WWE announced six of the participants for the Money In The Bank ladder match at the upcoming Money In The Bank match.
During Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber special event on the WWE Network, WWE announced Neville, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler will be taking place in this year’s Money In The Bank ladder match.
It’s worth noting, however, that WWE made it clear that the aforementioned six WWE Superstars are only some of the participants who will be featured in this year’s Money In The Bank contest.
The WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Photos from the set of the upcoming theatrical film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 have revealed Sheamus as being cast as a villainous character originating from the cartoon series of the 1980s and ’90s.
Photos, which can be seen at DailyMail.co.uk, show the WWE Superstar portraying Rocksteady, a humanoid rhinoceros. He is seen with Bebop, a humanoid warthog played by Gary Anthony Williams. Together, they are the minions of Shredder, who will face off against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their reporter pal April, played by Megan Fox.
While they’re not mutant animals—yet—they’re both sporting their punk style from the cartoon series.
– There’s no word yet if NXT Champion Kevin Owens will be appearing on Monday’s “go-home” edition of RAW to promote his match with John Cena on next Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. WWE is, however, teasing that Cena will address what happened with Owens last week for the first time on Monday’s RAW. Additionally, Cena will hold yet another “U.S. Open Challenge” on RAW.
– WWE performers Sheamus and Becky Lynch posted the following comments on social media about Ireland becoming the first nation to approve same-sex marriage.
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.
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!
Dolph Ziggler spoke with the Chronicle Herald to promote this weekend’s WWE live events in Halifax. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On Sheamus and defeating him at Extreme Rules: “He’s someone who’s bullied some of the smaller guys in the past, and he’s bullied me pretty much my whole career. That really made him extra angry. It’s guys like Sheamus who hit hard and talk a big game that make me step up my game and make it that much better.”
On the current WWE roster: “The talent is so great on the (WWE) roster right now. Everybody wants to out-do everyone else. It’s about putting on a great show and giving it your all.”
On why he has a chip on his shoulder: “Everything I’ve ever done has basically been an uphill battle, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s why there’s a chip on my shoulder. That’s why I prove myself to be the best every single night.”
– Bad News Barrett spoke to Tom Phillips backstage after winning the King of the Ring tournament on Tuesday night. Barrett called Phillips an absolute moron and he’s said everything he has to say while he was on his throne right after becoming king.
– WWE has posted a video of Sheamus receiving 4 stitches in his head after his match against Dolph Ziggler in their King of the Ring semi-final match.
The 2015 WWE King Of The Ring special opens up with a video package showing highlights of several past King Of The Ring tournaments. From there, we shoot live into the arena where we are welcomed by Michael Cole on commentary.
After that, Jerry “The King” Lawler is introduced. He comes out with the King Of The Ring crown and stands at the top of the stage with a microphone. He welcomes us all to the KOTR tournament exclusively on the WWE Network. He talks about the four Superstars who advanced to tonight’s semi-finals.
Backstage: Sheamus Interview
Backstage, Sheamus is interviewed. He talks about the King Of The Ring and about how he’s going to win it. He closes by saying just like Dolph Ziggler, when he wins the KOTR, everyone can “Kiss Me Arse.”
Backstage: Neville Interview
From there, we shoot to Renee Young, who is with Neville. He talks about how crazy it is that he just debuted in the WWE and he’s already close to becoming the King Of The Ring.
King Of The Ring Semi-Finals – Sheamus vs. Neville
Sheamus’ theme hits and out he comes for our first of two semi-final matches tonight here at the WWE King Of The Ring 2015 live special on the WWE Network. After Sheamus makes his way out, out comes Neville.
The bell rings and the bigger Sheamus immediately starts to physically bully Neville around the ring, pushing him into the corners. Neville starts firing away with kicks and quick offense, trying to speed up the pace so he has a better chance, but ultimately, Sheamus slows him down and starts to take over control of the contest.
Sheamus dominates the action for a while, including knocking Neville off the ring apron and onto the announce table and hitting him with White Noise. Then, out of nowhere, Dolph Ziggler makes his way out to distract Sheamus. When Sheamus turns around, Neville knocks Sheamus down with a kick. He goes to the top for his Red Arrow finisher and hits it. 1-2-3.
Winner: Neville
After The Match:
After the match, Ziggler congratulates Neville. He tells Sheamus there was a stipulation for their match and now he’s here to collect. He hits the ring and starts beating up Sheamus, but Sheamus manages to escape up the ramp. Sheamus ends up coming back in the ring and both guys start brawling. During the brawl, Sheamus’ eye gets split open badly. Really badly. 100 referees hit the ring and finally break things up.
King Of The Ring Semi-Finals – R-Truth vs. Bad News Barrett
After a bunch of plugs from the announcers and commercials and stuff, the WWE Network returns back live to the King Of The Ring special. R-Truth’s music hits and out he comes for this, our second of two semi-final matches. Out next is his opponent for tonight, Bad News Barrett.
The bell sounds and here we go. Immediately Barrett takes control with a big boot to the face. He knocks him out to the floor and beats him up a bit outside of the ring before continuing to punish him back inside the ring.
R-Truth gets some hope spots and then a mini-comeback, although it isn’t long before Barrett takes over again. Barrett hits Truth with his Bull Hammer Elbow. 1-2-3. We have our second of two finalists now.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross has updated his official blog with lots of thoughts on Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Below are some highlights:
On Samoa Joe: “Next week on the Ross Report I will have a provocative conversation with @SamoaJoe who some feel is headed to WWE sooner than later. It would take me about 10 minutes to sign Joe if I were still in my old, talent relations role in WWE.”
On Roman Reigns: “Roman Reigns is on track to become what WWE wants him to be. I believe in this athlete and feel that he simply needs time and not to be force fed the audience and he will end up being the star that WWE wants/needs. Reigns match with Big Show was a pleasant surprise and arguably the best match on the show.”
On the Extreme Rules main event: “I’m not a fan of escaping the cage as a way of winning a cage match but that’s not the talent’s issue. Orton and Rollins worked hard but it was too predictable that multiple outside parties were going to get involved in the conclusion of the match. Some fans and apparently many in the decision making business of the overall wrestling biz feel that a loss is damning for a talent a takes them down too many notches. Obviously, I don’t share totally in that philosophy.”
On Sheamus: “Sheamus is on track to become a hit as a villain if he continues to perfect the nuances necessary to do so. He’s a big, bully of a man who seems to enjoy his bad guy positioning. His match with Ziggler provided me with a surprising outcome. Thought the ass kissing phase went a little long but in the end, no pun intended, Ziggler got a win and has an issue while Sheamus left with heat. Good for both.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, Neville and R-Truth won King of the Ring matches on RAW to qualify for the semi-finals on Tuesday night. The new king will be crowned during the live King of the Ring special on the WWE Network that starts at 8pm EST.
– It’s been rumored for weeks and on Monday’s RAW, the Bray Wyatt-Ryback feud officially got underway. After Ryback defeated Bo Dallas in a one-sided match, the lights in the arena went out and Bray Wyatt appeared behind the Big Guy. Ryback sized up Wyatt, charged at him but got hit with Sister Abagail. Later in the show, Wyatt cut one of his promos backstage.
– This week’s SmackDown will see an Extreme Rules tag team title rematch with New Day vs. Kidd & Cesaro.
– WWE will be holding a Pat Patterson Appreciation Night at the May 4th edition of RAW in Montreal. WWE had a Patterson night planned a few years ago for the same venue on the same night, but it was the same night that Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack so it was cancelled. The ceremony on 5/4 will take place after RAW ends.
– Sheamus tweeted out the following today after the King of the Ring brackets were announced:
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.
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.
Dolph Ziggler posted a lengthy message on Twitter earlier today directed at Sheamus ahead of their “Kiss My Arse” match this Sunday at Extreme Rules. Ziggler vents about being a smaller guy in WWE and the “system” in place, cryptically stating that, “You’ve got 5 months to prove that ‘I’ need ‘YOU'”
As noted earlier this week, WWE Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan suffered an injury of some kind during his match on the April 9th live event in Dublin, Ireland. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Bryan was hurt in his March 31st SmackDown match with Sheamus, and was already “banged up” heading into the WWE European tour. The injury that occurred during his 4/9 match likely just made matters worse and resulted in WWE sending Bryan home early.
According to one WWE source, Bryan is expected to be out of action for five weeks, so regardless of how serious his condition is, it is expected that he will be missing the WWE Payback pay-per-view on May 17th. WWE hasn’t confirmed whether or not he will be defending his title against Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules this Sunday as originally advertised, but it doesn’t appear that he will.
This week’s WWE.com sitdown interview features Sheamus talking to Michael Cole about his new attitude, his “Kiss My Arse” match against Dolph Ziggler this Sunday at Extreme Rules and more. Here’s a recap:
– Sheamus says he’s having the time of his life with his new look and attitude. The past few weeks have been a breath of fresh air for him and he feels reborn. He’s not worried about fan feedback on his new look and says the only voice that matters is his.
– Cole asks why Sheamus has an issue with underdogs like Neville, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan. Sheamus says underdogs make a romantic story, but it’s fantasy. All he sees are pretenders who look just like the fans in the audience. All of these “so-called Superstars” seem to be multiplying, but he’s a true Superstar of WWE. He’s going to restore order in WWE and show the fans what a real WWE Superstar is.
– Sheamus took a look at himself when he was out of action with an injury and didn’t like he saw. He realized to be liked is to be yourself and that’s what he’s doing.
– Sheamus previewed his Kiss My Arse match against Dolph Ziggler this Sunday at Extreme Rules. Beating a man is one thing, but taking his soul is another. Sheamus says he’s going to embarrass Ziggler in Chicago – and will send a message to the entire WWE Universe that they can all kiss his arse.
Although it was initially reported that Daniel Bryan was sent home from the WWE European tour early due to concussion issues, WWE is claiming that is not the case.
Bryan was, in fact, sent home from the overseas tour prematurely. WWE described the reason he was sent home early was due to a “precautionary measure,” however declined to offer additional details on his physical condition.
While Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was reportedly told that Bryan was indeed dealing with concussion issues believed to stem from a recent match he had with Sheamus, WWE is claiming otherwise, instead refusing to offer an explanation past the point of saying, “he’s banged up.”
– After last night’s WWE RAW from London went off the air, the WWE Network opened from the O2 Arena with the fallout from the Rollins & Orton main event segment. The announcers then plugged the WWE Network sneak peek of the new Ultimate Warrior DVD and cut to a promo from Vince McMahon, who talked about Warrior’s impact on people and introduced the Warrior DVD preview.
– Last night on RAW, we saw Fandango dump Rosa Mendes and revert back to his ChaChaLaLa theme music. Fandango is scheduled for a babyface push.
– Former TNA Knockout Sarita, who is working in CMLL under the name “Sarah Stock,” is working as a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida this week. Former WWE and WCW star Dave Taylor is also working as a guest trainer this week.
– WWE stock was up 1.64 percent on Monday, closing at $13.64 per share. The high today was $13.88 and the low was $13.40.
– Sheamus posted the following on his official Twitter account regarding his new theme song, “Hellfire.”
WWE put on a six-man tag-team match as the non-televised post-show dark match after taping RAW at the O2 Arena in London, England on Monday afternoon.
The match saw WWE Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan team up with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler to take on the trio of Big Show, Sheamus and Luke Harper. The fans at the O2 Arena were said to be as loud and enthusiastic for this match as much as any other on the card.
The finish of the match saw the babyface team pick up the win after Bryan forced Harper to tap out to the “Yes! Lock.”
In a related note, with Lilian Garcia on the sidelines recovering from surgery, NXT Diva Eden handled the ring announcing for RAW this week. Garcia noted on Twitter that she will be live-tweeting with fans when the show airs in its’ regular time slot tonight.
For complete RAW spoilers for tonight, click here.
Following Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW at the O2 Arena in London, England, new matches and stipulations were announced for the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
Below is an updated look at the lineup:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match With The RKO Banned
– Seth Rollins (c) vs. Randy Orton
WWE U.S. Championship Russian Chain Match
– John Cena (c) vs. Rusev
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
WWE Divas Championship
– Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige
Rumored Matches
– Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus
– Roman Reigns vs. Big Show (or Roman Reigns & Ryback vs. Big Show & Kane)
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Sunday, April 26th for the best WWE Extreme Rules live results coverage on the web!
– The name of Sheamus’ new theme song is “Hellfire.” The song was done by a band called CFO$.
– Connors Cure bracelets have been selling out at the WWE live events in the U.K. this week.
– 2K Sports noted on social media that the upcoming WWE 2K16 video game will have the largest roster of Superstars and Divas of any WWE video game in history.
– Alex Riley has been calling out NXT Champion Kevin Owens on Twitter lately. In his most recent tweet, Riley claimed he could double the WWE Network subscriber count from 1.3 million to 2.6 million. Riley tweeted the following:
– WWE recently applied for a number of new trademarks. WWE has applied to trademark the term “Superfriends Crew,” possibly for a new stable. They also applied for “New Face of Fear” for Bray Wyatt, “Lone Wolf” for Baron Corbin, “The Vigilante” for Sting, “Anti-Diva” for Paige, “The Beast Within” for Brock Lesnar, and other terms such as Starrcade, Halloween Havoc and WWE Nation.
– UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey has signed with Dany Garcia, The Rock’s ex-wife and business partner, to be her new business manager. With a budding movie career (Fast 7, The Expendables 3) and a new book coming out next month, it will be interesting to see what’s next from UFC’s most dangerous female fighter.
It’s worth noting that Rousey and The Rock also share the same agent, Brad Slater.
– It’s believed that stipulations will be added to the Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton WWE title match and John Cena vs. Rusev U.S. title match at the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Also expected for the PPV is Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler in singles action, and either Big Show vs. Roman Reigns or Big Show & Kane vs. Roman Reigns & Ryback. Already scheduled for Extreme Rules, in addition to the two aforementioned title matches, is an Intercontinental Championship bout between Daniel Bryan and Bad News Barrett.
Speaking of Cena, the WWE has a poll up asking who should respond to The Champ’s next open challenge. The options include Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Damien Mizdow, Sheamus, and more. With 25% of the vote, Sheamus is currently leading the results. Check out footage of Stardust answering this weeks’ open challenge below.
Tonight’s episode of Raw was held in Austin, Texas, and featured the fallout from last week’s epic post-WrestleMania show. Fans saw a new number one contender crowned, John Cena issue another open challenge, and Sheamus solidify himself as a heel. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from this week’s Raw.
Pros
The Authority opening segment is something we’ve all seen a million times before, but it actually worked out well this time around. Rollins gloated about his win at WrestleMania, while Big Show put over the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Randy Orton quickly interrupted the segment, declaring his RKO at WrestleMania to be the “most spectacular RKO of my career.” Damn straight, it was. This also set up the first meaningful main event on Raw in what feels like ages, as it was announced that Orton, Ryback, and Reigns would compete in a triple threat match to determine the number one contender at Extreme Rules. (Although wasn’t it already announced that Orton and Rollins would compete in the main event this past week?)
Seth Rollins was scheduled to face an unnamed opponent. As soon as Neville’s music hit, this was pretty much guaranteed to be match of the night. This was fought at a frantic pace for the most part, with both superstars gaining the upper hand at times. Neville utilized a number of aerial maneuvers during the match, including an awesome dive to the floor that saw him land on his feet. Rollins was equally impressive and showed why he’s the champ, as he worked over the NXT newcomer while hitting all of his signature moves. It was funny to hear JBL slip up and say Adrian Neville before quickly correctly himself. (Sorry JBL, they don’t do first names in the WWE anymore.) This had a few amazing sequences near the end including a rollup from Neville and Rollins countering into a powerbomb into the corner in a match that made both guys look good.
There was nobody in the company in more need of a face/heel change than Sheamus. He was as stale as a year-old loaf of bread as a face and cheesy af. His promo tonight was good and he was definitely over with the crowd. He was talking smack and listing off his measurements (he almost made it to his shoe size) before being interrupted by the World’s Strongest Man. The contest itself was pretty entertaining – with Henry tossing Sheamus around to the delight of his hometown crowd during the opening moments of the match. Sheamus countered the World’s Strongest Slam into a stiff Brogue Kick to end an entertaining segment.
The Prime Time Players were humorous during their Ascension parody promo.
This week’s main event was a triple threat match featuring Orton, Reigns, and Ryback. All three superstars were victorious earlier in the night and the winner of the main event would have a chance to challenge Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules. Orton was the star of the show early, hitting powerslams on both Ryback and Reigns. Ryback then took over for a little while and nailed Reigns with a Meat Hook before countering an RKO into a spinebuster. His momentum was brought to a screeching halt after taking a spear from Reigns, however. The Authority approached the ring and Reigns leapt over the top rope to take everyone out. Big Show would make him pay for his actions by hitting him with the knockout punch. The Authority then focused their efforts on taking out the Viper, and Ryback would get rid of J&J before taking an RKO from outta nowhere and losing the match. Orton wouldn’t have any time to celebrate though, as Rollins quickly delivered a Curb Stomp and stood over Orton to end the show. Even if the outcome was never really in doubt, it was nice to see a main event that had some kind of implications on the storyline, and it did something to further the feud between Orton and Rollins, so this has to be considered a positive.
Finally, say what you will about John Cena, but I think putting the United States Championship around his waist was a great idea. We got a quality match with Dean Ambrose last week, and this week was no different with Stardust rolling out to answer the open challenge. These two went together like beer and peanuts and put on an entertaining match. Cena dominated the match for the most part, but Stardust had his moments, such as when he countered an Alabama Slam into a sunset flip early in the contest. Cena showed his strength on multiple occasions by countering Cross Rhodes into a big power slam. In the end, Cena retained by hitting the springboard stunner he’s been using lately and following it up with an AA. Overall, it was a good match and it’s nice to seeing the title being defended on a weekly basis.
coming out next month, it will be interesting to see what’s next from UFC’s most dangerous female fighter.