The following are complete spoiler results of the WWE SmackDown taping from Liverpool, England.
– Chris Jericho opens up the WWE SmackDown taping for this week. He comes out to a huge pop from the Liverpool audience. It’s time for the “Highlight Reel” segment. Jericho’s guests, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, make their way out to the ring. The fans break out in a “Where’s Our Network?!” chant, much like at Monday’s RAW, which was also taped in Liverpool, England. Not a lot of details about what was said, just that this was apparently a really good segment.
– Vince McMahon came out of nowhere and cut a promo at the top of the stage. He came out after some more “Where’s Our Network?!” chants broke out. He insulted the fans in attendance, saying that Liverpool sounds like a “skin disease.” This was apparently a dark segment that won’t air as part of the broadcast this Friday night. For a photo of Vince at the SmackDown taping in Liverpool, click here.
– Bray Wyatt def. Sin Cara in what was basically a brief squash match. Wyatt dominated from bell-to-bell, picking up the win with his “Sister Abigail” finisher for the 1-2-3. After the match, Wyatt cut a promo, which prompted Dean Ambrose to come out. Wyatt fled the scene before Ambrose could get to him. The segment ended with Wyatt at the top of the stage laughing at Ambrose.
– Goldust and Stardust def. Adam Rose and The Bunny in tag-team action. This was said to be a decent match, but mostly a comedy bout. They teased more issues between Rose and The Bunny.
The following are complete spoiler results of the WWE Main Event taping in Liverpool, England, for tonight’s show on the WWE Network:
– Stardust def. Adam Rose in the opening match of the taping. They teased more tension among Rose and his “Rosebuds.”
– Alicia Fox def. Cameron in Divas action. This was said to be your basic Divas match, which according to our correspondent in attendance, the crowd was not into at all.
– Tyson Kidd def. Sami Zayn in a battle of NXT stars. Natalya was at ringside for this one and ended up playing a big factor in the end of the match. The finish saw Kidd pick up the win after Nattie provided a distraction.
– Dean Ambrose def. Justin Gabriel in singles competition. This was said to be one of the better matches of the taping, as you would expect with these two. This was also the main event of the taping, so we’re switching gears and heading into the SmackDown taping. Check the main page for live spoiler results coverage of that show.
Adam Rose vs. “The Bunny” is currently scheduled to serve as the WWE Survivor Series “Kickoff Show” match. It’s worth pointing out that pre-show plans often change, however that is currently the working idea.
Another match expected for the upcoming pay-per-view is Los Matadores vs. Damien Sandow and The Miz vs. The Usos vs. Stardust and Goldust for the WWE Tag Team Championships.
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.
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.
It was announced on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW that on this coming Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, one of the main events will be a six-man tag-team match.
The Usos will team up with Sheamus to take on the trio of Goldust, Stardust and The Miz.
Make sure to join us here for SmackDown spoiler coverage on Tuesday night.
Apparently Goldust was backstage at RAW last Monday in Chicago, Illinois, however the vignette with Stardust that aired on the show had already been taped while he was on vacation with his family in Hawaii.
Stardust went on to wrestle Jimmy Uso at the WWE Superstars taping on Monday, but did not work the SmackDown taping the next night.
Both Goldust and Stardust are expected to be back together at Monday’s RAW in Brooklyn, New York, as the two both made appearances at the Ringside Fest event in New York City this weekend.
The following matches were taped prior to Monday’s RAW in Chicago, Illinois for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
– Kofi Kingston def. Sin Cara in singles action to open up the show. This was said to be a good match with a lot of high flying spots.
– Jey Uso def. Stardust in a battle of tag-team competitors in singles action. This was also considered to be a good match that was well received by the Chicago fans.
– Although he was advertised, Kane missed the WWE live event this past weekend for an unknown reason. As we noted over the weekend, Goldust also missed one of the weekend live events, as he was on vacation in Hawaii with his family. In his place, Stardust worked a singles match against R-Truth on the show.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is included in the latest commercial advertisement for the Wendy’s fast-food restaurant advertisements, alongside “Karate Kid” star Ralph Macchio and “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star Alfonso Ribeiro. You can check out the commercial below.
“Steve Austin, Alfonso Ribeiro and Ralph Macchio are helping us spread awareness about mouth-watering pulled pork to millions of barbecuilly deprived Americans, but we still need your help.”
– Goldust missed last night’s WWE live event in Youngstown, Ohio because he was on vacation with his family in Hawaii. Stardust did work the show, however, losing to R-Truth in the opener.
– Jim Ross wrote the following on Twitter regarding his upcoming autobiography.
Just finished a nifty, 12 hour day working on my autobiography. 3 straight days w/ 1 one more to go…for now. Hope to finish in 2015. #WHEW
– Despite his injury, WWE Superstar Roman Reigns will still be making his scheduled appearance at Ringside Fest with Dean Ambrose next weekend in New York City. Also scheduled to appear are The Bella Twins and the WWE Tag-Team Champions, Goldust and Stardust.
– WWE will be “going pink” again in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At Thursday’s NXT tapings, the ring ropes were pink for the episodes that will air in October. The crew came out and taped the roles yellow again for the shows that were filmed for November.
– On Monday, WWE announced and promoted a match between Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton for the post-Night Of Champions edition of RAW. An hour later, they removed the advertising for that match and ended up going a different direction. During Monday’s RAW, WWE promoted a Night Of Champions rematch between The Usos and Goldust and Stardust, however just before the taping last night, they switched the advertisements to feature a Big Show vs. Rusev match instead.
– Below is the “Top 10 Moments from this week’s RAW” video for Monday’s show.
Ronda Rousey vs. TRANSSEXUAL?!, Wanderlei Silva BANNED FOR LIFE From MMA + MORE!
It was announced on Monday night’s post-Night Of Champions edition of WWE RAW that on Friday, October 10th, WWE will be celebrating the 15-year anniversary of WWE SmackDown.
Also announced on RAW was a big Night Of Champions WWE Tag-Team Championship rematch with the new champions, Goldust and Stardust defending against the former champions, The Usos.
On paper, WWE Night of Champions didn’t look like anything special. It was mostly a card packed with rematches, and what would have likely been the best match of the night was cancelled a few days before the event.
With that said, it was hard to come away from last night’s event without feeling satisfied. The action was solid, the booking was logical, and the pay-per-view as a whole was entertaining. Throughout the night, some superstars squandered their time on camera, while others excelled. Here are the 5 superstars who made the most of their time at Night of Champions.
5. Gold and Stardust
The Dust Brothers are finally champions once again. After several months with the Usos at the top of the tag division, it is nice to see a new team carrying the straps. Both Gold and Stardust worked very well during their contest, and it served as an excellent way to start the evening.
It will be interesting to see where the brothers go from here, as they are already teasing a feud with former NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension and there are few teams on the main roster worthy of a title shot. .
4. Chris Jericho
This was Y2J’s final match of his current run with the company. Although his program with Bray Wyatt fell a bit flat, it is always great to see Jericho back in a WWE ring.
He did not disappoint last night either, as Jericho and Orton put on a show for the Nashville crowd. The contest ended after a memorable spot that featured Orton hitting an RKO on Jericho after he dove from the top rope. Although he came out on the losing end last night, Jericho did everything he could to put Orton and the match over, and it served as an excellent conclusion to his current run.
3. Cesaro
From a wrestling perspective, the match of the night was easily Sheamus against Cesaro. The two worked incredibly well together, with a number of memorable spots and counters. Much like Jericho before him, Cesaro did not come out on top last night, but he showed why he is one of the best workers in the business.
Another United States Title run likely wouldn’t have done much to advance Cesaro’s career, so the loss isn’t really damaging, but it would be nice to see the Swiss Superman sporting a bit of gold in the near future (perhaps the Intercontinental Championship). Cesaro made the most of every second he was given, illustrating why he should be pushed as one of the future stars of the company.
WWE RAW emanates from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee with the fallout from Sunday night’s WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, who successfully retained his title in his rematch against John Cena on Sunday, is not advertised to be a part of the show. Also expected to be absent tonight are Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns.
Superstars that are advertised for tonight’s show include Dean Ambrose, The Wyatt Family, Randy Orton, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Triple H, Kane, Cesaro, Sheamus, Big E and The Usos.
In the case of Reigns, as noted above, he is not expected to appear, however he is included in the advertisements for the show. It’s worth noting that this is likely a case of advertisements that were released prior to his emergency surgery this weekend.
WWE is focusing on the following points in their “RAW Five-Point Preview” for tonight’s show.
– Who is next for Brock Lesnar?
– Will Dolph Ziggler look for retribution on The Miz tonight?
– What will Goldust and Stardust do next?
– Will Paige and Nikki Bella prey upon AJ Lee now that she’s the Divas Champion?
– Will Dean Ambrose strike at Seth Rollins once again?
Chuck Carroll of CBS’s Washington DC affiliate sent along the the following recap of his interview with WWE Superstar Stardust, calling it “hands down, it was the strangest and most fun interview I’ve done. He stayed in character the whole time and honestly it was hard to keep a straight face.”
One of the newsworthy highlights was Stardust’s response to who he and Goldust want to feud with if they capture the WWE tag team championships from The Usos at Night of Champions. He said:
“The inevitable is that a new challenger needs to step up. Perhaps, someone we haven’t seen,” he said. “There is all types. I am not naive enough to not look at the [deep talent pool] that is the tag team division. Even a team like NXT’s The Ascension would be a fitting little appetizer.”
Other topics discussed include wrestling in Dusty Rhodes’ shadow and how he was able to build a career that speaks for itself.
He also said he and his wife (WWE Diva Eden) would be interested in doing Total Divas if asked.
Night of Champions is only a few days away. Even though the WWE has been serving up plates of garbage on Raw for weeks now, many still have high hopes for this pay-per-view, as every title in the company will be defended.
With that said, here are my predictions for this Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view, which in case you haven’t heard, can be viewed on the WWE Network for only $9.99 (or $12.99 if you’re afraid of commitment).
Nikki Bella vs. Paige (WWE Divas Champion) vs. AJ Lee
I don’t expect it to be a terrible contest, as two of the three competitors are great workers and Nikki isn’t the worst Diva fans have ever seen. In the end, I believe Nikki will capture the title with help from her sister, reuniting the Bella Twins and putting an end to their horrible feud.
Winner: Nikki Bella by pinfall
Sheamus (United States Champion) vs. Cesaro
This should be one of the more exciting contests of the night, but I unfortunately don’t see it being given a ton of time. Although Cesaro will put up a hell of a fight, Sheamus will retain after hitting a Brogue Kick, possibly setting up a feud with Rusev for the United States Championship in the near future.
With new matches being officially announced on Monday’s “season premiere” of RAW in Baltimore, below is the latest official lineup for the WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, September 21, 2014.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. The Miz
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Usos (c) vs. Goldust & Stardust
WWE Divas Championship
– Paige (c) vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
– Rusev vs. Mark Henry
Make sure to join us here on 9/21 for WWE Night Of Champions live results coverage.
As things stand right now, the only matches officially set for the September 21st WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view in Nashville, Tennessee are Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship and Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
According to reports, two additional matches that are all but confirmed are The Usos vs. Goldust and Stardust for the WWE Tag-Team Championships and Mark Henry vs. Rusev.
The plan right now for the WWE Divas Championship match on the card appears to be a four-way with Paige defending against AJ Lee, Nikki Bella and Brie Bella, as all four were linked together on all of WWE’s television shows this week.
Another match likely for the show, although it may not be a pay-per-view match, is Bo Dallas vs. Jack Swagger.
The key Superstars left without matches that are expected on the show are Chris Jericho (in his final match of his current run with WWE), Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
It appears WWE is going with a Reigns vs. Rollins match, so they may go with Jericho vs. Orton since the Jericho vs. Wyatt and Reigns vs. Orton matches are set for next week’s RAW to combat the season premiere of Monday Night Football. However, they could either way, with one final Jericho vs. Wyatt “blow-off” match, as well as another Reigns vs. Orton bout.
As noted in the past, the WWE Studios film “Lockdown,” which Dean Ambrose is off filming, is set to wrap up on the Saturday before Night Of Champions, so he could end up on the show if WWE chooses to go that route.
The WWE rolled through midwest tonight, as they set up shop in Des Moines, Iowa. This week’s card featured a total of eight matches, including a life changing six-man tag main event. It’s time to once again take the WWE to school, and I’ll be the one doling out the grades.
As always, matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, move variety, crowd reaction, and overall impact on the storyline. Important in-ring promos will also be graded based on factors such as originality, believability, and importance. Without further ado, here is this week’s Raw report card.
Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel
Tonight’s show started with Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel, and featured a shitload of guests, including the Authority, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. There was some entertaining banter during the segment, including Triple H and Jericho hurling corny insults at one another as Jericho dissed Triple H’s pink tie, while the Game chose to attack Y2J’s scarf during a hilarious back and forth. Rollins was extremely over during the promo and got the biggest pop of the night in his home state. Cena threatening to sue the company was pretty lame, however, and held the promo back a bit. It was an overall decent segment, it set up the main event, and the crowd seemed to be into it.
Grade: B
Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro and the Miz
The first match of the night was a tag team match featuring the United States and Intercontinental Champions. The Miz showed up with his body double Damien Mizdow and a personal stylist, complete with chairs and makeup. Miz and Sandow were hilarious throughout the contest and the ending was solid. Ziggler and Cesaro also worked well together during the opening portion of the match, with Cesaro’s fall away slam into a pinning combination being one of the most impressive spots I’ve seen in a long time. Overall, it was an entertaining contest and was a good way to advance both feuds.
As far as the team of Goldust and Stardust is concerned, by all accounts last night seemed to be the beginning of a heel turn for the wacky duo. While anything is possible, especially in WWE and especially considering their unique, off-the-wall characters, the belief is that the team will be switching heel over the next few weeks of television.
Speaking of The Dust Brothers, the WWE Shop website has released new t-shirts and merchandise for the two.
Campuses around the country are infested with returning college students this week. In honor of all the alcohol that will be consumed and the knowledge that will hopefully be absorbed, it’s time to take the WWE to school, and I’ll be the one doling out the grades.
Welcome to the first ever WWE Raw Report Card. Matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, move variety, crowd reaction, and overall impact on the storyline. Important in-ring promos will also be graded based on factors such as originality, believability, and importance. Without further ado, here are this week’s grades.
Hall of Fame Forum
This week’s Raw started with a roundtable discussion regarding the upcoming rematch between John Cena and Brock Lesnar. First off, I never thought I’d see the day where Shawn Michaels was the worst dressed man in the ring, but his combination of cowboy hat, jacket, and Remington t-shirt didn’t do him any favors.
Overall, it was nice seeing the legends together, even if it did feel a bit scripted at times and offered little insight. One hilarious moment was when Michaels said everyone loves Cena, eliciting massive boos from the audience. Speaking of Cena, his promo was surprisingly compelling, and it was nice to see him own up to the beating he took at SummerSlam.
Grade: B-
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
This was likely the last contest between Rusev and Swagger, and all I can say is, “Good riddance.” This match featured a lot of downtime that resulted in a poor workrate, and a lot of the match was spent outside of the ring with nothing going on.
The in-ring psychology was pretty good (Swagger sold the rib injury well) and the crowd was into it, so that raised the grade a bit, but it was ultimately a fitting ending to a rather pointless program that saw Swagger dominated at nearly every stage of the feud.
Grade: C
Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
This was a rather short match, but both superstars worked well together during the time they were given. One criticism is that the ending felt a bit rushed. One moment Cesaro was rolling outside of the ring to avoid the Five Star Frog Splash and only a few seconds later he was hitting the Neutralizer for the win in a sequence that felt a bit off.
The match also served its purpose by building a championship match between Cesaro and Sheamus – a program that looks like it could be entertaining with two of the company’s better workers.
– It looks like Goldust and Stardust may have turned heel on this week’s edition of RAW. After winning a WWE Tag-Team title match via count out, Goldust got on the microphone and accused The Usos of getting counted out on purpose. After demanding a rematch right then and there, Goldust and Stardust instead attacked The Usos in heel fashion, focusing on the injured knee of Uso and attacking it violently.
– As noted last week, WWE filmed some footage and interviews with Brock Lesnar backstage at last Monday night’s RAW. The footage is scheduled to air on some of the week’s that Lesnar isn’t scheduled for television. On this week’s edition of RAW, the first of those segments aired, which featured Lesnar talking about his destruction of John Cena at SummerSlam while clips were shown of their match. They also touched on the scheduled immediate rematch between the two at the upcoming WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view.