As you might have picked up on, the top priority for WWE television this past week was to elevate Ryback back to the top-tier status he enjoyed prior to his lost to CM Punk at Hell in a Cell 2013.
Speaking of Ryback, he’s official for “Team Cena” at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 23rd, as he joins team captain John Cena and team members Dolph Ziggler, Big Show and Sheamus.
On the other end of the match, which is a traditional ten-man elimination style match with the big Authority stipulation, is Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev and Luke Harper.
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt and Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee for the WWE Divas Championship are the only other two matches official for the show thus far.
As noted, Adam Rose vs. The Bunny in a Kickoff Show match and a WWE Tag-Team Championship four-way with Goldust & Stardust vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. The Miz and Damien Mizdow is also expected.
Survivor Series is less than two weeks away, and while three matches on the card are essentially set, much of the program is still unannounced. So, will the WWE work to build a pay-per-view that is solid from top to bottom, or are they simply throwing in the towel because this is a “free” event? Here is the card is expect to see on November 23rd in St. Louis.
Adam Rose vs. The Bunny
After attacking the Bunny last week on Raw, it appears these two legends of the squared circle will square off sooner rather than later. This pairing has kickoff show written all over it, as the company tries to get the crowd going with a “humorous” contest.
Gold & Stardust (Tag Team Champions) vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos
Los Matadores have picked up a few victories over Gold & Stardust over the past few weeks, and the Miz and his stunt double have also feuded with the champs. Throw in the Usos to make an even number of teams, and you’ve got yourself an elimination tag team match for the straps.
If there was ever an awful time for a ten-person pay-per-view main event … this is it.
Why WWE is choosing to run with a ten-person elimination match for the upcoming Survivor Series show is completely beyond me. At this point in time, the depth among WWE’s roster is at one of the lowest that I can ever recall.
With top stars such as Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns on the shelf, and guys like CM Punk leaving at the peak of their popularity and Brock Lesnar working infrequently, WWE is left with very little at the top of the card. The only positive is that it forces them to move guys up the ladder at a faster rate than they normally might do.
With that being said, and I’m well aware that it’s a tradition to have multi-person elimination matches at Survivor Series, but I just can’t fathom why WWE is running with that concept this year, considering the state of their roster.
There’s been plenty of times in the past where they abandoned the elimination match concept at Survivor Series, so it’s not like something they have to make work because they do it every single year.
Regardless, that’s the direction we’re headed this year.
Having said that, one has to wonder how Survivor Series will come off later this month. WWE has put on some pretty solid pay-per-view shows in recent months, but I’ve got my reservations as to how well this show will come off in two weeks.
With pretty much all of the top guys either injured or involved in the main event, what is the rest of the show going to look like? Outside of Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose, thus far there’s virtually nothing on the Survivor Series undercard that I’m looking forward to.
Sure, Adam Rose vs. The Bunny will no doubt be an instant ring classic, but I digress.
All kidding aside, what’s left for the Survivor Series undercard? How many people that matter that aren’t tied up in the main event are left? The answer — not many.
It will be interesting to watch as the card continues to take shape in the final week of television next week leading up to the event.
By the way, if the stipulation in the Survivor Series main event has The Authority losing power if “Team Authority” loses the ten-man elimination main event, why isn’t Triple H trading his suit in for a pair of tights?
Beats me.
You would think with so much on the line, “The Game” would take matters into his own hands, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Unless I’m missing something, however, I guess it’s still possible, as last I checked there is one spot yet to be filled on the heel team. One would assume Triple H will fill that spot, although I haven’t seen any hints aimed in that direction.
While the roster is badly in need of some more depth right now, it is refreshing to know that the talent pool in developmental is as deep — if not deeper — than the current main roster in terms of promising young talent.
I can’t wait for guys like KENTA (Hideo Itami), Kevin Steen (Kevin Owens), Prince Devitt (Finn Balor), Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Tyler Breeze and The Ascension to get their chance to make a splash on the main roster.
Look at some of the recent call-ups from NXT and how they are performing on the main roster. Guys like Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and others are among WWE’s absolute top-tier performers these days. If WWE brings in guys like the names I just mentioned the way those guys were, as opposed to say, the way Adam Rose and Bo Dallas were brought up, the WWE main roster could be quite the group this time next year.
If and when that day comes, WWE can put on as many ten-man elimination matches as they’d like. For now, however, it just boggles my mind that they are choosing to do so with the roster in the state that it’s in.
What do you guys think? Leave your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also hit me up on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.
During today’s edition of WWE RAW, which was taped this afternoon in Liverpool, England, most of the remaining members of both “Team Cena” and “Team Authority” were named for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Official for “Team Cena” now are John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Jack Swagger and Sheamus.
Confirmed for “Team Authority” are Seth Rollins, Kane, Rusev and Mark Henry, leaving one spot remaining.
For complete spoilers for tonight’s RAW, click here.
Following this week’s edition of WWE RAW, which was taped this afternoon in Liverpool, England and will air in its’ normal time slot tonight, a six-man tag-team match took place as the post-show dark match.
The match featured John Cena, Sheamus and Big Show teaming up to take on the trio of Seth Rollins, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury.
As soon as the bell rung, Noble and Mercury bailed, leaving “Mr. Money In The Bank” by himself. This led to Sheamus hitting a Brogue Kick, Show hitting a WMD and Cena hitting an Attitude Adjustment on Rollins.
Also, as noted last week, WWE officials were worried about crowd reactions heading into television tapings in England as a result of the WWE Network launch issues. For those wondering, the popular anti-WWE chant throughout the taping this afternoon was “Where’s our Network?!”
For complete spoilers for tonight’s RAW, click here.
Momentum is everything in the WWE, as even a main event superstar is only a few bad losses away from being relegated to the midcard. Inspired by pound-for-pound boxing rankings, we will track the biggest winners and losers each week in the WWE. Here are this week’s power rankings.
10. Ryback
The Big Guy is back in a big way. Since returning to action, Ryback has squashed his competition. He took out Titus O’Neil on Raw and Cesaro on SmackDown to secure his spot in the top ten. It will be interesting to see how his matchup with John Cena plays out tonight on Raw.
9. Damien Mizdow
The crowd continues to eat up Sandow’s work on a weekly basis. He helped the Miz pick up a win on Raw against Jimmy Uso as his stock continues to rise.
WWE has announced that Nikki Bella will challenge WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee for the title in a singles match at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
With that now known, below is the latest official lineup for the show:
Traditional Elimination Match: Authority’s Power On The Line
– Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler & TBA) vs. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane & TBA)
Divas Championship Match: – AJ Lee (c) vs. Nikki Bella
Mr. Money In The Bank Seth Rollins recently spoke with The Liverpool Echo to promote WWE’s ongoing European tour. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Favorite Memories Of The Shield:
“We had so many. You know, you mention the first match, the first pay-per-view we ever did as The Shield, nobody had any idea what to expect from us as performers inside the ring, we had only beat up their favourite guys, on a weekly basis up until that point! It was going to be an interesting situation and sure enough we delivered, we exceeded expectations I would like to think, and we were up and running from there.
“Over the next two years we got to do lots of crazy stuff, we got to have great matches with the Wyatts, we got to be in two WrestleManias, we got to wrestle The Undertaker on Raw, there are so many great memories, it’s real hard to pick just one.”
What It Was Like To Headline Hell In A Cell With Dean Ambrose:
“Aside from main eventing WrestleMania you really can’t get any bigger than that. You’ve got two guys under the age of 30-years-old, who have been on the main roster for less than three years, and we’re main eventing a pay-per-view, a major pay-per-view, Hell In A Cell, on a show that also features John Cena versus Randy Orton in a Hell In A Cell match as well. So that’s a major milestone, and that’s something that I’m real proud of, something that I’m going to take with me for a long time.
“It’s basically a feather in our caps that we were able to put that together and make that mean so much. I think that’s a testament to all the hard work and time that we’ve spent, just putting in the work, just grinding it out, and getting to that point. It was definitely terrifying up there but after the whole thing was done, I’m glad we had the opportunity to do that, and I’m glad we knocked it out the park.”
If He Ever Dreamt Of His Current Success In WWE:
“That’s always been the goal from day one and it will continue to be the goal moving forward. There is no other place I’d rather be and there is no other place I imagine myself.”
– It looks like WWE has dropped the “We’re here” part of the ring entrance for Bray Wyatt.
– The Big Show vs. Randy Orton match scheduled for WWE’s return to Madison Square Garden on December 26th has been changed to Big Show vs. Mark Henry. Also scheduled for the 12/26 MSG live event is Rusev vs. Sheamus for the WWE United States Championship and John Cena vs. Seth Rollins as the main event.
– Another name who was at the most recent WWE tryout camp was Mark Ptasnik, who is Midwest independent wrestler Mark Sterling. He was recommended by Gerald Brisco. The negative on Ptasnik is that he is already 35 years old, which is expected to hurt his chances of getting a deal.
The Brock Lesnar situation with WWE continues to become an interesting story as his contract gets closer to winding down. There is a lot of talk that Lesnar’s price tag might not be enough to justify using him for shows outside of WWE Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
The WWE Battleground event in July did 31,000 buys on pay-per-view in North America without Lesnar on the show. By comparison, the WWE Night of Champions show in September did 30,000 buys in North America with a Lesnar vs. John Cena main event. Additionally, the worldwide numbers in recent months for shows without Lesnar actually sold more than those with him as part of the card.
The key factor with Lesnar is his price tag. The original plan, which could still be in the works, is for Lesnar to finally lose at WrestleMania 31 to Roman Reigns, making Reigns’ the new face of the company. Part of the issue with that is the concern that it won’t be as meaningful if everyone knows it’s Lesnar’s final match.
There was an expectation at one point in time that WWE would sign Lesnar to a new deal and possibly give him a big babyface run. While it could still happen, it really seems to boil down to whether or not WWE considers his price tag something that’s worth it financially in the end.
As far as Lesnar’s next match, the plan was for him to beat John Cena in January so that the win by Reigns at WrestleMania would look even more impressive. However, if WWE decides that they can’t afford to re-sign Lesnar, then the plans for the Lesnar-Cena match could be changed. The alternative as things stand now would appear to be Cena beating Lesnar, setting up a Cena vs. Reigns match at WrestleMania, which Reigns would win. They could also put the title on Seth Rollins and have Reigns beat him at WrestleMania, however the feeling is that wouldn’t be as meaningful as Reigns beating Lesnar or Cena.
Ahead of his match against Dean Ambrose at Hell in a Cell this Sunday, Seth Rollins spoke to Digital Spy.
Since the former Shield teammates are ‘co-main eventing’ the show with John Cena and Randy Orton, Rollins was asked whether he cares which match is going to be on last.
“Yeah, it is. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that it was. We won’t know the answer to that question till Sunday comes. Of course it’s important. I want to go on last every single night, regardless of the match, regardless of the show,” Rollins said.
“But you throw in the added element that we’re going up against a Cena-Orton match, which has been headlining pay-per-views for the last decade, that’s something huge. That’s a big thing to be able to go on after that match and exceed all the expectations.
“That’s important. I want that challenge, I want that responsibility and I wanna go on last and I wanna be known as the guy who goes on last every single night. That’s important to me.”
After nearly cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase on Brock Lesnar at Night of Champions, Rollins had an interesting chat with Paul Heyman afterwards. Rollins was asked whether it’s possible he will be a “Paul Heyman Guy.”
“You never know. Paul’s a very intelligent guy, a good guy to have on your side, clearly. He’s representing, advocating for the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion and I’d never rule it out,” said Rollins. “I’d be lying if I’d tell you right now that I’ve never taken a piece of advice from Paul Heyman, ‘cos I surely have. And there’ll probably be more pieces of advice in the future that I’ll take from him. Paul’s a guy who’s always helped me out, always been on my side.”
Another “Paul Heyman Guy” was CM Punk. Rollins was asked whether he will ever be back, possibly before WrestleMania 31.
“Before WrestleMania 31 highly, highly unlikely. Down the road? Part of me was 100% sure he’d be back at some point but the longer he’s away, the more it makes me wonder that maybe he’s gone. He spent a good portion of his life dedicated to this business, it’s good for him to maybe get away,” Rollins said.
“He’s done all there really is to do. So I hope that he’s happy and I hope that he’s doing well for himself and enjoying his life away from wrestling. You know, that’s what we all work for is to be able to retire early and enjoy our lives, so I hope that’s the case for him.”
Rollins also discussed Hell in a Cell memories, his rivalry with Randy Orton and the NXT star he feels is the one to watch. The full interview is available here.
Fans are only days away from the annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Emanating from Dallas, TX, this year’s event will feature a total of eight matches, including a WWE World Heavyweight Championship-less double main event.
With the title being noticeably absent, the company will hopefully try to pull out something to make this a memorable pay-per-view. Here are five potential Hell in a Cell shockers.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley, who made a surprise return on Monday’s WWE Hell In A Cell “go-home” edition of RAW in Kansas City, posted the following blog about his experience on his official Facebook page.
YOU PROVED ME WRONG!
Just two weeks’s ago, following the electrifying live appearance of The Rock on #RAW, I was asked on social media when I’d be showing up. I replied that I wasn’t really in that league any more (the small list of legends who can make an instant impact with an appearance) and that I was more of a panel discussion guy, or a Hall of Famer who shows up to present an award, or appear in a backstage vignette. I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself either. I just honestly felt like that ship had sailed – and that I was no longer on board.
Well, last night, you proved me wrong! The whole scenario just seemed to make perfect sense, and I was able to feed off the energy of Ambrose, Rollins and a very appreciative Kansas City crowd to take part in something that felt special; something that left me feeling good – basking in the memories of the moment, and the amazing feedback from family, friends and fans. I felt like a kid who had gotten everything he’d asked for on Christmas. Sure, I made some mistakes. It was actually 18 years ago yesterday that I faced The Undertaker in “Buried Alive”, not “Not Hell in a Cell” which was two years later, and I misquoted Nietzsche…but who among us hasn’t done that?
Speaking of Christmas, how about that “flannel over Santa” look, marking the 300th consecutive day I’ve worn Santa Claus themed attire. Only 65 days left in this Foley fashion quest.
Realistically, what role would you like to see me play in WWE moving forward? I’ve got some ideas. Let me hear yours.
Thanks to all of you who have supported my live shows. There may be nothing like the adrenaline rush of a hot promo on live TV, but telling my tales across the country, and the world, is a close second. You can catch me TOMORROW in #Cornwall ON, Thursday & Friday on #Ottawa, then #QuebecCity for a combined Comic Con signing and live show on Saturday.
NOVEMBER is looking to be a HUGE month for me, with #HardcoreLegend shows in #BROOKLYN #CHICAGO/#ROSEMONT & #PEORIA IL, #PROVIDENCE #MARIETTA & #CINCINNATI (Newport, KY) OH, #NASHVILLE & #MEMPHIS TN #ROME & #ATLANTA GA, and signings in #Rahway NJ & #GAFFNEY SC.
For tickets and information to all shows, go to http://www.realmickfoley.com/events/
As of earlier today, the plan for tonight’s RAW in Kansas City was for WWE to make the announcement of Goldust and Stardust vs. The Usos for the WWE Tag-Team Championships at the October 26th Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
Also as of this morning, the company was still going back-and-forth as to which cell match will be closing the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view this Sunday night, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose or John Cena vs. Randy Orton. As of this afternoon, no official decision had been made.
We are less than one week away from the WWE’s latest pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell. At last year’s event, Shawn Michaels betrayed Daniel Bryan in a championship match against Randy Orton.
A lot has changed over the past year, evidenced by the fact that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will be headlining half of the double main event. The shelf life of a WWE superstar can be short, so it’s always important for superstars to make the most of their time in the ring, especially at pay-per-views. Here is a look at the superstars who have progressed, regressed, or remained stagnant over the past year.
Progression:
1. Dean Ambrose
Nobody had made more progress since last year than Dean Ambrose. At last year’s event, Ambrose was an invisible US Champion and lost his undercard contest to Big E by countout.
This year, he will be headlining the event in a Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins. He continues to receive as much airtime as anyone on Raw each week and has been getting great reactions from the crowds. What a difference a year makes.
2. Seth Rollins
Although Dean Ambrose has progressed the most over the past year, his former partner Seth Rollins is a close second. Rollins will be joining Ambrose inside of a Hell in a Cell for half of the main event, and also holds the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Over the past year, Rollins has improved every aspect of his game. He is stronger on the mic, he developed a convincing and unique finisher, and has adopted a heel personality that has gotten over with the fans. Rollins is a star on the rise and without a doubt a future world champion.
The following are highlights of a new interview with Seth Rollins:
On The Rock: “Uhhhh…I mean there’s a little bit of resentment there there’s gotta be, but it’s mostly envy because we all want to have the level of success that he has. We want to have the ability to walk into a room and um, ya know be as well received as he was. Although, he did take the cheap route I think by um just talking about all the boroughs and wearing his little Brooklyn jacket. But that’s the Rock, that’s how he does his thing.”
On the in-ring style in WWE changing lately: “The style is getting faster and faster. The athletes are getting better and better. The future is pretty bright for WWE.”
On how The Shield measures up against factions like the Four Horsemen and D-X: “The Shield was only around for..what? Two years? And we did A LOT in 2 years. I think the fact that people even take those 2 years and put them up against the reputations of those other groups really says a lot about what we were able to accomplish in that short period of time…It’s definitely something, two years I’m very proud of and I’m happy to say we certainly left a scar on WWE.
WWE announced a second match for this coming Monday’s edition of RAW. In a Divas tag-team match, AJ Lee will get to team with a partner of her choosing to take on Paige and Alicia Fox.
The Divas tag match joins the aforementioned handicap street fight announced for the show, which features John Cena and Dean Ambrose teaming up to take on the trio of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
Also announced for Monday’s RAW, the Hell In A Cell cage will be hanging above the ring during the show, as revealed by Triple H in his latest WWE.com sit-down interview with Michael Cole.
WWE officials were reportedly very careful not to portray the John Cena vs. Randy Orton match at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view as the “loser’s match.”
Announcers on Monday’s RAW were apparently told never to say the “loser” of the Cena vs. Dean Ambrose contract on a pole match would be facing Orton. Orton also kept referring to his match as the “main event.”
While it’s possible that Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins goes on last at the pay-per-view, it’s said that both Hell In A Cell matches will be promoted equally.
Regarding Cena vs. Orton, this will be the ninth time that the two have competed in a singles match on a WWE pay-per-view. Each man has won three of their meeting, while each also picked up a win by disqualification.
It was announced on the RAW Backstage Pass show, which returned after Monday’s RAW on the WWE Network, that next week’s RAW main event will be a handicap street fight.
Headlining next week’s RAW will be John Cena and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
The Seth Rollins/John Cena/Dean Ambrose hate triangle continued last night on Raw, with Dean Ambrose prevailing over John Cena to secure his spot in the main event at Hell in a Cell.
It was also announced that John Cena would square off against Randy Orton in the other half of the double main event. However, did the company make the right call by going with Ambrose over Cena? Here are the pros and cons of each main event, allowing for you to make the decision.
John Cena vs. Randy Orton
Pros: These guys have faced each other too many times to count, including a multi-month program earlier in the year, so the two veterans should have excellent chemistry together.
Adding the Hell in a Cell stipulation should also help spice up the contest, as fans grew tired during their last meeting at the Royal Rumble. In all, by having two Hell in a Cell contests, it should perfectly juxtapose the talent of yesterday (Cena and Orton) with the talent of tomorrow (Rollins and Ambrose).
Cons: As previously mentioned, fans practically booed Cena and Orton out of the building in January. It seems like this has the chance of being a filler main event, as there is essentially no build to the matchup and fans have already seen the two square off more times than they can remember. Additionally, a double main event that features two Hell in a Cell matches could be a bit overkill.
Since capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Brock Lesnar has been virtually invisible. Aside from a few pre-taped interviews, Lesnar has yet to appear since retaining his title last month at Night of Champions.
The latest reports indicate that Lesnar will continue to wear his invisibility cloak, as he is not scheduled to appear again on television until January, meaning the title will likely not be defended for the next three pay-per-views.
It appears that Lesnar and Heyman will not return to television until next year.
With an absent champion and a highly dissatisfied fan base, my question is simple: Is Brock Lesnar’s title run the worst of all-time? In my opinion, it has all the ingredients to take home the honor.
Not only has Lesnar’s title run not been memorable thus far, it doesn’t make sense from either a business or storyline perspective.
On the business front, Raw has gone off a cliff over the past few months. Fans have expressed their displeasure online, crowds are chanting “This is stupid,” and the rating for last week’s episode of Raw was the lowest since 2012.
Although the company wasn’t exactly serving up filet mignon over the summer, there’s no denying that it was a bit tastier than the rump roast they’ve been dishing out over the past few weeks. I also think it is no coincidence that the downturn in the quality of Raw directly coincided with Brock Lesnar becoming champion.