On a four-hour pay-per-view for WrestleMania 31 this year, the longest match was just 18 minutes and 34 seconds — Triple H vs. Sting. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns was the second longest match on the main card, coming in at 16 minutes and 44 seconds. The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the Kickoff Show lasted 18 minutes and 8 seconds.
Regarding timing issues at this year’s WrestleMania, the main event was supposed to last about ten minutes longer than it did. The segment with The Rock and Ronda Rousey ended up going 24 minutes long, with WWE officials originally looking at cutting time off of the Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker match to make up for it. Instead, the decision was made to chop the time off of the Lesnar-Reigns title match.
Last weekend at WrestleMania 31, the Sting vs. Triple H match turned into a Monday Night War reunion of sorts, with appearances by the nWo and DX.
The nostalgic run-ins made for a fun WrestleMania moment, but a lot of fans were wondering why the nWo would be helping Sting, since they had such a storied rivalry in WCW.
WWE fan @RealChrisFaught asked Hall on Twitter what the nWo’s motivation was in helping Sting, since nobody felt the wrath of Sting’s bat more than Hollywood Hogan and The Outsiders. The Bad Guy responded:
– At Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 PPV, Sting and The Undertaker shared locker room, while Brock Lesnar and Hulk Hogan also shared a room.
– Earlier this week on RAW, some fans noticed that Seth Rollins’ WWE Championship belt did not feature the Seth Rollins “side plates” that WWE tweeted a photo of after WrestleMania. Apparently the Rollins side plates that were ordered did not fit the belt correctly and new ones have been ordered.
– Speaking of WWE’s championship belts, the company is currently working on a new design for John Cena’s United States Championship.
The Undertaker told people backstage at WrestleMania 31 this past Sunday that he felt great after his match with Bray Wyatt and is currently planning on working next year’s WrestleMania 32 event in his home state of Texas.
Apparently Undertaker and Sting shared a locker room backstage at WrestleMania this past weekend, and it’s said that the two actually spoke a lot about a potential match against each other at next year’s WrestleMania.
– While no new content is airing on the WWE Network tonight, WWE has added the 2011 season of Tough Enough to the archive section.
– Speaking of the WWE Network, the next “Beyond The Ring” special will be the documentary from WWE’s “Best Of Saturday Night’s Main Event” DVD from 2009. The special will be added this Friday.
– SEScoops.com reader Ranjit sent along the following photos of Sting, The Undertaker and Michelle McCool at the airport from earlier today.
– This year’s WWE live events during the summer are being branded as the “SummerSlam Heatwave Tour.”
– NXT trainer Robbie Brookside and WWE Superstar Bad News Barrett praised the debut efforts of Neville on Monday’s RAW. The two posted the following on Twitter:
Words cannot express my pride and happiness for @WWENeville and his RAW debut. He is THE best and a canny lad from the Tyne.
– Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 event featured a NXT Alumni talent in every match except the Triple H vs. Sting match. HHH posted the following comment about that, as well as Neville and Kalisto making their main roster debuts at Monday’s RAW.
After Monday’s post-WrestleMania 31 edition of WWE RAW in San Jose, California, Sting took part in an interview segment in the ring with Renee Young.
Sting spoke about finally wrestling a match in WWE and having his first “WrestleMania moment.” Young asks what the future holds for Sting, but he says he doesn’t know. The fans loudly chant “Undertaker” at him, which Sting acknowledges, but again he assures the fans that he doesn’t know what’s next for him.
Eventually, Bo Dallas came out and dressed Sting down. He tells Sting he blew his legacy in front of a record breaking crowd by losing to Triple H. Dallas gets in the ring and gets hit with a Scorpion Death Drop by Sting. Sting’s music hits again to end the segment.
– The original plan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31 on Sunday night was for the match to go about 35 minutes long, including entrance. Because the pay-per-view ran long, WWE ended up cutting some time off of the match. They also cut out a Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker video out of the broadcast.
– It was rumored that Kevin Nash suffered an injury during the nWo and D-X run-in spot in the Triple H vs. Sting match at WrestleMania 31 on Sunday night. Nash addressed the rumor on social media, joking that the only injury he suffered was to his feelings because Billy Gunn can still “go.” Below is a tweet Nash posted after the show that deals with the subject.
Injury update it appears my feelings were hurt that Billy can still move like a freight train. Great main event -show pic.twitter.com/Y4h6dqmh3C
Jim Ross updated the blog section of his official website on Monday to share his thoughts on Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view. Below are some highlights.
On the Sting vs. Triple H match and the D-X and nWo involvement: “Sting vs. HHH was a grand production with a ‘cast of thousands’ specifically the nWo and DX. So happy that Sting got his WrestleMania Moment which was well deserved. Those that think that the Moment was ruined because Sting lost might not understand the business as well as they think. I don’t know if Sting is done with WWE or not but I do hope that he gets a nice retirement sendoff and that he’s in the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame class. If the plan is to have a Summer Slam or sooner rematch between the two then HHH winning makes even more sense.”
On Ronda Rousey possibly wrestling in WWE: “I’ve been pushing a Ronda Rousey-Stephanie McMahon storyline for weeks on the Ross Report Podcast and I was elated with what went down Sunday between Rousey, Steph, the Rock and HHH. I thought the ladies stole the segment from the men and sill feel that a Rousey vs. Steph match with a stacked deck in Steph’s favor will be a giant hit in Texas at WM32 if the trigger can be pulled.”
On Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt: “Thought Taker returned to WM in great shape and looking physically better than he has in the past several years. Bray Wyatt being competitive, kicking out of a Tombstone Piledriver was great for the young, 3rd generation talent. Anyone who thinks that Wyatt took a step back because he did not win needs to re-evaluate their opinion. Just saying…Nonetheless Taker appears to still have some gas in the tank and I hope that the is a major part of the Texas WrestleMania which would be a great place for him to hand it up if that’s what the Phenom wants to do.”
On the main event: “The booking of the ending of the impromptu Triple Threat Match for the WWE world title was brilliant. Lesnar was protected, Reigns showed his toughness and passion to survive the early, Lesnar onslaught, and Rollins cashing in the MITB contract, which was no real surprise but how it was executed was, is a WWE Champion that on any given night can lose the title ala Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels back in their days. Loved the Japanese strong style aspects of the match and enjoyed the finish even more. ”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, along with the rest of the Four Horsewomen, are in attendance for WrestleMania 31 tonight. For a photo of the four with WWE Diva Natalya, and notes on their possible involvement on the show tonight, click here.
– Sting recently spoke with the folks at ATHLEAN-X about his workout and training advice. Check out the video below to see Sting, without his face-paint, talking about his workout.
– Variety’s Marc Graser attended the WWE Business Partner Summit on Saturday. Graser posted the following tweets on his official Twitter account about some new WWE programming, as well as the return of Tough Enough.
#WWE to announce 8 new series for the #WWENetwork on Monday, including "Divas Search" and an animated show with Seth Green.
WrestleMania is right around the corner. Although the build has been a little subpar, it’s still WrestleMania so it should be entertaining. Here’s how yours truly expects it all to play out.
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (Tag Team Champions) vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos
Kidd and Cesaro really deserve better than the pre-show treatment, but hey, what can you do? This is clearly between the Usos and the champs, as the other two teams are simply jobbers eating up space. Expect a few entertaining spots between the two, with Naomi and Natalya ultimately playing a role in the outcome. In the end, the champs will retain after Cesaro pins one of the Usos.
Winners: Kidd & Cesaro by pinfall
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Remember a few weeks back when Stephanie McMahon was on Raw promoting this battle royal as the most important thing since Hogan/Andre at WrestleMania III? So much for that, as it’s now on the pre-show. Hideo Itami has been added to the match after winning a tournament at Axxess over the weekend. I think they will use this as an attempt to put over NXT and increase viewership by having Itami pick up the win after hitting the GTS. Expect Mizdow to eliminate Miz during this one as well to set up a match between the two next month at Extreme Rules.
Winner: Hideo Itami
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
This could easily be one of the most entertaining matches of the night, as Orton and Rollins are two of the best workers in the business. It will be filled with multiple near-falls, and J&J will undoubtedly try to help Rollins pick up the win. It’s hard to say what the hell they’re doing with this one, especially considering they blew the payoff for Orton weeks ago. I still think Orton wins and it will be a rough night for Mr. Money in the Bank (more on that later).
WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston recently spoke with XXL Magazine to promote this Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 event at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Below are highlights from the interview.
On his three favorite WrestleMania moments of all-time: “Well, selfishly, I was gonna make all of them include myself, but I’ll only do that for two of them. My favorite one was my first Money In The Bank match. I believe it was in 2009. It was the first time I got to be on Wrestlemania. And you know, ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a WWE superstar. So I always pictured myself in Wrestlemania matches. So when that happened it was like a dream come true, literally. So that’s probably my top favorite moment.
My second favorite moment is when Shawn Michaels faced the Undertaker. That to me was awesome. I got to watch it from the crowd. It was just an amazing match. Shawn Michaels is one of my favorite competitors of all time. And just to see him in there with Undertaker, them going back and forth, like from their entrances all the way to the end… And again, I got to be out in the crowd to watch that, which I normally don’t get to do.
And my third favorite Wrestlemania moment would probably be the Money In The Bank I was in. I believe it was my second. I’m terrible with years so it was either 2010 or 2011. But I got to walk on stilts. Basically, Kane had split a ladder in half and I got to use those two parts of the ladder to kind of walk myself to the middle of the ring and climb up, which was a pretty cool moment.”
On his thoughts on The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt match: “It’ll be really interesting. If you would have asked me like a year ago I would have said Undertaker because he had never lost at Wrestlemania. But then he lost to Brock Lesnar. So it’s like when Rocky made the Russian bleed. Mick comes out of the corner and he’s like, “He’s just a man. He’s human.” So now I feel like Undertaker is beatable, ya know? Because it has been done. So if anyone can do it again, it might be Bray. Either way it’s gonna be an interesting match with two really cool characters squaring up against each other. It’s kinda like a fantasy booking situation where you’re like, “What would happen if Bray Wyatt faced the Undertaker?” And we’re all gonna find out at Wrestlemania.”
On his thoughts on the Sting vs. Triple H match: “Yeah, man. You know who the real winners are? The fans who get to see it. Because I know a lot of people, myself included, who never expected to see Sting in a WWE ring, and now it is happening. It’s Triple H in there with him, too. So any time Triple H has a match at Wrestlemania, it’s always an awesome match. Now you get to see these guys go up against each other. I’m pulling for Sting. I was always a big Sting fan with the colorful rainbow face paint and also with the Crow-like, black and white stuff. So I’m pulling for Sting, but we’ll see.”
Jeff Jarrett recently spoke with Steven Godfrey of SB Nation to share his thoughts on WrestleMania 31. Jarrett predicted that Big Show is going to win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and The Usos are going to win the WWE Tag-Team titles in the Kickoff Show four-way tag-team match.
Below are some comments from Jarrett regarding other matches on the card:
On Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: “This is one I’m really looking forward to. I think this event has the best chance to become the show-stealer. I like Dolph Ziggler here, he’ll have the opportunity to shine through with those seven guys. There’s plenty of ammunition and plenty of targets. I think Dolph is ready to rise to the occasion; he’s got a chance here to take that next step. Bryan has to be the obvious favorite, if not the fan favorite. But I like this event because each of these seven guys are distinct enough in ability and persona. That diversity in ingredients is what could make this match really special.”
On John Cena vs. Rusev: “John not having to carry the company on his back through WrestleMania season means he can focus only on this. He gets to leave nothing on the table and exceed expectations. Rusev should bring a couple oxygen tanks to ringside because he’ll be absolutely gassed at the end of this. He’s not on Cena’s level in big money matches, at least not yet.”
On Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker: “For years you could never bet against ‘Taker at ‘Mania, and that went for not only wins and losses, but also match quality. I think this year’s no different. I would’ve bet you and lost last year [vs. Brock Lesnar] but I’d put the farm on Undertaker this year. He’s always exceeded what’s expected of him and Sunday will be no different.”
On Sting vs. Triple H: “From an emotional standpoint I’m invested in this match more than any other, having such a long history with Sting. I’ve watched his career from the Clash of Champions to the Starrcades to big matches in TNA, but at this stage of his career … For Sting to arrive at the biggest match of his career north of 50 years old is a testament to the man they call ‘Sting.’ I’m excited he’s got this opportunity and I wish him nothing but the best. But: If you’ve ever watched one of Triple H’s WrestleMania matches, Sting has to realize he’s not walking into a traditional wrestling match. He’ll feel the effects of this weeks, if not months to come.”
On Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar: “With the ESPN announcement and Dana White’s comments I believe the proverbial gas has been poured on the fire. There’s a lot of moving parts here: Roman Reigns is very fresh to this dance as a singles wrestler. I would say that he’s got the deck stacked against him in numerous ways. We’ll talk more about that on Sunday, but I’ve also got a funny feeling that Roman comes out of this match as the winner in more ways than a ‘1, 2, 3.'”
Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog has a new feature up with several WWE Superstars and legends talking about WrestleMania. Below are some highlights.
Sting:
“There is a large wrestling audience that doesn’t want to say goodbye to my generation. Guys like myself, Ric Flair, and Hogan, and the fans still appreciate us. And it goes both ways, absolutely, because it’s the same for me. It’s hard to walk away. I thought, in the beginning, my career would two, three, four, five years and then out and done. I never imagined, all these years later, I would still be in the ring and still wrestling. In March of 2001, I thought it was over with. It’s unbelievable how time flies, and it’s still a thrill for me. I want to give my fans something to remember.”
Bruno Sammartino on Hulk Hogan:
“I would never compare Hogan to any of the greats. He don’t belong, or deserve to be mentioned, in the same breath. No way.”
Daniel Bryan:
“I know the WWE is not looking for people like me to main event WrestleMania. It’s interesting, there have been a lot of people the company believed in right away that didn’t pan out to be anything. Guys with every superstar quality and can be on the cover of a magazine right away. I was never that guy. I’ve always enjoyed the process of earning people’s respect and earning my place. I’ve never asked to be handed anything.”
Roman Reigns:
“My whole life I’ve been fed by the WWE. My father was fortunate enough to provide for his family through wrestling. I’ve always been fortunate to have a seat at the table, but there’s a great deal of pride in being a provider. Now it’s my chance to sit at the head of the table. I respect what people before me have done, but my time is now.”
Sting spoke with The Associated Press this week to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view in Santa Clara, California.
The article notes that Sting vs. The Undertaker is a possibility for WrestleMania 32 next year, but focuses on Sting’s immediate future, which “The Icon” has some conflicting thoughts about.
“I’m feeling like this is probably going to be my last one,” said Sting. “We’ll see how everyone reacts. If I’m asked to do one more at Survivor Series or maybe even WrestleMania next year, at this point, I would consider it.”
Sting concluded, “But realistically, this is going to be my last one.”
Sting takes on Triple H in one of the co-main events of this Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view, which takes place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Sunday for the best WrestleMania 31 live results coverage on the web!
Sports Illustrated Extra’s “Mustard Blog” recently put together a lengthy piece on 2015 WWE Hall Of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage, talking to a number of WWE legends about the iconic performer. Below are some of the highlights.
Jerry Lawler on working with Savage:
“The first time we worked together, when it was ‘promotion against promotion,’ we sold out at the arena with 23,000 people. That was unheard of in wrestling. But Randy was so cool. He was a great athlete, and he was a little bit out there. He had a bit of a temper, and he was moody at times, but he was his own guy. I really grew to respect him.”
Steve Austin on Savage:
“Macho Man, that guy’s stuff back when he was in Tennessee, was incredible. His intensity, his promo style—he was the Macho Man 24/7, 365—and he was that before he got to the WWF. Vince [McMahon] didn’t make him, he made himself. Vince then made him a superstar all over the world.”
Gene Okerlund, Hulk Hogan and Ted DiBiase on Savage’s relationship with Miss Elizabeth:
Okerlund: “Randy was a loose cannon. In the early days, Randy was very protective of Elizabeth to the point where it bothered a lot of the boys. But what could you do, take it to Vince McMahon and make yourself look like a powder puff? You just ignored it and worked with it.”
Hogan: “If you even looked at Elizabeth the wrong way, then, Holy s—. Randy would freak out. If you ever wanted to get him lit up, you’d just have to look at Liz.”
DiBiase: “I would never consider having my wife around a bunch of wrestlers. Randy tried to protect Elizabeth, but that created some tension between the two of them.”
Daniel Bryan on Savage:
“I’d love to be this era’s Macho Man. There are a lot of similarities between the two of us. He was so good and just had that connection with the crowd. You can watch him to this day, he’s so entertaining.”
Ric Flair on his WrestleMania VIII match against Savage:
“We brought the best out in each other. When you have that kind of chemistry and respect for each other, it doesn’t take a lot of thought-process to go out there and make music in the ring. Randy was still playing minor league baseball when I first met him. I was there in his corner during his infancy in the business, saw him blossom and become so much better. I was proud of him, and wrestling him at WrestleMania was awesome.”
Sting on his friendship with Savage:
“Randy Savage, ironically, is one of the guys I looked up to. I loved him. He was so out far out there with his character. There was something about it I could identify with. I used to tease him a little bit in the dressing room in front of all the guys, and say, ‘Come on, just talk in your normal voice.’ ‘This is my normal voice, what are you talking about?,’ he’d say. It was funny. We’d always try to get him, but I never heard him talk any other way than just like this, brother! Living the character helped him, absolutely it did.”
Lanny Poffo on a Triple H interview that led to a the infamous Stephanie McMahon rumor, which Lanny says is not true:
“A reporter asked [WWE heavyweight champion] Triple H what he thought of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Triple H responded with, ‘They were great, but they’re dinosaurs.’ Randy saw this as a deliberate attempt to hurt his brand. Randy insinuated he [wanted] to take Triple H, slap him in the face, take his girl, Stephanie McMahon [the daughter of Vince McMahon and the wife of Triple H], and drive her around the block, then give her back to him,” Lanny says. “It wasn’t right, but Randy was provoked.”
Jim Ross recently spoke with the Cult Of Whatever website to talk about WrestleMania 31 and promote his “An Evening With Jim Ross” one-man shows this weekend. Below are highlights from the interview.
On the Sting/Triple H match: “I’ve known Sting since his rookie year, I’ve known him his entire career, he is one of the most honourable, respectful and respected men in the business. This is his WrestleMania moment, at his stage of the game I don’t expect him to have another one, I think he will have one WrestleMania appearance and I’m hopeful that he wins his match on Sunday.”
On whether this will be Undertaker’s last match: “I have no idea and I’m guessing as is everybody else that says they know, the fact is they don’t know, the only person that knows is Undertaker. I think for him to have the opportunity to go out in his last match in his home state in a stadium that, for wrestling, seats over 100,000 people [WrestleMania 32 will be held at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas ] is an amazing opportunity for his last match.”
On the Rusev/Cena match: “I think John Cena wins the United States title, and goes about his business of trying to regenerate his popularity, so I see Cena winning. If WWE is really serious about Rusev’s undefeated streak then Rusev would win perhaps by sportsman like means. I think from what I’ve seen and the build, John Cena is going to win and he will go about his business of helping add an additional shine to the luster of the United States title.”
On WrestleMania: “Everybody can complain and bitch and moan about the build up as if everybody is a booker and have done it before. Now we are talking about all of these things and we’re not sure what is going to happen, we had another card play just this week that Lesnar is staying with WWE, it makes everything so perplexing, it’s a very unique situation. The build may not have suited everybody but where we are today and leading into Sunday now is extremely intriguing and something I will certainly not miss for anything, I will be watching just like any other fan very intently and very closely.”
– Sting and The Undertaker are both scheduled to attend Monday’s post-WrestleMania RAW from San Jose, California. It’s not confirmed that they’ll be appearing on TV, but they will be at the show.
– Former Ring of Honor star Jimmy Jacobs will be joining WWE’s creative team on April 1st.
– NXT stars Adrian Neville and Finn Balor are both booked for the next several weeks of RAW and SmackDown tapings. There had been talk of NXT Champion Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn appearing on several shows as well, but since both are injured, neither will be wrestling any time soon.
– The latest edition of the Steve Austin Show podcast features a WrestleMania 31 preview from “Stone Cold” and former WWE writer Court Bauer. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Below is the promotional video package for the Sting vs. Triple H match at this Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view.
– Scott Hall posted the following on Twitter after the announcement was made on RAW that Kevin Nash will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame 2015 class during WrestleMania 31 weekend this year.
Jim Ross is back with the latest edition of his online blog, sharing his thoughts on the WrestleMania 31 “go-home” edition of RAW and more. Below are highlights:
On Kevin Nash’s WWE Hall Of Fame Induction: “Congrats to my friend Kevin Nash on getting the nod to go into the WWE HOF This Saturday where he will be inducted by Mick Foley. Back in the early days of Kevin’s career in WCW many of the politically charged power brokers would not give the athletic 7 footer the time of day. I put him on my WSB Radio Show that aired on Sunday nights and he made an impact because he could talk, was glib and highly intelligent. It was at that point that the higher up’s discovered a side of Kev that they never took the time to to know and the rest is history. Kevin was one of the best “attraction wrestlers” of his generation and made an impact in front of and behind the camera in both WWE and WCW. I’m proud of him and even prouder to call him my friend.”
On the final segment on Monday’s RAW: “@HeymanHustle was once again stellar. Some folks liked the closing foreshadowing of the TV show with Lesnar and Reigns struggling over the WWE Title while others did not. Not my hill to die upon but I’m pleased that we did not see any physicality between the two main event talents in this Sunday’s WrestleMania. The build to WM31 has been a mixed bag with both good and not so good but it also seems to have become a predictable mantra for many fans to discuss. I’m of the mindset to watch the event from home and then judge the show on it’s actual merits and not on what I perceive the build to be. Could the build have been better? Absolutely. Does the build mean the actual presentation Sunday on the WWE Network is doomed for failure? Absolutely, not.”
On the Sting/Triple H angle on RAW: “Thought the Sting/HHH business was just enough and fully expect this match to exceed expectations. Can’t express how happy that I am for Sting to be getting his WrestleMania Moment which is well deserved to one of the best guys in the business. We go back to his Blade Runner days in Mid South with Cowboy Bill Watts.”
This week’s Raw was held in Los Angeles and was the last stop on the Road to WrestleMania. Sting once again made an appearance, Lesnar and Reigns finally came face-to-face, and the company did everything in its power to hype the biggest wrestling event of the year. With WrestleMania less than a week away, here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler with Dean Ambrose as the special referee? Count me in any time, any day. When you get two ring generals together, expect a technical affair and that’s exactly what fans were treated to. The two tested each other’s strength at the beginning, with Bryan coming out on top after focusing on Ziggler’s elbow. The Show Off quickly turned the tables, however, dropping a big elbow onto Bryan’s chest for a one-count as the Intercontinental Championship hanged over the ring. This resembled a puroresu match with slaps to the face, stiff moves, and fast-paced action. The show went to commercial after both men toppled into the timekeeper’s area. After the break, Ziggler had Bryan locked into a sleeper before Bryan drove him into the corner to break the hold. Bryan nearly picked up the victory with an awesome German suplex pin before heading to the top rope – a decision that quickly backfired after Dolph hit the ropes but failed to connect with a superplex. He’d quickly recover and drive Bryan’s face into the mat from the top rope for another two-count. In the end, Bryan hit his signature dropkick into the corner and went for a second before Ziggler countered with one of the stiffest superkicks you’ll ever see and followed it up with the Zig-Zag for the win in a superb match. The Lunatic Fringe didn’t let him celebrate his victory for long though, hitting Ziggler with Dirty Deeds before pulling out a ladder and attempting to retrieve the title from above the ring before all of the competitors entered the ring to brawl. This match was the highlight of the night, and the ladder match on Sunday will probably be the highlight of WrestleMania.
They really needed to ditch the boring opening segments featuring The Authority, and thankfully they did so tonight by having Sting open the show. The Franchise discussed all of the ways Triple H snaked his way to the top of the company, but conveniently left out sleeping with the boss’s daughter. He made it clear that he wasn’t “fighting for WCW,” but simply to “take Triple H down.” Stephanie McMahon confronted Sting and the two went back and forth, hurling insults at one another in an entertaining segment. After Sting blocked Steph’s attempted slap, The Game came to the ring to confront his opponent on Sunday, with Sting warding off the sledgehammer-wielding Triple H with his signature black bat. Overall, it was a great way to open the show, hype the match for Sunday, and it was nice to see them finally cut Sting loose on the mic.
Snoop D-O-Double-Gizzle doing his best Godfather impersonation before being interrupted by #Axelmania. The man himself finally made a completely unexpected appearance to confront his imitator. It was an awesome, hilarious segment. #Hulkamania
The Intercontinental Championship match was once again prominently featured, as four of the participants in Sunday’s ladder match competed in the first match of the night. Ambrose and R-Truth teamed together to face Luke Harper and Stardust with Bad News Barrett on commentary. Harper and Ambrose worked very well together to start the match, with Ambrose hitting a nice bulldog before clearing the ring with the help of his partner. After the break, Stardust worked over Ambrose and hit an Alabama Slam before once again ceding control to his partner. The commentary team was surprisingly entertaining during this one with Barrett and Booker T trading barbs. After taking a beating and kicking out of multiple near-falls, Ambrose came back with a tornado DDT and hit up R-Truth with the hot tag. The faces dominated from there and R-Truth picked up the victory via pinfall after hitting his leaping reverse STO finisher. Ambrose and Truth danced together after the contest to conclude an entertaining opening half hour of the show.
Finally, Nikki Bella offered a Divas Championship match to either Paige or AJ Lee in an attempt to create a divide between her opponents on Sunday. After much debate, Paige decided she would take the title shot. The Divas have been putting on some decent matches over the past few weeks, and they continued their streak of quality matches this week. This one featured a few believable near-falls, they were given a lot of time (by Divas standards), and the ending at least did something to create intrigue for the tag match on Sunday by having AJ cost Paige the title.
– WWE has announced that Sting will open tonight’s WWE RAW and will address the WWE Universe ahead of Sunday’s WrestleMania 31.
– Samoa Joe was telling people at an indy show in Queens, NY this past Friday night that he is indeed headed to WWE and will be starting with them in jus a few weeks.
According to Reddit user MetsFan4Ever, Joe is expected to wrestle for NXT, since Triple H has shown a lot more interest in him than Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn.
– Noted Reddit user MetsFan4Ever is reporting that WWE executives, including Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn, have discussed dedicating tonight’s WrestleMania 31 “go-home” edition of WWE RAW to the memory of the late Mexican wrestling legend Perro Aguayo Jr., who tragically died after an accident during a match in Mexico this past weekend.
– WWE.com is currently running a poll asking fans who they are more excited to see at WrestleMania 31 this Sunday. With over 5,000 votes cast as of this writing, 60 percent have voted for Sting, with 40 percent of the votes going to Undertaker.
Dolph Ziggler recently appeared on “The Buzz with Jimmy Traina” to promote WrestleMania 31. Below are highlights from the interview.
On WrestleMania 31 and his WWE Intercontinental Title ladder match against six other superstars: “I’m a bitter, chip-on-my shoulder guy who doesn’t care about anybody else, but there’s a little bit of that tiny wrestling fan inside me that gets excited to see Sting for the first time ever at a WrestleMania. Or to see if Undertaker’s going to have his entrance or to see if I can go out there and, not just outdo myself and have fun, but it’s like wow, millions of people watching, 80-something-thousand people are in attendance at this event. This is a huge monumental deal. And no matter how jaded or bitter you are, it’s a very special thing, no matter who you are or what match you’re in to, take a look out there for five seconds and look around and go wow, I’m a part of history.”
On the backlash WrestleMania main eventer Roman Reigns has received from fans: “All of those Shield guys, who came in protected, have done nothing but deliver, in my opinion, and I am a harsh critic of everyone. I wish I could be in the main event. I feel that I am better than Roman Reigns, but you know what? He hasn’t wrestled as long as I have. And if he does anything that comes up short of delivering, I’ll be all over his case and I’ll be the first one to go on Twitter and go, ‘Yup, told you it should’ve been me.'”
On his performance at the Royal Rumble: “I was pissed. I was out there for a minute at the most and I was so disgusted with myself and so disappointed with the position I was in.”
On how he deals with frustrations with his role in the company: “You don’t just go to your bosses and say, ‘This sucks, I’m supposed to be winning everything.’ If you have an awesome idea or a story, or something great, you go, ‘Hey, how about we do this,’ but when the story is not you, you have to find a way to make it work.”
On attending the taping of the Justin Bieber roast: “Martha Stewart kicked ass. She was great.”
On balancing wrestling with his stand-up comedy career: “I make sure to write every day, even if it’s a little bit.”
On adult website Brazzers recently making him an offer to sponsor his wrestling trunks: “Twitter ranted about what I should do next. Brazzers offered me $10,000 and I could pick my partner if I would join them. So Brazzers has always been there for me.”
