man makes the belt.
Their second option is to try and do the opposite. Put the title on an up-and-comer who has the goods to deliver, but just needs something to put him over the edge so he is viewed as a bigger deal than he already is. Names like Neville and Sami Zayn come to mind.
Zayn, depending on his injury, would make a great impact on the main roster by giving U.S. Champion John Cena all he could handle — with an injury no-less, in his first high-profile match on RAW since having his run as NXT Champion in WWE’s developmental system, and then go on to win the next high-profile match he is in and become the brand new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins was recently interviewed by the Des Moines Registerto promote WWE’s Behind The Curtain E:60 special on ESPN. Here are some highlights of what Rollins said about:
Growing Up A Pro Wrestling Fan:
“My brother and I would wrestle in my grandparents’ living room, that was our spot. Even when he wasn’t there, I would fight pillows and the wrestling buddies (plush toys shaped like wrestlers) all on my own. Hulk Hogan was a superhero to me as a kid. I loved Batman as a kid, but he wasn’t a real person. He was a character, and I couldn’t touch him. But Hulk Hogan, I watched him walk out on the ramp and get into the ring. He was a real person. If he was real, why couldn’t I be like him? Why couldn’t I do that, too?”
What WWE Really Is:
“It’s not a wrestling show, it’s a TV show about a wrestling show. It’s a classic morality tale. It’s a story as old as time. You have an antagonist and you have a protagonist. You have a conflict and you have a resolution.”
Jamie Noble on Rollins:
“There’s no quitting when it comes to Seth. He doesn’t get down….If we have a bad day, we find a way to make it better the next day.”
Michael Hayes on Rollins:
“He’s one of the most durable guys I’ve ever seen. He’s like a cat. There can be a mistake made and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s broke in two,’ but he’s just up and fine.”
– Regarding the “Curb Stomp” finishing move used by WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, it appears that it is not completely banned. The word going around within WWE is that the move is “on hold” until WWE’s concussion lawsuits are gone, or are no longer an active threat.
As noted earlier, WWE censored the curb stomp on the Roman Reigns WWE 24 special, cutting away to a crowd shot when replaying the final moments of the WrestleMania 31 main event.
– Not only does WWE’s new deal with apparel company Tapout more than just a sponsorship commitment, we have learned that WWE has actually purchased an equity stake in the company. We should have some more specific details on this story later this week.
– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:
April 30th in Lakeland, FL for NXT drew 225 fans
May 1st in Syracuse, NY drew 4,500 fans (tour Daniel Bryan was pulled from)
May 1st in Tampa, FL for NXT drew 325 fans
May 2nd in Hamilton, ONT drew 6,500 fans (tour Daniel Bryan was pulled from)
May 2nd in Halifax, NS drew a sellout of 5,500 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
May 3rd in Oshawa, ONT drew 4,400 fans (tour Daniel Bryan was pulled from)
May 3rd in St. John, NB drew 4,000 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
May 3th in Montreal for RAW drew 10,811 fans with 8,700 paid
It appears that the late decision to add Dean Ambrose to the WWE Payback pay-per-view main event, making it a match with all three members of The Shield involved, was done by design.
Cable TV ads that aired after this week’s RAW, where the angle was shot, still listed a regular triple-threat match between Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Randy Orton, meaning the Ambrose decision was definitely a late decision.
What’s interesting about the change from a historical standpoint is the fact that WWE had been planning to hold off on having all three former Shield members in a high-profile title match at WrestleMania 32.
On a related note, there is speculation that in the fatal four-way match at Payback, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns may end up turning on Orton. The company is lacking in credible heels but they do have new up-and-coming babyface talents that they could be pushing.
If Ambrose and Reigns turn on Orton, that would leave Rollins. Whether or not that means Ambrose-Reigns-Rollins would become a trio again, referred to as The Shield again, or otherwise, remains to be seen.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins was Michael Cole’s guest for this week’s WWE.com sit-down interview.
– Rollins say it’s no secret that the odds are stacked against at Payback, but he’s used to that by now. Rollins ran down his WWE career achievements and said he almost forced Ambrose and Orton into retirement already. He called his WWE Championship win was the greatest moment in WrestleMania history and he likes when the odds are stacked against him.
– Cole asked Rollins about his ongoing issues with Kane. Rollins doesn’t have a personal issue with Kane. His actions may be misguided, but that’s driven by jealousy. Rollins says he can do things in the ring that Kane only dreams of. He’s the hottest thing in WWE and Kane is in the home stretch of his career.
– Cole asks if there will be chaos in the Fatal 4 Way contract signing on SmackDown. Rollins says this is a completely different setting from what happened don RAW and he doesn’t conduct himself in a volatile nature in that type of setting. Rollins says it doesn’t matter what happens on Thursday or leading up to Payback because he will leave with the WWE World Heavyweight Title and The Authority will come out on top.
Raw crossed the border into Canada this week as Payback rapidly approaches. Ambrose found a way to sneak into the main event, Ryback and Bray Wyatt continued their feud, and John Cena issued his most epic open challenge to date. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Randy Orton opened the show by discussing the upcoming Payback pay-per-view. He was only a sentence or two into his soliloquy before being interrupted by Roman Reigns. The two went back and forth for a few, with Reigns saying that Orton “won’t be standing” in two weeks. Orton then read his resume, eventually asking Reigns how many times he’s been a World Heavyweight Champion. Oddly enough, the New Day then interrupted the two, as they vowed to spread the “power of positivity” due to all of the negativity in the ring. Overall, there was some humorous dialogue during the segment, it was nice to see the company booking the tag team champs with the main eventers, and it set up a handicap tag match to start the show.
The opening contest was a three-on-two handicap match between the New Day and Orton and Reigns. During the opening moments, the action was pretty slow, with the faces working over Xavier Woods before Big E came in and hit Orton with a big belly-to-belly suplex. New Day controlled the pace after that, as they isolated Orton and made quick tags. After the break, Reigns took Orton’s place in the New Day’s corner as Xavier Woods attempted to wear him down with a side headlock. Reigns finally hit up Orton with the hot tag and he hit an amazing powerslam on Kofi Kingston after he attempted to utilize a springboard. From there, New Day was getting squashed with Superman punches, DDTs, and RKOs. Reigns and Orton couldn’t keep it together though, as Reigns accidentally hit Orton with a spear and cost his team the match. This match was solid because it made the tag team champions look strong as a cohesive unit, it furthered the tension between Orton and Reigns, and was a fundamentally sound way to start the show. It also set up the main event after Kane made an appearance and announced that Orton and Reigns would compete one-on-one to close the show.
Former members of the greatest stable in recent history collided when Seth Rollins faced off with Dean Ambrose. Kane made the match and announced that if Ambrose were to be victorious, he would be added to the main event at Payback. Ambrose took control early by hitting a massive clothesline at ringside. From there, he worked the champ over while the crowd totally ate it up. Rollins eventually regained control, dominating and dictating the tempo during the middle of the match. Ambrose came back after avoiding a springboard and hitting a tornado DDT. The Lunatic Fringe hit Rollins with a series of clotheslines before executing a bulldog and going into Air Lunatic mode by diving to the floor through the middle ropes. Both guys were able to taste victory with near falls before Rollins destroyed Ambrose with a brutal powerbomb into the barricade. In the end, Ambrose was seconds away from hitting Dirty Deeds before J&J interfered, but it wouldn’t matter as Ambrose would dispose of the goons, roll up Rollins for the win, and secure his spot in the main event at Payback. Awesome match and angle by having all three members of the Shield battle for the title.
King Barrett had a coronation ceremony of sorts after cutting a promo and declaring, “All Hail King Barrett.” No matter how many times they reboot this guy, he makes every gimmick work. He teamed with Sheamus in a tag team match against Neville and Dolph Ziggler. Barrett and Ziggler started the match, with the King pummeling the Show Off with clubbing blows and kicks to the midsection. The action would go to commercial rather quickly after Ziggler took control and sent Barrett sailing to the floor. Sheamus took control during the break and had Ziggler in a headlock after the action returned from break. Ziggler tried to mount a rally but got hit with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Neville and Barrett would both be the recipient of tags, with Neville flying all over the place and dominating Barrett for the most part during a fast-paced frenzy. He wanted the Red Arrow, but Sheamus would distract Neville and allow Barrett to hit the Bull Hammer for the victory.
John Cena cut a passionate promo discussing how he will never give up before issuing another open challenge. None other than Bret “Hitman” Hart answered the call. Hart sadly wasn’t there to fight, but instead to introduce a “great wrestler.” Before he could introduce anyone great, Heath Slater interrupted the legend and got laid out for his troubles. The Hitman then introduced Sami Zayn, much to the surprise of the Montreal crowd and everyone watching at home.
The action was already underway after returning from break, with Cena reeling at ringside. The doctor checked on Zayn after taking a belly-to-back suplex – a move that was obviously done to make Zayn look strong in defeat. Cena and Zayn traded punches before Cena hit three of the Five Moves of Doom before Zayn countered the Five Knuckle Shuffle into a pinning combination. Cena once again was forced to retreat, allowing Zayn to launch himself over the top rope and take out the champ on the floor. Zayn’s inexperience would show as Cena caught him slipping and locked in the STF, even though the upstart challenger would reach the ropes and lock in the Koji Clutch from out of nowhere shortly thereafter. After Cena failed to hit the AA, it became apparent that they were setting up his signature DDT through the middle ropes on the floor, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. After a bit of hesitation, Cena connected with an AA, but Zayn would kick out at two as the crowd cheered. Zayn would eventually succumb to Cena, however, after the champ hit his springboard stunner and another AA. This featured so many memorable spots, the in-ring psychology was great, and it put Zayn over as a worthy competitor even in defeat as he prepares to become a permanent main roster fixture in the near future. Match of the Night, and probably one of the best matches of the year as well.
Ryback’s program with Bray Wyatt continued as he joined Renee Young for an interview. The crowd was dead at first and mostly chanted “Goldberg.” He at least made a good point with the Goldberg chants when he said, “If you ignore it, you just keep doing it.” The Big Guy talked about the adversities he’s faced in his career while talking some smack on Wyatt, eventually winning the crowd back as they joined him in a “Feed Me More” chant. The New Face of Fear then appeared on the big screen and cut a promo saying that Ryback will soon fade away. The segment wasn’t anything special, but both guys cut articulate promos and it advanced their feud, so it’s hard to consider it anything but a positive.
The main event competitors weren’t even making their way to the ring until 11 o’clock, so it was obvious this was going to be very short. Rollins and associates would quickly make their way to ringside and announce their various roles in the match. Orton went for an RKO within seconds but Reigns would avoid the attack. The action was brawling in nature, with few wrestling moves being utilized throughout the match. Rollins guested on commentary during the match and was pretty humorous. When Rollins joined the Authority last summer, he lacked confidence on the mic and some questioned whether he could be a solo star. He’s certainly proven all of the haters wrong over the past year. This would of course end in disqualification after Kane interfered and attacked Roman Reigns before the entire Authority went after Orton. Reigns would dive over the top rope and take them out before being sent into the ring post by Rollins. They isolated Orton and had the upper hand on both Orton and Reigns before Ambrose arrived to make the save. Rollins would take a spear, Reigns would fall victim to an RKO, and Ambrose would be the last man standing after taking out Orton with Dirty Deeds. The wrestling match itself wasn’t that great, but it was a solid way to end the show, put over the fatal four way main event, and perhaps most importantly, get Dean Ambrose back into the main event picture.
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, a big segment was announced for this week’s SmackDown.
On this week’s SmackDown, which airs on Thursday night but will be taped tomorrow night, a contract signing will be held for the WWE Payback pay-per-view main event.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose will all be on hand to take part in the official in-ring contract signing for their fatal four-way title match at this month’s pay-per-view.
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Tuesday night for live WWE SmackDown spoiler play-by-play results coverage!
The main event for this month’s WWE Payback pay-per-view was changed on Monday’s edition of RAW.
At Monday’s RAW, which took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a match was made between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, with a special stipulation. The stipulation, set by “WWE Director of Operations” Kane, called for Ambrose to be added to the WWE Payback title match main event, making it a fatal four-way match.
As the show went on, Ambrose would go on to defeat Rollins in the match, which also featured J&J Security banned from ringside per pre-match stipulations. With the victory, Ambrose is officially added to the main event of Payback.
With that said, the new main event for WWE Payback will be Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose in a fatal four-way match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE RAW takes place tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with more build-up to this month’s WWE Payback pay-per-view.
The WWE Superstars advertised for tonight’s show include John Cena, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Sheamus, Rusev, Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins. Daniel Bryan is not advertised to appear.
While no official matches have been announced for tonight’s show, it is confirmed that John Cena will be holding another “U.S. Open Challenge.”
WWE is focusing on the following points for tonight’s show:
– Who is the greater threat to Seth Rollins’ championship?
– Will Dean Ambrose get retribution against The Authority?
– Might we see a new United States Champion?
– Will Ryback feast on Bray Wyatt?
– What will be Barrett’s first act as King of the Ring?
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com tonight, beginning at 8pm EST. for the best live WWE RAW results coverage on the web!
After last night’s post-Extreme Rules edition of WWE RAW went off of the air, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury got on the microphone and dressed down the fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin for not showing enough respect to WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
They brought up the “Justin Bieber” chants from earlier in the night, which of course prompted the fans to chant it again. Rollins gets upset at the chant and takes the mic. He says he would never come back to Green Bay. He starts trashing the Packers and Aaron Rodgers, saying the Chicago Bears will win the division.
Rollins would continue to talk trash to the fans a bit more until he eventually stormed off and headed backstage to officially end the show and the night.
On Monday’s post-Extreme Rules edition of WWE RAW in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the main event for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view was revealed.
Seth Rollins will be defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a triple-threat match against Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. The decision was made by the fans via a WWE App poll during RAW.
WWE Payback takes place on Sunday, May 17, 2015 at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
Extreme Rules has come and gone, and fans were treated to a cage match, a sprawling Chicago street fight, and even some good old fashioned arse kissing. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from Extreme Rules 2015.
Pros
If we are being completely honest, there wasn’t a lot to choose from tonight in terms of positives. If forced to choose a Match of the Night, it would have to be Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper in a Chicago Street Fight. The action was stiff and sprawling, with Ambrose beating Harper senseless with a kendo stick to start the match before Harper turned the tables and suplexed the Lunatic Fringe through a chair. After receiving a snake eyes into a chair propped up in the corner, Ambrose regained momentum after hitting an awesome clothesline from the apron. The backstage segments were refreshing, and it was nice to see this one continue later in the night. After two matches, the competitors returned in their car and interrupted the New Day’s victory celebration, with the action once again returning to the ring. From there, Harper buried Ambrose under a pile of chairs, but it would ultimately backfire, as Ambrose would suplex Harper onto the chairs and hit Dirty Deeds for the win. Overall, these two had great chemistry, Ambrose provided some humor, and it was a creative way to start the show.
The tag team match was definitely a treat tonight. As always, Kidd and Cesaro went together like peanut butter and jelly, teaming up for multiple combination moves throughout the match. Cesaro was the clear star of this one, displaying his strength by catching Big E in midcard and slamming him to the canvas. Just as it looked as if the champs would retain their titles, Xavier Woods distracted the referee and allowed for Kofi Kingston to grab the roll-up victory. Putting the titles on the New Day isn’t going to have anyone jumping for joy, but it will be nice to see Kidd and Cesaro chase the titles as babyfaces. Fans should be looking forward to these two competing again in the future, as they told a great story, pulled off a number of impressive spots, and the end sequence was believable.
It was announced that the King of the Ring would return on Tuesday night as a WWE Network exclusive. That’s sounds like something that is best for business.
Finally, the main event was sort of barely snuck its way into the pros column. These two ring technicians displayed solid fundamentals to start the match while Seth tried to sneak his way out of the cage. Rollins eventually took control after hitting the sling blade as both guys attempted to utilize the cage as a weapon early on. One positive in this match was that they were given sufficient time before the inevitable outside interference occurred, and seeing Orton hit a Pedigree was a nice change of pace. In the end, Kane of course interfered and helped Rollins retain the title after Seth hit Orton with an RKO. The commentators stupidly discussed whether Rollins was permitted to use the banned move after the match, as if it even mattered because the only two options were a win for Rollins or a disqualification victory for Orton – either instance resulting in Rollins keeping his title. Overall, this was your typical BS cage match, but it was one of the few highlights during an otherwise uneventful night, so here we are.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated the blog section of his official website, sharing his predictions for tonight’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view and talking about some other subjects. Below are some highlights:
On Friday’s “Cheap Pops” taping: “Had a great week down in Orlando observing the NXT TV tapings and doing some RINGSIDE w/ Jim Ross Show business before Mick Foley’s ‘Cheap Pops’ WWE Network TV special was taped that will air this Wednesday night. My 30 minute set will not be a part of Mick’s special which will be a great, one hour TV special that I encourage everyone to check out.”
On the WWE Extreme Rules main event: “WWE Title Bout to be held inside a Steel Cage with Randy Orton’s RKO ‘Banned’…Rollins has to retain and one can expect a “cast of thousands” so to speak to be involved but hopefully the integrity of the cage will not be overly compromised in the process. Seth Rollins is still evolving as the WWE Champion and he’s a great choice for that role as, like many of his successful predecessors, Seth is a “beatable” champion but not tonight. Rollins and Orton should have a great match before all the shenanigans commence one would hope.”
On the Russian chain match: “US Title Bout is a ‘Russian Chain Match’ which will, I think, be the first for both men which is always an iffy proposition. Having a run through in a live event would’ve been ideal but be that as it may I am not a fan of beating the villain in allegedly his type of match but I also find it challenging to see WWE beat John Cena who is doing a grat job of making the US Title mean something since he won it. Unique booking to say the least which isn’t a bad thing but I’d have Cena lose the Title, chase Rusev and thus continue to add equity and attention to the championship. That’s what I’d do but that’s not likely to happen as I could see a Cena-Rusev blowoff match for the Title at Summer Slam if Rusev wins tonight.”
On Daniel Bryan’s status for tonight: “IC Title bout between Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett isn’t likely to happen due to DB’s health status that well could be related to concussion type symptoms but that’s merely my speculation. Nothing is more important than a wrestler’s health so this bout not occurring doesn’t bother me.”
– Renee Young’s new ten-minute WWE Network talk show, “Unfiltered” is scheduled to debut this Tuesday at 4pm EST. Her first guest will be WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. The official description for the show reads as follows: “In the premier of Unfiltered, Renee Young hangs out with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins for a fun and revealing conversation!”
– Speaking of the WWE Network, some sort of special programming is scheduled to air at 8pm EST., on Tuesday night. The WWE Network currently has a one-hour program scheduled with the title being, “Network Exclusive.” The description for that one reads as follows: “To be announced, live WWE action and entertainment featuring top WWE stars.”
The WWE Universe will get its annual dose of extreme this Sunday at Extreme Rules. Every major title is scheduled to be defended, and nearly every match on the card features some sort of stipulation. Here are my predictions for this Sunday’s pay-per-view.
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (Tag Team Champions) vs. The New Day (Pre-Show Match)
The New Day sucks, plain and simple. They belong on the pre-show, and there’s absolutely no way they capture the titles on Sunday. Kidd and Cesaro continue their run as champions after picking up the victory. I do not think they will do so via pinfall or submission, however. I believe the New Day will be on the verge of defeat, leading to Xavier Woods interfering in the match and the New Day viciously attacking the champs. This would further solidify them as heels, while also starting a face turn for the champions by building fan sympathy.
Winners: Kidd & Cesaro by disqualification
Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper (Chicago Street Fight)
This has the potential to be one of the better matches of the night. Expect the action to sprawl all over the area in something resembling a hardcore match from the Attitude Era, with multiple weapons being utilized along the way. In the end, Ambrose will find a way to win after incapacitating his opponent with Dirty Deeds, hopefully leading to a push where he goes after the Intercontinental Championship now that it appears Daniel Bryan will be on the shelf for a while.
Winner: Dean Ambrose by pinfall
Daniel Bryan (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Bad News Barrett
Bryan is injured and will not be competing on Sunday. That’s basically a guarantee. WWE is essentially engaging in false advertising by not announcing that this match will no longer take place. Expect some sort of backstage segment during the show where Bryan is attacked to write him out of the storyline.