Last night’s Raw was held in Houston, TX, and a few superstars on the roster certainly had problems. In total, eight matches were held and a few matches were confirmed for SummerSlam.
With Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella set for SummerSlam, a few questions were answered last night, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following Monday’s Raw.
5. Will Orton And Reigns Disappoint?
The Viper unleashed a devastating attack on Roman Reigns last night, delivering two RKO’s and driving Reigns through the announce table. This match is all but set in stone for SummerSlam and should be one of the most anticipated contests on the card.
However, recent reports indicate that the match could be a bust. The WWE has been running this match at live shows in recent weeks and fan reviews seem to indicate that Orton and Reigns have not been working well together. Although many think this will disappoint, I think they will work things out and put on a great contest, and the build so far has actually been pretty solid.
4. Was It Time To End Bo’s Streak?
The most shocking moment of last night’s Raw was probably Bo Dallas being pinned clean by R-Truth. It seems odd that the WWE would end Bo’s undefeated streak after talking it up over the past few weeks.
I think it will be a good move in the long run though. Undefeated streaks have pretty much always been a no-win situation for bookers. They can now have Dallas lose clean on occasion without having to discuss an undefeated streak, and the loss brought out a vicious side in Bo, which could add another dimension to his character. The only problem was that it looked like Dallas could sneak his way into an Intercontinental Title match SummerSlam, but that seems to be off the table now.
– It was announced during Monday’s RAW that on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, the featured match will be Dean Ambrose vs. Alberto Del Rio. WWE Main Event airs live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night at 8pm EST.
– Also announced during RAW this week was the confirmation that Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt will meet again at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view in August. The match was confirmed during a RAW segment that featured Chris Jericho making fun of Stephanie McMahon, all-the-while angering Triple H. As noted previously, Jericho and Wyatt are expected to work matches against each other in three consecutive pay-per-views — Battleground, SummerSlam and Night Of Champions.
The latest word going around this weekend is that the rumored Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella match may be saved for the Night Of Champions pay-per-view in September, as opposed to the SummerSlam show in August. More should be known based on how they follow-up on the angle at RAW tonight.
As far as the Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and AJ Lee vs. Paige matches at SummerSlam, it is believed that both will be a gimmick match of some sort.
Finally, there is talk of the WWE Tag-Team Championship match at SummerSlam being a fatal four-way with The Usos defending against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, as well as two other tag-teams.
Brie Bella posted the following tweet on her official Twitter account on Sunday, teasing a follow-up to last week’s angle on RAW between herself and Stephanie McMahon.
Interesting. Got a call from @WWE HQ. Apparently, @StephMcMahon wants me at #RAW. Can only imagine what this is about. I'll be there- READY!
Triple H (aka Paul Levesque) celebrates his 45th birthday today. “The Game” was born on July 27, 1969.
Speaking of birthdays in the McMahon-Helmsley family, Stephanie McMahon posted the following tweet of herself and Triple H with singer Katy Perry, who apparently performed for their daughter’s birthday.
WWE.com has published Michael Cole’s weekly sit down interview with WWE COO Triple H. Here are some highlights:
– When asked about Stephanie McMahon’s “arrest” on RAW, Triple H said he has been advised not to speak about the case because of “pending legal action.” Cole asked how she was and Triple H got upset, telling him to move on.
– Triple H said he picked “Plan C” Brock Lesnar to face John Cena at SummerSlam because he guaranteed the WWE Universe that Cena would not leave the event as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He’s going to fulfill that guarantee and Lesnar is the man who will help him keep his word. He assured Cole that Lesnar will get the job done.
– Cole asked about putting WWE’s biggest franchise Superstar in the ring with the man who may have ended The Undertaker’s career. Triple H said Lesnar vs. Cena is best for business and the WWE Universe wants to see Cena have the best possible competition. His job isn’t to protect Cena “because he sells t-shirts.” He added that said WWE has relied on Cena for years, but the company will move on when the time comes. If Lesnar ends Cena’s career, so be it.
– Cole congratulated Triple H on the one year anniversary of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Triple H said it has been an amazing year and the Performance Center is a big step into the future for WWE. He said that WWE’s future is bright and the wrestlers using the Performance Center have advantages that previous generations never had.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Stephanie’s Arrest: “Stephanie McMahon arguably stole the show with her interaction with Brie Bella and subsequently Steph getting ‘arrested.’ Her facials were priceless as was her timing and her natural ability to be a heel. The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree. Steph wrestling at Summer Slam is a gimme as it should be.”
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at SummerSlam: “It makes perfect sense for Brock Lesnar to challenge John Cena for the WWE Title at Summer Slam and for Lesnar, as I’ve outlined on the Ross Report podcast the past couple of months, to win the title and then lose it to Roman Reigns at WM31. I love Lesnar as champion and his infrequent, in person schedule of making Monday Night Raw shows doesn’t bother me at all especially if the creative team has their thinking caps on and the booking is territory-like as in where the world champion was never on regular, weekly TV.”
Paul Heyman’s Promo: “Paul Heyman @HeymanHustle promo to close RAW was one of the best that I have heard in years. Even though I am WAY out of the WWE loop, I am still proud that I was able to help Paul early in his career and hope that his DVD that’s released soon will be a huge hit. Listen to Heyman’s promo again and see how he covered every base and will have the Summer Slam crowd in LA loudly cheering for the ‘Angry Viking’ vs. ‘ The Dr. of Thugonomics’ as Paul described Cena. In other worlds, the main event at S’Slam will be loaded with emotion especially if Cena takes it dead serious in his promos between now and then.”
WWE.com has provided a storyline update on Stephanie McMahon’s “arrest” and on Monday’s episode of WWE RAW.
According to the report, Triple H arrived at the police station at 1am and Stephanie McMahon was released from the Miami-Dade Police Department at approximately 4am.
Triple H told WWE.com that Stephanie was “an emotional wreck” and “juggling anger, embarrassment, humiliation and self-pity.”
She will need to return to Miami at a later date to face charges of battery and resisting arrest.
The WWE website contacted Stephanie’s office this morning and, “on the advice of her attorney, Stephanie will not speak with the media.”
– A number of WWE performers are said to be pretty burnt out and tired following a lot of the recent international tours, particularly the Japanese loop that they recently finished up. This has led to some lackluster performances from some of the guys who are worn out.
– There is already talk of turning Nikki Bella heel against her sister, aligning her with Stephanie McMahon at some point down the road in her feud against Brie Bella.
– It was announced on Monday’s post-Battleground edition of RAW that on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which airs live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night, the United States Champion Sheamus will take on Rusev.
– The following is a video of the Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella segment from Monday’s RAW, which is expected to have been the beginning of the build to their one-on-one match at this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.
The following are highlights of a new CBS Baltimore interview with Natalya:
On Sting in WWE: “I think it’s cool. When we saw the debut of the new video game, that Sting is part of (WWE 2K15), it was awesome. It was like, ‘oh my gosh.’ Nobody ever thought you’d see Sting in WWE and now you see him. I can say this from experience, especially growing up around WWE my entire life, I’m one of those people that think Sting could possibly have another match in WWE.”
On drunk dialing Stephanie McMahon: “Nobody, including Steph, ever expected something like [that] to happen. It’s something now that we laugh about. The lesson learned is don’t ever go into ‘Brie Mode!'”
On Total Divas season 3: “We have a new cast member, Rosa Mendes. And then we have, obviously, Summer Rae, who was a new cast member from last season. Summer and I never really repaired our relationship from the past. It’s something of course I want to work on. We’ve got some issue there and we go back and revisit that.”
Last night’s Raw was the final episode before this Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view. The Battleground card was finalized with the inclusion of Jack Swagger vs. Rusev and AJ Lee vs. Paige for the Divas Championship.
Overall, the go-home episode of Raw was fairly entertaining and featured a number of notable segments. However, although many questions were answered, a few still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following this week’s edition of Raw.
5. Can Swagger stay over as a face?
The most over superstar this week on Raw was definitely Jack Swagger. The crowd really ate up the USA-Russia détente segment, with thunderous “USA!” chants ringing throughout the arena.
It appears that Swagger’s face turn is proving to be a success, but can he maintain the momentum after ending his program with Rusev? It is a natural rivalry between Rusev and Swagger, so it will be interesting to see where he goes after his match at Battleground. One thing is certain, though: both superstars are getting over during this program, which makes me hope that it is prolonged for a bit longer following Battleground.
4. Is Heyman planning to ditch Cesaro?
Cesaro competed against Big E last night on Raw. Notably absent during the match was Cesaro’s advocate, Paul Heyman. Brock Lesnar is scheduled to return to television within the next few weeks and will definitely be competing at SummerSlam, leading some to believe that the Heyman-Cesaro partnership will soon be dissolved.
This could go a number of ways. The best-case scenario would be for Heyman to continue to represent both superstars, sparking jealousy between the two before starting a feud. This seems rather unlikely though, considering Lesnar will almost certainly challenge for the title at SummerSlam. My hope is that the two are not separated without a legitimate backstory being provided, similar to the Ryback-Axel-Heyman breakup last fall, as it would amount to a pointless alliance for Cesaro.
As noted previously, the top four matches planned for this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view include Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella.
Another match that was originally under consideration for the show is a “Buried Alive” match between Daniel Bryan and Kane. That match is considered unlikely at this point, as it depends on Bryan’s condition, which doesn’t seem to be approving at a rate that would allow him to perform in time for SummerSlam.
It’s been noted in the past as well that WWE will be stacking the deck for Night Of Champions, the pay-per-view following SummerSlam, as that is when they will be needing something big to lure subscribers to the WWE Network, as their six-month subscriptions will be expiring at around that time.
Business magazine Inc.com recently interviewed Stephanie McMahon about the “secrets” of WWE’s social media strategy. Here are some highlights of what Stephanie said about:
WWE Superstars Staying Active on Social Media: “Our talent uses their social media accounts to continue to drive story line and engagement. It creates an ecosystem for our fans to continue story lines throughout the week 24/7. They are never disconnected from WWE, it’s an opportunity to keep our fans engaged with our brand.” As a result of this strategy, she says they’ve been able to grow their social media fan base to over 360 million followers. “That number literally grows every single week.”
WWE Listening To The Audience: “WWE utilizes social media, Twitter specifically, to push out information in a creative and fun way, but we also love to engage our fans. It’s not just about your message, the other half of social media is listening and responding. Fans, consumers, and customers appreciate that extra level of personal attention and responsiveness from any brand.”
“When you think about the secret of WWE, it is our fan base. I think if every company looked at their consumers as the secret to their success, they might have more success.”
The #HijackRAW Movement: “A lot of companies would’ve thought that this was trouble and say, ‘Oh my God, what do we do?’ But for WWE, it wasn’t even a question because our whole strategy is to engage our audience. We absolutely embraced this concept and had [wrestler] Daniel Bryan to talk about it during Raw. Because of that, #HijackRaw and #RawChicago were both world wide trends and trended seven times that night.”
The following are highlights of a new Boston Herald interview with Stephanie McMahon:
Crediting Boston University for her success, where she studied communications at: “From film production to television production to creative writing to public speaking to marketing to advertising, BU is basically a school to help prepare you for all of the many facets of WWE.”
Her father Vince McMahon’s contributions to the business: “My father coined the phrase, ‘sports entertainment.’ Vince let the world in on that, yes, this is actually predetermined and, yes, we are having fun. He was the one who created this live action-adventure soap opera.”
The new Connor’s Cure charity: “This is all about developing and donating for pediatric brain and spinal cancer research. We’re trying to help fund the research to help stop the cancer.”
Being excited to unveil the future of the business: “WWE continues to grow and expand at a rate faster than anyone can possibly imagine. We have over 360 million social media followers, and we have over 12 million downloads of our app. But I have to say, even given all that, we’re just getting warmed up.”
Stephanie McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque have announced the formation of “Connor’s Cure,” a charity that they have personally funded through Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation named in honor of Pittsburgh native Connor Michalek.
Connor passed away at age 8 earlier this year from Medulloblastoma, a rare tumor that affects the brain and spinal cord
Donations to Connor’s Cure, which can be made at GiveToChildrens.org, will provide funds for pediatric brain and spinal cancer research, and medical care for children and their families.
Here’s the official charity information:
“Connor Mason Michalek is the inspiration for the fund, “Connor’s Cure”. Donations will provide funds for pediatric brain and spinal cancer research, and medical care for children and their families. Connor was just 4 years old when he was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma, a rare tumor that affects the brain and spinal cord. Connor endured an 8 hour surgery, hospitalization for months where he had to relearn how to walk and talk, 8 weeks of radiation, and 4 years of chemotherapy. His parents were told he would most likely have trouble speaking, would be socially awkward, and would have very little hand and eye coordination. He was also told he would only have 1 year to live.
Through the love of his parents and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Connor persevered over this affliction. In fact, Connor became so talkative and engaging that he became a local celebrity including superstar treatment by both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the WWE. Connor also played baseball for 3 years. He hit the ball every time he was at bat, and always scored a run. Connor did what so many of us don’t do, he truly lived. He lived for every moment. He was always loving and compassionate. And he let everyone know that his dad and his little brother Jackson were his best friends. WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan said it best, “If you talked to Connor, you couldn’t help but fall in love with him.” And so many people continue to fall in love with Connor every day when they hear his story.
Connor lost his battle to cancer when he was just 8 years old, but his message of light and love continue to thrive. This fund has been created by Paul “HHH” Levesque and Stephanie McMahon to do what Connor would have wanted, to save other children’s lives. By clicking the Donate Now button from Connor’s page, your gift will support the fund, Connor’s Cure. Thank you for your donation and contribution to find “Connor’s Cure”.
The latest sit-down interview between Michael Cole and Triple H has been added to the official YouTube channel of WWE.
In their latest discussion, “The Game” talks about Stephanie McMahon’s recent illness, Roman Reigns winning the battle royal on RAW and a second Money In The Bank ladder match on June 29th.
– On RAW, we saw Vickie Gurrero involved in series of skits with The Authority that ultimately saw Stephanie McMahon vomiting all over Vickie. This is setting up Vickie being written off television. We reported exclusively around WrestleMania 30 that Vickie was finishing up with WWE to pursue a career in medical administration. While she extended her time with WWE by a few months, she is in fact leaving the company.
In related Vickie Gurrero news, there were a lot of people rolling their eyes last night at the nature of her skit with Stephanie. Aside from the skit being ‘classic’ Vince McMahon gross-out comedy, many felt the vomit angle was in bad taste, since’s Vickie’s daughter (former NXT Diva Shaul Marie Guerrero) took time off from WWE due to her suffering from an eating disorder.
– Here’s this week’s RAW Fallout video, featuring a ‘”sick” Stephanie McMahon being escorted out of the building by her husband, Triple H:
WWE announced via a mobile notification today that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon will be opening tonight’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from Cleveland, Ohio.
It was stated that The Authority will be addressing the WWE roster to kick off this week’s show.
During the summer of 2001, the WWE was under attack and at risk of a hostile takeover. After finally winning the Monday Night Wars, the WWE had to find a way to integrate the influx of talent that was acquired with the purchase of WCW.
Their first attempt at doing so would come in the form of the Invasion storyline, which saw former WCW and ECW employees “invading” the WWE in an attempt to take over the company. If this sounds a bit like the nWo’s plot to conquer WCW, well that’s because it is essentially the same story.
Ultimately, the program forced the WWE to fend off the intruders by forming a coalition to battle Team Alliance, which was led by Shane and Stephanie McMahon, the respective on-screen owners of WCW and ECW at the time.
Many fans have cited the Invasion storyline as one of the most entertaining periods in recent WWE history, as it featured a number of matchups that had previously been unimaginable. However, there were many aspects of the storyline that could have been handled better, resulting in a program with great potential that was squandered by poor booking. Here are ten reasons why the Invasion storyline was not as memorable as some fans recall.
– WWE Diva Natalya recently spoke to CBS Minnesota and explained why Stephanie McMahon is an inspiration to her. Natalya stated the following:
“When she’s on, you don’t want to take your eyes off the screen, you want to see what she’s doing next. You don’t worry if she’s a woman or a man, you don’t care she’s Vince McMahon’s daughter. Whatever she’s doing is really, really good.”
– The following is the official synopsis for Thursday’s season finale episode of WWE Legends House, which airs on the WWE Network:
“Pat Patterson attempts to reveal a lifelong secret to the group. The WWE Legends send each other off in style with a party!”
– This week’s edition of WWE RAW opened up with the promised “blockbuster announcement” from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The Authority announced that Daniel Bryan is officially stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to his inability to compete at the June 29th Money In The Bank pay-per-view.
It was confirmed that the Money In The Bank pay-per-view main event will be a Money In The Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Already confirmed for that match are Alberto Del Rio and Randy Orton. Later in the show, Sheamus defeated Wade Barrett in a hard fought battle to also qualify. Additional participants will be determined via additional qualifying matches.
WWE is advertising the following on their official website for tonight’s RAW:
“Following Seth Rollins’ betrayal of his Shield cohorts, how will Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns address the actions of their former “brother” tonight on Raw? Also, what “blockbuster announcement” does The Authority have planned to kick off the show? For exclusive analysis, don’t miss Raw Pre-Show at 7:30 p.m. ET on WWE Network.”
As noted earlier in an exclusive SEScoops.com report, Daniel Bryan will not be able to wrestle at the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV, thus he will likely be stripped tonight on RAW.
– WWE announced on Main Event that WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan will be on Monday’s RAW to respond to Stephanie McMahon’s announcement about Money In the Bank.
Bryan is scheduled to defend against Kane at the show and will have to surrender the championship if he is not able to compete. If the title is vacated, it will be up for grabs in the Money in the Bank ladder match later in the night.
– The dark match in between Tuesday’s Main Event and SmackDown tapings in Cincinnati saw Sheamus defeat Fandango with a Brogue Kick.
– Adam Rose defeated Damien Sandow in the dark match that took place prior to Tuesday night’s WWE Main Event tapings. Sandow came out dressed as Pete Rose. According to live reports, it was a very entertaining comedy match. Here’s a photo of Sandow as Pete Rose:
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley noted on his official Twitter account that he felt Batista “channeled CM Punk” for his farewell promo on RAW. Foley tweeted the following:
– The following is a video of the segment from RAW where Stephanie McMahon makes an announcement regarding the status of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Daniel Bryan and the Money In The Bank main event.