WWE taped the following matches for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars on Monday prior to WWE RAW.
– Paige def. Layla in Divas action in the first of two matches taped for the show. The finish saw Paige score the pinfall after hitting Layla with her “Ram-Paige” finisher. Jimmy Uso was on commentary during this match.
– The Ascension def. The Lucha Dragons in tag-team action in the second of two matches. The crowd chanted “Lucha! Lucha!” a lot during the match. In the end, Kalisto scored the pin on Konnor, giving The Lucha Dragons the victory.
WWE taped the following matches prior to Tuesday’s SmackDown taping for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event.
Dark Match
– Kevin Owens def. R-Truth in a quick match. Owens picked up the “W” after hitting him with the pop-up powerbomb.
WWE Main Event Taping
– Prime Time Players def. The Ascension in tag-team action. O’Neil scored the pinfall on Viktor.
– Zack Ryder def. Heath Slater in singles action. Ryder picked up the win with the Ruff Ryder.
– Nikki Bella def. Summer Rae in Divas competition. Bella scored the pinfall after hitting Summer with the Rack Attack.
– Neville def. Adam Rose in the final match of the taping. Rose cut a promo about there being no more Exotic Express and no more parties 24/7. Bo Dallas was on commentary for the match, which ended when Neville hit the Red Arrow on Rose for the 1-2-3.
WWE taped two matches for this week’s Superstars prior to Monday’s post-Extreme Rules edition of RAW in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Below are quick results of the two matches.
– The Prime Time Players def. Los Matadores in tag-team action. El Torito was at ringside with the Matadores. In the end, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young were too much for the bull fighting duo.
– Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension in another tag-team contest. The Dragons, particularly Kalisto, were flying all over the place en route to a quick victory.
– WWE talents who were booked to travel to Glasgow, Scotland on Tuesday were Seth Rollins, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Ryback, Kane, Joey Mercury, Jamie Noble, Kalisto, Sin Cara, The Ascension, Luke Harper, Goldust, The Bella Twins, Paige, Eden, and Naomi.
– Below is a clip from Chris Jericho’s live podcast interview with John Cena on the WWE Network from Monday night. In the clip, Cena talks to Jericho about his days in Ohio Valley Wrestling.
The following are spoiler results for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which was taped on Tuesday night, March 31st, in Fresno, California. Results are courtesy of ProWrestling.net.
Dark Match
– Zack Ryder beat Adam Rose. The crowd was firmly behind Ryder, who won with his finisher.
WWE Main Event Taping
– Stardust beat Jack Swagger.
– Paige and Emma beat Summer Rae and Cameron. Emma was destroyed most of the match, but Paige made Cameron tap to the PTO.
– The Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension.
– The New Day came out to boos. Big E referred to Fresno as San Jose. The Prime Time Players came out, and Titus O’Neil corrected Big E.
– Former NXT Tag-Team Champions The Lucha Dragons — Sin Cara and Kalisto — made their WWE RAW debut on the post-WrestleMania 31 edition of the show on Monday night. The Lucha Dragons teamed with The New Day, working an eight-man tag-team match against The Ascension and the WWE Tag-Team Champions, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro.
– “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus returned on Monday’s post-WrestleMania 31 edition of WWE RAW sporting a new look. Sheamus has a red mohawk now and a beard tied up in rubber bands. Sheamus turned heel during his return, beating down Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler after the first match of the show. Below is a photo of Sheamus’ new look.
The Usos recently spoke with Mike Jones of DC 101 to promote this week’s WWE SmackDown television taping in Washington, D.C. Below are highlights from the interview.
On their Money In The Bank match with The Shield: “We went to the back and it was like OHHH! The Usos can go, they can really go. We were in there with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and that’s what made everyone take notice.”
On being from a wrestling family: “If anything there’s more pressure on second and third generation Superstars because you have to deliver. You can’t go out there and just suck, and we almost did.”
“The path before us was already laid, and it was intimidating, because we have Yoko, Maga, my dad, Afa, and Sika.”
“As far as us, everybody knew who our family was but we had to find out who the Usos are. We have our own identity, we’re not just a number in our family.”
On liking The Ascension: “It’s always good when you have a tag team, when people see two guys come in and stick together, like me and my brother.”
“They’re together and they just have to find what works. They have the old school Legion of Doom feel and we’ll cross paths soon enough.”
On working With Tyson Kidd and Cesaro: “I feel like the matches we had with The Wyatts, we can put on a higher quality match with those two.”
“I know Cesaro and Kidd are two guys put together but these guys really compliment each other.”
WWE taped the following matches for this week’s edition of Main Event prior to Tuesday night’s SmackDown taping in Washington, D.C.
Dark Match
– Natalya def. Sasha Banks in Divas action to kick off the taping. Nattie picked up the win by submission after locking Sasha in the Sharpshooter.
WWE Main Event
– Fandango def. Curtis Axel in the first match taped for this week’s Main Event. Fandango won what was described as a pretty basic match with a roll-up.
– Adam Rose def. Zack Ryder in singles action. Rose picked up the “W” when he caught Ryder coming in the ring by smashing his head into the ring.
– Paige def. Summer Rae in Divas action. Paige picked up the victory after getting Summer with her PTO.
– The Usos (with Naomi) def. The Ascension in tag-team action in the final match taped for this week’s Main Event. The Usos got the win when Jey hit the top rope splash for the 1-2-3.
Dark Match
– The Lucha Dragons def. Bo Dallas & Tyler Breeze in tag-team action in another dark match. The Lucha Dragons picked up the win by pinning Dallas.
The following matches were taped on Monday night in Newark, New Jersey for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars on the WWE Network.
– The Ascension def. The Prime Time Players in tag-team action to kick off the taping. The Ascension picked up the win at about the four or five minute mark after hitting Darren Young with “The Fall of Man” for the pin fall victory.
– Zack Ryder def. Adam Rose in singles competition to close out the taping. Ryder got a great reaction coming out, as he lives close to the area. Rose was boo’d throughout. In the end, Ryder picked up the “W” after hitting his finisher.
Raw was held in Nashville this week as the build to WrestleMania continues. The event featured a Tag Team Championship match, a few promos, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t really music to most fans’ ears. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
As soon as they announced the Usos were planning to invoke their rematch clause, it was obvious fans were going to be in for another treat. As one would expect, the action was fast paced and frequently spilled over to ringside. Kidd’s heel work has been top notch over the past few weeks, frequently using his wife as a human shield in order to gain an upper hand.
The Tag Champs work so well together too, using combination moves such as a catapult into a big uppercut, and a Cesaro swing into a dropkick. Although the match didn’t end clean, it featured some solid action and was probably the highlight of the night. Kidd and Cesaro are the best team in the WWE by far right now. They should get these guys some merch and push them to the moon.
I loved the backstage segment between the Miz and Damien Mizdow. It was awesome (no pun intended) to hear the Miz talk up the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and act like a win would elevate his career to new heights. (That worked out real well for Cesaro last year.)
Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler was a decent opening match. There were honestly only a handful of wrestling moves utilized throughout the match, with most of the action consisting of punches, rest holds, and brawling action outside of the ring. With that said, there were a few impressive sequences. Ziggler countered Wasteland twice, once into a DDT and another into a sunset flip. The sequence where Barrett ended up hitting Winds of Change was also nice.
The Show Off picked up the win after hitting the Zig Zag, allowing for Ambrose to show up and taunt Barrett with his Intercontinental Championship before staring Ziggler down. What are the chances that Barrett never touches his beloved title again? I’d usually say it’s about as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series this season, but they actually decided to crack open the checkbook over the winter so that might not be the best analogy.
#Axelmania. Enough said.
The Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns promo was one of the more interesting moments all night. It was nice to see Daniel Bryan once again acting as the voice of the fans, saying, “The biggest Roman Reigns doubter is right here in Daniel Bryan,” while also echoing fan sentiments regarding Reigns only being in the main event because of his size and look. At the same time, he also put Reigns over for winning the match, ending the segment with a handshake.
Heyman’s interaction with Reigns was also intriguing, as he said he would put his money on Reigns over anyone, including guys like Hogan, Austin, and the Rock – anyone except Brock Lesnar, of course. Reigns was confident and composed during the back and forth with Heyman as he continues to improve on the mic. It’s easy to picture these two guys hooking up in the near future.
The Bray Wyatt promo was more of the same, but still entertaining nonetheless. I can’t wait for the Undertaker to show up respond to Wyatt’s challenge.
WWE Fastlane was held in Memphis last night at the FedEx Forum. It was a fitting venue, seeing as they pretty much mailed it in for most of the night. After a night of action, we now have a pretty clear idea of what WrestleMania will look like in five weeks. Here are the pros and cons from last night’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view.
Pros
After a night of non-finishes and botched endings, the main event between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns was an absolute treat. These two guys started off a bit slow, but once they got going, they really gelled well. Bryan’s wrestling style went so well with the brawling style of Reigns, and it was nice to see both guys getting support from the crowd.
A few of the highlights included Reigns countering Bryan’s dive to the floor into an overhead belly to belly suplex, Bryan countering the spear into a beautiful small package, and also Reigns turning a potential hurricanrana into a brutal powerbomb from the top rope. These two also employed some solid in-ring psychology due to Reigns selling Bryan’s kick to the liver as he tried to hit a Superman punch. Overall, it was an exciting match, both guys looked great, it ended clean, and it’s always nice to see a main event end in a handshake.
The tag team match was a close second for match of the night. These two teams have so much chemistry and it’s really a pleasure to watch them do their thing. Cesaro’s half crab Cesaro swing was cool, as was the combination of Cesaro’s suplex from the apron into a springboard from Kidd.
The Usos looked good as well, teaming up for a double team Samoan drop that I don’t recall seeing them bust out before. In the end, new champions were crowned after Kidd picked up the victory with a swinging fisherman suplex. After their victory, it was nice to find out that they are “still the new WWE Tag Team Champions” (perhaps suggesting the outcome was changed last minute, as the odds shifted after the “smart money” was in).
The Bray Wyatt segment was enjoyable. He had the crowd going nuts in anticipation of the Phenom, only to shatter their dreams by popping out of the coffin. Wyatt called himself “the new face of fear,” and said: “At WrestleMania, I will claim the soul of the Undertaker.” This feud should be entertaining, but it would have been nice to see Wyatt play up the fact that fans weren’t getting ‘Taker, as the company needs more dislikable heels right now.
I’m not totally sure how I feel about the Sting and Triple H segment, so I’ll go ahead and put it in the pros section. Triple H of course continued to bury a long dead company, stating: “My legacy is putting your legacy out of business.” He also threatened Sting with the Benoit treatment, saying he would wipe him from the history books if he didn’t cooperate. It was cool to see Sting use his signature black bat though, and Hunter was very intense throughout the segment. Overall, it could have been better, but it was a decent setup for their match at WrestleMania.
Finally, the Rusev and John Cena match was far from perfect, but it worked out well. There was some hard-hitting action throughout, including a big spinning side slam from Rusev. The action was slow-paced and methodical, but it was entertaining for the most part. It of course ended in another non-clean finish, but it worked well in this case. I have to say, seeing Cena stagger out of the arena was pretty satisfying, even though it means he will definitely get redemption at WrestleMania.
The Road to WrestleMania will become a lot clearer after Sunday’s pay-per-view. Fastlane is available for free to all new WWE Network customers, and even those who previously cancelled their account and re-subscribed, so there’s really no reason to miss out on the action. Here is how I expect the event to play out.
Goldust vs. Stardust
Man, they really should have saved this one for WrestleMania, but I guess there is only room on the card for one tag team breakup storyline, and it looks like that’s going to be Miz and Mizdow. Expect these guys to put on one hell of a match, as they have been lobbying for it for what seems like years. After a solid ten-minute contest with a number of near-falls, Stardust will pick up the win with Cross Rhodes.
Result: Stardust via pinfall
Rusev (United States Champion) vs. John Cena
These guys have done a pretty good of building up this match over the past few weeks, and it genuinely seems like Cena is interested in winning the United States Championship, which is always a plus. It’s almost guaranteed that this feud is going to continue into WrestleMania, so I expect Rusev to pick up the win, but certainly not clean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHA5g_T227k
Lana will become involved at some point, possibly distracting Cena long enough for Rusev to pounce and pick up the win via the deadliest finisher in all of wrestling (the distraction roll-up), or by using the title as a weapon to knock out Cena while the Ravishing Russian distracts the referee. This will set up a rematch at WrestleMania where Cena will most likely go over.
Result: Rusev via pinfall
Nikki Bella (Divas Champion) vs. Paige
Paige is the most popular diva in the entire company by far right now. They are going to want her to capture the title at WrestleMania. Nikki wins with help from her sister before dropping the title to Paige next month.
The following matches were taped prior to the WWE SmackDown taping in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday, February 10th for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event.
Dark Match:
– Nikki Bella def. Emma in a Divas match. Brie Bella was at ringside for this one. The finish saw Nikki hit Emma with her Rack Attack finishing move for the 1-2-3.
WWE Main Event Spoilers
– The Ascension cut a promo to open the taping. They spoke about the “old relics” in the WWE Hall Of Fame, trashing the legends of the sport.
– The Ascension def. two local wrestlers in a quick tag-team squash match. The finish saw The Ascension hit their Fall Of Man finishing move for the pin.
– Naomi def. Natalya in Divas action. This was kept relatively short and for a Divas match, was said to be pretty solid. In the end, Naomi rolled Nattie up with a small package to get the 1-2-3.
– Cesaro def. Sin Cara in the main event of the taping. This was said to be a pretty long match that was competitive throughout. In the end, Cesaro picked up the “W” after hitting Sin Cara for The Neutralizer.
After being postponed last week due to snow, the good ole live, in-ring version of Raw was back last night, emanating from the Mile High City. The company was back in full force, with Triple H making a “major announcement” and a big main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The clear highlight of the night was the main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Anytime you get two guys with this type of talent in the same ring, you know you’re in for a treat. They certainly didn’t disappoint either, pulling off a number of impressive spots and exhibiting impeccable chemistry. The spot of the match was probably Rollins countering Bryan’s Running Knee finisher into a Powerbomb. In the end, Bryan picked up the win and will face Roman Reigns at Fast Lane for a chance to go to WrestleMania (more on this later).
The second best part of the night was probably the segment involving Curtis Axel and Dean Ambrose. It’s sad when the first thing Axel has to say when coming out is, “Don’t change the channel.” It’s like he’s a mind reader or something. Anyway, it was hilarious to see Ambrose quickly toss Axel over the top rope before telling him he’s now eliminated. Even more exciting was that Ambrose called out Bad News Barrett. This is a program that really needs to happen, as Ambrose is the type of guy who could bring some prestige back to the Intercontinental Title after the company has played hot potato with it over the past few years.
Bray Wyatt had a big night. His match with Dolph Ziggler was incredible, and it was nice to see two guys who don’t work together much get a chance to shine. Wyatt hit a devastating Sister Abigail that Ziggler sold better than anyone to end the match. Later in the night, he cut a promo saying things like, “I am the new face of fear” and, “We cannot wait to see you again.” It looks like they are going with the rumored Wyatt/Taker program for WrestleMania and I, for one, cannot wait. If only they had gone this route last year instead of wasting the streak on a part-timer…
Rusev’s beating of Rowan and post-match promo was money. I absolutely love this guy and he played off of the Russian flag miscue perfectly. Please push this guy to the top and don’t feed him to Cena.
Jimmy Uso and Cesaro looked great together. The highlights were a Cesaro Swing into a Half Crab and a brutal uppercut to end the contest. It was nice to see Cesaro pick up a victory, but the only downside was that they are already teasing tension between Cesaro and Kidd. I’d like to see these guys stick together for a while and get a run with the titles.
Finally, the Miz/Mizdow promo was absolutely hilarious. It was nice to see the Miz berate his now former stunt double and put the wheels in motion for a breakup. Here’s to hoping for a payoff at WrestleMania.
Tyson Kidd recently spoke with the folks at Slam! Wrestling to promote the recent WWE live event in Calgary. During the interview, Kidd spoke about his current tag-team with Cesaro, his relationship with Viktor of The Ascension, his work in NXT, Vince McMahon’s “brass ring” speech and more.
Below are highlights.
On Viktor of The Ascension and their history: “It means a lot because I know of his struggles and past and it is similar to mine. We both competed in a lot of places that weren’t highly publicized so even though you are doing a lot people don’t know about it. You have to keep growing and growing and to see him here is great. Unfortunately for him I am also in a tag team so it is probably for the best for him that our paths don’t cross.”
On working in NXT: “The main thing is that everything is taped at Full Sail. It is kind of like competing on home turf every time in terms of the tapings and specials. The main roster travels, I am in Hartford for live Smackdown, then head to Edmonton and Calgary and Denver. It is travel travel travel. NXT is more stationary. Having a chance to work with Dusty Rhodes, he has helped me so much that I can’t even praise how much. The first time I saw him on WWE television in polka dots I never would have thought that guy would be such an influence on my career.”
On the current talent pool in NXT: “Those guys are unbelievably talented. We really can take nothing away. Just look at my match that aired this week on the WWE Network with Adrian Neville. The guy is phenomenal. It is really cool that they are being bred down there. Add in a guy like Tyler Breeze doesn’t have the publicity, background, or buzz, but is a sleeper — he is the one to keep your eye on.”
On his current tag-team with Cesaro: “Two guys who are insanely talented, extremely shredded and a lot frustrated come together and decide to make a name for ourselves and show why we are who we are. Cesaro’s story is unbelievable; he won a green card lottery in Switzerland and now here he is. The man is a freak. He can clean and jerk 135 pounds with one arm. He is a freak in every sense of the word. Throw in the best guy pound for pound in the business as his tag team partner and I think our upside is limitless.”
On Vince McMahon’s “brass ring” speech: “I think it fired a lot of the talent up. We have a super talented locker room, for any that maybe were coasting it lit a fire under them and for the rest of us ensured we just keep pushing. Every day here is different. One day I was in Phoenix at Axxess wrestling Cryme Tyme in the worst match we ever had with them, which is saying a lot, 48 hours later I am clotheslining Mr. McMahon in front of 58,000 people at Wrestlemania. Things can change here quickly.”
The following is the final advertised lineup for tonight’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and airs live on the WWE Network.
WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Show
– Big E., Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro, Tyson Kidd & Adam Rose
– Booker T interviews Shawn Michaels
WWE Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View
– The Bella Twins vs. Paige & Natalya
– The Ascension vs. New Age Outlaws
– The Usos vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow (WWE Tag-Team Championship)
– 30-man over-the-top Royal Rumble match
– Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
Make sure to join us here at the website tonight for the best WWE Royal Rumble live play-by-play results coverage on the web!
Tonight, fans will be treated to perhaps the most exciting sixty-plus minutes of action all year. Bodies will be flying, dreams will be shattered, and ultimately, one man will punch his ticket to WrestleMania. However, there are still many questions to be answered before we start discussing ‘Mania. Most importantly, here is how I believe this Sunday’s Royal Rumble will play out.
The New Day vs. Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, and Adam Rose
It’s sad to see Kidd and Cesaro once again relegated to the pre-show, but at least they are getting some airtime, I suppose. On one hand, I expect Adam Rose to find a way to screw things up and cost Kidd and Cesaro the match. With that said, the New Day got the upper hand on Raw by picking up a clean victory, so based on WWE logic, it’s Kidd and Cesaro’s turn to win.
Winners: Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, and Adam Rose by pinfall
The Usos (Tag Team Champions) vs. The Miz and Damien Mizdow
Am I going crazy, or have we seen this matchup way too often in recent months? It seems unlikely that Miz and Mizdow would pick up the titles shortly after dropping them, especially as they continue to tease tension between the two. I think Miz once again tries to steal the show and refuses to tag Mizdow, eventually costing the team the match. This will further tension between the partners, eventually resulting in a breakup and payoff match at WrestleMania.
Winners: The Usos by pinfall
Paige and Natalya vs. The Bella Twins
This was basically slopped together so there’s not much to analyze or discuss. Either Paige or Natalya (whichever they want to challenge for the Divas Championship next month) forces Nikki to submit for the win.
A lot can change over the course of a year, especially in the WWE. At last year’s Royal Rumble, Batista earned the opportunity to headline WrestleMania, going from fan favorite to Bootista in a matter of moments.
It will be Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, and a whole slew of others hoping to earn that opportunity this time around, as the card for this Sunday’s Royal Rumble appears to be officially set. Here is a look at the superstars who have taken a leap forward over the past year, as well as those who have taken a step backward.
Progression
1. The Shield
Nobody has progressed over the past year more than the three men who formerly comprised The Shield. Roman Reigns set the record for the most eliminations at last year’s Rumble, although he was never really seen as a serious threat to win it all. This time around, he’s the odds-on favorite to win the Rumble and headline WrestleMania.
Reigns eliminated his former partners at last year’s event as a means to tease tension between the former Hounds of Justice. Both of those men have moved onto better things. Seth Rollins will be challenging for the title this time around, and Ambrose is seen as one of the most credible entrants in the Royal Rumble match. Believe that.
2. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar destroyed Big Show’s back at last year’s Rumble, walloping him with a chair about 50 times in a match that lasted two minutes. His character’s direction was unclear at the time, having engaged in various feuds in 2013 that didn’t really go anywhere, largely due to Lesnar’s limited schedule.
A few accomplishments have been added to his resume since last time around. Most importantly, he apparently broke some sort of WrestleMania undefeated streak that fans held dear to their hearts. Cena and Rollins will attempt to slay the Beast this year, as he comes in as WWE World Heavyweight Champion and undisputed top dog in the company.
Below are this week’s “RAW Fallout” videos. The first video shows The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, storming out of the arena after Sting showed up and helped John Cena win the main event, which allowed Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan to get their jobs back.
In the second video, the New Age Outlaws talk about The Ascension, who they will meet in the ring at this Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
And finally, here’s the third RAW Fallout video, which features Cena gloating about his friends getting their jobs back.
Last night’s Raw was held in Dallas, TX and was the final episode before the Royal Rumble. There were plenty of surprises, and after weeks of terrible programming, perhaps the biggest shocker was that the company put on an episode of Raw that wasn’t half bad. Without further ado, here are this week’s pros and cons.
Pros
There were a few highlights to choose from, but for me, the final segment easily takes the top spot. The action during the contest was commendable, but the real excitement occurred after the match. Sting’s appearance was completely unexpected, especially an in age where nearly everything is spoiled online beforehand. The Stinger looked great (much better than he did at Survivor Series, imo) and held the pose long enough to make everyone wonder if it was a picture to distract the Authority, or whether he was really in attendance.
Fans quickly found out the answer, making a match between Triple H and Sting at WrestleMania all but official. Sting’s appearance, followed by Lesnar’s destruction of everything in sight, was an amazing way to end the show and sell Sunday’s Rumble. Speaking of Lesnar, the crowd is dying to cheer this guy. He could have a monster face run if he decides to stick around after ‘Mania.
A close second goes to the nWo reunion. The Ascension is completely laughable and unconvincing as intimating heels (Hall was straight-up laughing at them throughout the segment). I predict they will be dancing on the WWE comedy circuit within a year. With that said, it was awesome to see JBL finally take out his anger on these fools. It was hard not to mark out at the Clothesline From Hell, and it was pleasant to see actual planning and some sort of payoff for once.
The legends panel was decent, even if it’s the same three guys that are there every time a group of legends rolls into town. However, it was nice to see three Rumble winners talk about their victories, with Shawn Michaels saying, “There would be no Mr. WrestleMania without the Royal Rumble.” It was also humorous to watch Big Show bring up talking points from about two decades prior and refer to anyone as “three washed-up has-beens.”
In terms of wrestling action, the best match of the night, in my opinion, was Dean Ambrose and Bad News Barrett. These two had good chemistry and pulled off a number of impressive spots. In particular, Ambrose’s reversal of Wasteland into Dirty Deeds was an awesome way to end the match. I wouldn’t mind seeing these guys work a program for the IC Title at WrestleMania.
Finally, Sandow posing as X-Pac backstage was absolutely hilarious. This guy deserves bigger and better things. Hopefully the company comes to the same realization before it’s too late.
On Monday’s WWE Royal Rumble “go-home” edition of RAW, which was also the RAW Reunion special, two additional matches were made official for this Sunday’s pay-per-view.
The Usos will be defending their WWE Tag-Team Championships against the team of The Miz and Damien Mizdow.
Another tag-team match was made official as well, as the New Age Outlaws, who appeared as part of the RAW Reunion special, will return once again this Sunday to compete against The Ascension.
Make sure to join us here at the site this Sunday night for live WWE Royal Rumble play-by-play results coverage.
At tonight’s RAW Reunion, it’s rumored that we’ll see at least one legendary tag team reuniting. With Billy Gunn and Ron Simmons both advertised for the show, we could very well see the New Age Outlaws and The Acolytes together once again.
There are reports going around that The New Age Outlaws will be reforming for more than just a one-off appearance. In recent week’s we’ve seen The Ascension calling out tag teams like The Road Warriors, Demolition and the Powers of Pain. The latest word is that The Outlaws could be returning to television for a quick program with Konnor and Viktor.
The Outlaws showed last year that they can still go – comment below and tell us if you think working with Road Dogg and Billy Gunn would help The Ascension develop into a strong tag team.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Road Warrior Animal, who was recently part of a promo that garnered a lot of heat on The Ascension, was front row at the WWE live event on Friday night in St. Louis, Missouri.
– Bill DeMott wrote the following on Twitter regarding the confirmed return of the WWE Tough Enough reality show, which he served as head coach for in the past: