We are a little over halfway through the year. With Money in the Bank behind us, the WWE will now focus on building up its second biggest pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam. With that said, I felt it would be interesting to look at the top five matches from the second quarter of 2014. I included full match videos and highlights where possible, but WWE licensing restrictions made it difficult at times. (I also apologize for the terrible music in a few of the videos.)
5. Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett (April 14th Raw)
Dolph Ziggler is rarely given more than ten minutes to perform anymore, so it is definitely worth enjoying when he is given enough time to show off his talent. In this match, Ziggler squared off with Bad News Barrett in the first round of the Intercontinental Championship tournament. Both superstars put on a great show, with Barrett ultimately winning after hitting a Bad News Bullhammer Elbow. The action was fast paced in this contest, with both guys showing why they have main event talent. This would start Barrett’s push to win the title, although he would of course later be stripped as a result of injury. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdwcxG9A8UU
4. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane (Extreme Rules)
This would end up begin Daniel Bryan’s only title defense, as he was stripped of the title just a few weeks later due to injury. He made the most of his time with the strap, however, by engaging in a great contest with Kane. Of all the matches on the list, this is definitely the one that had the most old-school feel to it, with the action spilling to the back of the arena at one point. Bryan also used a forklift to help secure the victory by delivering a diving headbutt from the top of the vehicle. Ultimately, the match was a throwback to the Attitude Era, providing fans with a simultaneous glimpse into both the past and future of the company. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ReEU8WzzQo
While it would seem inevitable at some point, and thus obvious, there is already said to be talk within WWE about plans for a reunion of The Shield in late 2015 or early 2016.
The motivation behind the talks was long-term planning, where it was pointed out how successful reunions in the past have done, such as D-Generation X.
The idea is to keep Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins apart as far as any kind of unity from now until then, building to an eventual alignment down the line.
The following are highlights of a new Miami Herald interview with Steve Austin:
The concept for his new show: “I loved doing ‘Redneck Island,’ but there is a lot of drama on the show and how you get voted off the island is actually a vote. I wanted a competition show that involved challenges, and when you leave the ranch, it’s because you lose something. So that’s how the original concept was born. Through my body of work as the ‘Toughest S.O.B. in WWF’ and the Broken Skull Ranch, one of the toughest places in Texas, the ultimate thing was to have a competition show on my ranch with the baddest and toughest athletes in the United States. We came up with the concept of three rounds of competition with eight people and end up with one. Next day that one takes on my obstacle course called the “Skullbuster”. We drew from the world of CrossFit, Spartan racers, Tough Mudder, MMA (mixed martial arts) and pro wrestling. We’ve got some of the best athletes in the United States doing head-to-head competition at my place, and that’s what I like, a tough, no BS competition. No frills. Nothing fancy.”
Now being an exciting time for WWE fans: “For a period there was a pretty good gap of great new talent that was going to be able to sell tickets. With The Shield and the Wyatt’s, Cesaro and a couple of other guys, they’re going to move the needle. It’s refreshing. I remember back in the day when I was still around. John Cena is a very good friend of mind and has been a top guy for 10 years. I have so much respect for him, but their houses have kind of fallen off. I want the business to go back to the way it was when we were selling out every night. I think with this new depth of talent they have rising out of the ranks of NXT, developing these new stars. They continue to gain more momentum and get the business where it was back in the day.”
The Shield splitting up: “I wanted them to remain together for a little bit longer. So at some point they would have had to fly on their own, and they chose the time to do that. I don’t know if it’s a lack of depth. I know they have a lot of guys on the roster, but guys that are going to be these potential superstars are few and far between. They are the ones booking it, so we will see how it unfolds. Was it premature or not? I would have liked to see them stay together longer, maybe about three to six months.”
The WWE World Heavyweight Title situation: “Triple H has had it enough. Cena has had it enough. You need a fresh face, so you might as well take advantage of a bad situation, which is Daniel Bryan’s neck and make a new superstar. With Cesaro having [Paul] Heyman in his corner, he would be a great choice because of Heyman’s advice. His credibility, Cesaro’s in-ring ability speaks for itself. He is going to be a badass. Bray Wyatt I like as a heel even though the crowd is trying to switch him to babyface. Really, I don’t know. Maybe Roman Reigns is my favorite to take that belt. I think the crowd is ready to get behind him. He’s missing a little bit of his game, but he is going to be a mega star very quickly. So either way you go with that, I think it’s going to be fine. It’s put up or shut up, and you have to take the football and run with it. I think whichever guy gets that belt, he will do that….”
“I’m just wondering if Brock Lesnar is going to come in there and smoke whoever has the belt and then have a monster run until WrestleMania next year. Then drop the belt to somebody who is really good at carrying it. So will this guy be a sacrificial lamb or will they give them a run with the belt? I just want Daniel Bryan to get well because he was coming into some good money working on top and worked his ass to get there. He has been around a long time at the lower level. Now he is at the top of WWE. I just want his neck to get well, so he can continue making money and be the top guy because he earned it.”
The following are highlights of a new Chris Jericho interview:
Getting fans to hate him: “It is a lost art, it’s a lot easier to get people to hate you than to like you but it’s hard to get them to stay hating you, that’s where the secret is. Look at some of the greatest heels of all time in movies for example, Darth Vader, Freddie Kruger and Hannibal Lecter, they all became the good guys in the later movies because they’re too entertaining, so the secret to being a good heel is staying a heel. It’s very easy to get drawn into putting out merchandise, saying a catchphrase or doing an interview, I did none of those things when I turned heel in 2008 and it was a conscious decision. When I started saying ‘hypocrite’, people started bringing in signs then I would decide not to say that anymore, then people thought ‘parasite’ was funny then again I stopped saying that.”
Vince McMahon supporting his extra effort to stay in character outside of the ring: “I remember in Madison Square Garden there was a dad with his son in the elevator who asked for an autograph and as much as it pained me as I have a son, I just stared ahead, it’s all part of it and nowadays no one wants to do it. Vince loves it because it’s old school, he gets it, it’s heat, Vince had my back with anything I did, for example when I caused the crowd to pelt me with glow sticks in London, DX were furious, Stephanie was furious, they wanted me fined and suspended but Vince goes ‘no you’re a heel’. “ I learnt in WCW that that NWO were cool heels, just by being up there they were so likable and cool, there was nothing I could do to get a reaction, and I might as well have been a heel. That’s why they don’t turn John Cena heel, all the people that booed him will end up loving him, it would be a waste of time.”
Guys like The Shield, The Wyatt Family and Cesaro getting over: “I kind of am like the Nostradamus of WWE, I predicted that all of those guys will get over, with Cesaro we had a tour of Japan last year and I specifically asked to work with him and with Bray Wyatt when I went to work with NXT I said to put me with that guy.”
The WWE dog pound is a lot emptier after the dissolution of the Hounds of Justice. Since leaving the Shield, Seth Rollins has adopted new entrance music and wardrobe, trading in his Shield garb for attire that resembles something Catwoman would sport.
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, although still affiliated, have also distanced themselves from one another. Ambrose debuted new ring gear, now wearing a pair of jeans and a white tank top. It appears that the only member of the Shield who will continue to wear the riot gear the group has become synonymous with will be Roman Reigns.
Reigns found a way to gain entry into the Money in the Bank main event. Does he have a chance to come out victorious?
Speaking of Reigns, he is also the only member of the Shield who will compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the next pay-per-view. Although it seems unlikely that Reigns, a man who has never held a singles title in the WWE, would win the championship, he has to be considered one of the favorites after looking at his competition.
In my opinion, the best way to further the feud between Reigns and Triple H would be to have the Game screw Reigns out of victory at Money in the Bank, possibly by helping Randy Orton secure the title once more.
Reigns has not seemed too interested in exacting revenge from former partner Seth Rollins, instead allowing Dean Ambrose to handle the situation. This has set up a storyline between the two, with Rollins and Ambrose attacking one another on multiple occasions over the past few weeks.
This week on Main Event, Seth Rollins announced that there would be a second ladder match at this month’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, this one a traditional ladder match for a title shot. Rollins also announced that he would be the first entrant in the contest.
Thus far, no other competitors have been announced for the match, but with Rollins and Ambrose feuding, it seems obvious that Dean will be one of the superstars vying for a title contract next Sunday. If handled correctly, Ambrose and Rollins could pull off one of the greatest feuds in recent history.
The following are highlights of a new Chad Dukes Wrestling Show interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley:
On Luke Harper: “I wasn’t sold on him. I wasn’t sold on the idea that they kept comparing him to Bruiser Brody, because Brody for the longtime wrestling fan was one of the great wrestlers of his era or of all time. But he was known as the intelligent monster and Harper was an out of control maniac. I think once you stop trying to imitate somebody and find your own way things really start clicking. So, I’ve been watching him and things have really been clicking and after the Wyatts have this amazing run, hopefully as long as possible, yeah, I do think he has what it takes to become a singles star.”
On The Shield breakup: “I thought it was pretty cool, yeah! I didn’t see it coming and they had a long, a nice long run. Sometimes, and I’m not picking on other groups, but when I wrestled elsewhere for a couple of years it was almost as if they thought every person watching the show watched every episode and kept up on everything, and they would break up groups, literally within months, two or three months. ‘Yeah, they’ve been together long enough, time to break ’em up!’ These guys [the Shield] had been together for two years, the time was right; I think it gives Seth Rollins a chance to break out. He was almost like the forgotten member, even though he would steal shows. He wasn’t the crazy guy, like Ambrose, and he wasn’t the guy with the incredible physique, like Roman Reigns. So he tended to be forgotten. Evolution by the nature of its name should be constantly evolving, I think it was a good move, and I think he upped his stock.”
Many have asked what ring gear Seth Rollins will wear now that he is no longer a part of The Shield faction, meaning him wearing the Shield-like vest is not an option. Apparently the discussion of what Rollins’ ring-gear will be has been a big topic of discussion among WWE officials since the decision was made to turn him heel and separate him from the group.
Additionally, it’s being said that Rollins is not going to be a member of the Evolution faction, as it appears that the Evolution faction — with Batista out of the picture — may no longer be around.
For those wondering, it also appears that there are no plans to replace Rollins and add a third member to The Shield group, despite much speculation and a WWE.com article that hyped potential replacements.
New information is coming in regarding WWE’s decision for Seth Rollins to betray The Shield last week on RAW and align himself with Triple H. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rollins’ heel turn was a ‘last minute’ decision.
There were some hints dropped in recent weeks that Dean Ambrose could be the one to break away from The Shield, however, there were never any serious plans in place for Ambrose to join The Authority.
This week’s edition of WWE Raw took place in Minneapolis, MN, and featured one of the biggest announcements in recent history. That announcement was of course that WWE Champion Daniel Bryan would be stripped of his title and it would be on the line during the ladder match at Money in the Bank.
Speaking of the ladder match, Cesaro and Sheamus punched their tickets after winning qualifying matches, and Triple H added Randy Orton to the match, leaving only three remaining spots. As always, a few questions were answered, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following this week’s edition of Raw.
5. Is Sandow Permanently Buried?
For what seems like the thousandth week in a row, Damien Sandow was once again tasked with comic relief duty, this time appearing dressed as a ballerina to team with Fandango.
Sandow was not only once again grossly misused, his winless streak and fall to the bottom of the company also continued. Since unsuccessfully cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase last year against John Cena, it has been downhill for Sandow.
Let us hope that the next briefcase winner (assuming there are two ladder matches) is better utilized than Sandow was, as the win actually hurt him more than it helped.
4. Does Cesaro Have a Chance To Win the Title?
Cesaro qualified for the championship ladder match after hitting RVD with a Neutralizer this Monday. There were rumors a few weeks back that the company was thinking about putting the briefcase on Cesaro (before it was confirmed as a championship title match).
This leads one to wonder if he has a legitimate chance at winning the title. Having only held the United States Championship, it seems unlikely, but after looking at the confirmed participants, he seems like the early favorite.
It is unlikely that they would put the title back on Randy Orton already, and the other confirmed participants (Del Rio and Sheamus) will not be walking out with the title either. There are three participants yet to be confirmed, meaning John Cena will likely find a way to get himself into the match and win the title, but one can dream, right?
Could UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey be the next member of The Shield? The wrestling world is still reeling from Seth Rollins’ shocking betrayal of The Shield last week on RAW. The heel turn took almost everybody by surprise, including Ronda Rousey, who is a huge WWE fan.
Earlier this week, a fan told Roman Reigns on Twitter that The Shield needs a female – THE female, Ronda Rousey. Reigns apparently thought it was a great idea:
"@MidgeBringsIt: The @TheShieldWWE needs a new member. A female. THE female. @RondaRousey , believe in the Shield! She seems like a good fit
WWE.com has a new article up looking at potential new members of The Shield, now that Seth Rollins has left the faction. The article looks at NXT Champion Adrian Neville, Big E., Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, John Morrison and Daniel Bryan as possible replacements for Rollins.
Following the success of the article, the website added a poll where fans could vote on the six aforementioned names. At last check, the results for the poll saw 43 percent voting for Bryan, 17 percent voting for Morrison and 7 percent voted for “none.”
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan is also getting in on the action, hinting that The Shield might need a dose of Hulkamania, brother:
The Shield just might need Hollywoods services brother WWE4Life. HH
When it comes to Batista’s latest run, one could argue that management hit him with a bait and switch. He was promised that he would win the Royal Rumble and go on to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Instead, he was practically booed out of the building after winning the Royal Rumble and ended up tapping out to the Yes Lock at WrestleMania to allow Daniel Bryan to win the championship.
As most probably know by now, Batista “quit” on this past week’s Raw, as he will be taking a few months off to promote his new movie Guardians of the Galaxy. Upon return after a several year hiatus, Batista represented what many feel is wrong with the current state of the WWE.
Batista did not win a title after returning, but he was involved in a memorable feud between Evolution and the Shield.
Instead of relying on the guys that work day in and day out to headline the biggest pay-per-views of the year, the WWE has instead relied upon part-time superstars such as the Rock and Brock Lesnar to headline their biggest events. The reliance on part-time superstars is one of the reasons a certain someone (*cough* CM Punk *cough*) decided to pack his bags and head home.
However, despite all of the criticism Batista has received since returning, one has to wonder if he earned the respect of fans. In my opinion, I think it is fair to say that he did just that.
In the end, Batista was promised the world but was basically handed a half-empty bag of peanuts. Following the Royal Rumble, which featured an extremely hostile Pittsburgh crowd, it became apparent that Batista’s wishes would not be granted. The company was quickly forced to turn him heel, which messed with the dynamics of the WrestleMania main event, which featured a heel champion in the form of Randy Orton.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey posted a video on Instagram of her reaction to Seth Rollins turning on The Shield and joining Evolution on Monday’s RAW. Rousey, a huge WWE fan, leads a fight team dubbed the Four Horsewomen that are rumored to be appearing at SummerSlam.
The following are highlights of a new Busted Open Radio interview with Tommy Dreamer:
With the Seth Rollins turn, is it hard to shock fans these days? “Oh yeah. I mean, that was my job back in the original ECW with the rise of the Internet. The Internet has so…. hurt as well as helped professional wrestling. When you talk to a lot of people, especially with me and I’m always known for having surprises at shows and people are like ‘You got any surprises?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah.’ and they’re like ‘No no no I don’t want to know’. Which is cool. I mean, it’s sometimes better to just sit back and be a fan because then we get so cynical and we want to think things our own way and stuff like that. I think the turn, and this is my opinion, the turn was really really cool. I don’t think it was the right time and the Shield I think still had a lot more mileage to go. And if you also think about it isn’t this kind of like the second Shield turn that they’ve already had? A lot of people sadly in wrestling nowadays forget about stuff. I don’t, and I remember even when everybody was making the big stink about Daniel Bryan never getting the chance, never getting the opportunity. He was already champion twice before. That’s how they, in wrestling, make you want to forget certain things. It’s your memory by what we want to feed you. Me, I remember specifically when Barry Windham turned on Dusty Rhodes. It was like ‘What the hell?!’ or Larry Zbysko turned on Bruno Sammartino. It was like ‘No way did that just happen!?’ Again, I think it’s…. in the long run will be good for Seth Rollins. I’m a huge fan of Seth Rollins work. Again, I think it’s just a little too soon because you think about it the night before they just beat the biggest faction in the business. I also would have probably almost waited to WrestleMania to have them face the Wyatts. They basically did a throwaway match on a throwaway pay per view. I mean, there was big money in 6-man action with the Freebirds and Von Erichs. They (Shield & Wyatts) are some over acts and if you finally make those guys touch, I think you’re on to something. Again, that’s they’re idea, they’re booking. Not mine.”
Is that even possible in this day and age to have a feud go on for more than just 3-4 months because of the over saturation of programming? “I don’t even want to say over saturation of programming. I want to say, it’s more for, I think in their eyes, desperation for ratings and the whole ‘We got to do things NOW NOW NOW’ as apposed to ‘wait and cultivate’. I mean you’re talking to a guy who couldn’t beat a guy for 3 years and even when everybody knew he (Raven) was leaving for WCW, they were still going crazy for all of the false finishes and everything that they did. They knew the guy was leaving. Why would they ever want to believe that he could beat me? They still were doing it throughout the entire match. I was at Lisa Marie’s restaurant. It was probably the first time I watched that match in forever and I’m saying to myself ‘Here during this age of the professional wrestling fan, and they’re still biting on all of the false finishes, and they knew he was leaving.’ So it says something for our hard work. They know, but they don’t 100% know and I think that’s the beauty of professional wrestling. To answer your question, yes, it is a lot harder to try to smarten up the fans or keep surprises because of how the industry, and, well it’s social media. If you think about it, social media changed the main event of WrestleMania and changed the outcome of WrestleMania so it’s an amazing time to be a wrestling fan.”
His take about House Of Hardcore: “I’m a wrestling fan. Always have been, always will be. This is my vision of what professional wrestling is and should be. I just want the fans to go home and say ‘Wow I saw an amazing night of professional wrestling.’ That’s my job to give it to them. Yes at times I say, like today when I spent over probably 1,200 dollars on hotels for all the talent, I said, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ But at the end of the day it’s paid off for me so far and I’m hoping it continues to pay off for me. I came from an amazing place, ECW. It was a great atmosphere and time to be a wrestling fan. I feel independent wrestling is on the rise, and if you give them I don’t care what form of entertainment it is, if you give them quality entertainment, people will come, and so far that’s what I’ve been doing. The obvious choice of Poughkeepsie and Philly, it was a big burden for me. I’m plotting out guy’s rides and how they’re going to get from one place to another, hotels. It’s a lot of work and I’m hoping at the end it’s going to pay off for me. So far I’ve had no complaints for the shows, so that’s really why I do it. I’m not going to be a guy that risks his family’s livelihood or my family’s future because I want to run wrestling shows. It’s also a business. I’m trying to slowly build something. This is going to be my 4th, 5th and next week in the west coast is going to be my 6th shows. I didn’t want to do that many shows but they kind of fell into place. From my 3rd show I had Bully Ray jump me and that aired on TNAs web stream. We had a national wrestling company talking about my company and I helped draw a bigger house for them and, you know, when we did the return match for TNA and, you know, now I can’t say who’s going to be there, but there’s going to be national cameras rolling in Poughkeepsie. There’s some good stuff going on. I’m happy because I’m seeing my hard work pay off. In ECW it changed us and we came so close. I think that’s what kind of what motivated me just cause, you know, I want more options. I want there to be more wrestling promotions. I want wrestling fans to have a choice to choose what they want to see. I don’t want to watch just… I want to see everything. It’s what I grew up on and that’s what I want to continue to do.”
Do fans just want to see pure wrestling, no matter what promotion? “Yes, and, you know it’s funny, there are guys who are past their prime wrestling, but it doesn’t mean they can’t contribute in the ring. Me, I know my time is limited. I’m 43 years old. I still can go out and put on a very entertaining match. Even though with the entire amount of injuries I have, I’m still able to go out there and perform to a higher ability. Even if there are guys who are the older veterans, you know, guys that I watched on television, they’re still out there but you know what? They’re still signing autographs. They’re still partaking in the show and if, you know, to me, that’s where you put them in the tag team matches that are with the younger guys who can go. You look at my show, when you go on the website. My match with the Dudley’s that’s going to be a throwback to the violent era of ECW. Then you have AJ Styles, the New Japan Heavyweight Champion, he’s wrestling Chris Hero, which, to me, that’s going to be a really good wrestling match. I’ve always been a guy that’s stuck by stipulations and to say ‘it’s real to me damn it’, it is. When I did Hardcore Justice for TNA, I wrote that show and I said, ‘That’s the last time me and Raven are ever going to wrestle’. Promoters have asked me to wrestle Raven and I said ‘no. I’m not going to do it’. Same with Terry Funk. My last show in Poughkeepsie was me and Terry Funk for the last time ever tagging together. For me, the last show I’m going to do Tony Neese, Petey Williams and Alex Reynolds. Not a lot of people know them, but they’re matches were so good; they were the semi-main event of my show because they do a whole different insane wrestling style. Petey Williams did a Canadian Destroyer off the top rope.”
As previously reported, the Seth Rollins heel turn against The Shield on this past Monday’s RAW was actually not written into the script for the show. Apparently the Rollins heel turn was officially decided upon on Sunday afternoon prior to the WWE Payback pay-per-view.
According to one source, Rollins turning heel was Vince McMahon’s way of reacting to the low RAW rating for the Payback “go-home” show the week before.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On presenting at this year’s Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion: “Tonight is the big, CAC banquet where I will be presenting Terry Taylor w/ an award while Jerry Brisco will be honoring Michael Hayes. WWE has reserved two tables at the banquet which is very supportive.”
“I encourage all fans and especially the IWC to become members of the CAC and help support CAC’s charitable causes.”
On additional thoughts he has regarding The Shield’s breakup on RAW: “Even though I’d personally preferred that the Shield stayed together a bit longer IE imploded at Summer Slam, the turn Monday night was well executed. Heels, generally, need to be able to absorb a believable ass whipping and bump with ease and Seth Rollins certainly fills the bill. Plus, Rollins can talk well but, for some reason, I expect other shoes to drop in and around this matter before Summer Slam.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
This week’s edition of WWE Raw took place in Indianapolis, IN and was the post-Payback episode of the longest running weekly episodic television show in history. The card featured a total of nine matches, including a contest between John Cena and Kane, as well as a Money in the Bank qualifying match between Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio.
The show also featured two incidents that will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the storyline for weeks to come. A lot of questions were answered, but many still remain. Here are five questions that need to be answered following this week’s edition of Raw.
5. Is Cesaro Going to Challenge for the Intercontinental Championship?
On this week’s Raw, Cesaro abandoned his partner Bad News Barrett, leaving him helpless against the team of RVD and Sheamus. After the match, Cesaro stood on the stage staring at Bad News Barrett, perhaps alluding to an upcoming feud between the two for the IC strap.
This feud could help both parties, as it would provide Barrett with a worthy opponent to work with, while also allowing Cesaro to challenge for the company’s second most important title. With rumors of Cesaro being the top contender to win the Money in the Bank briefcase, there are a few directions they could take with the King of Swing, and fans would likely welcome any push.
4. Will WWE Listen to the Fans and Push Dolph Ziggler?
One of the biggest injustices of the past year has been Dolph Ziggler’s demotion to the midcard. After finally cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, Ziggler won the World Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio on the Raw after WrestleMania last year.
His reign would ultimately be cut short following a concussion, and after a few harsh words directed at John Cena, Ziggler’s burial was a certainty. He hasn’t been able to claw his way out of the doghouse since, despite calls from fans to give him a push.
There were chants for Ziggler during the match between Big E and Rusev at Payback, and it seemed like he might finally get back on track during a Money in the Bank qualifying match against Alberto Del Rio on this week’s Raw. The hopes of Ziggler fans around the world were quickly dashed, however, as he was forced to tap out to the Cross Armbreaker and it looks like Dolph has become a permanent fixture at the bottom of the card.
3. Who Benefited More from Their Feud: John Cena or Bray Wyatt?
During their last man standing match at Payback, John Cena literally buried Bray Wyatt after slamming him through a crate that was conveniently placed at the foot of a table.
Now that it appears their feud is over, one has to wonder which superstar benefited more from the program. It is hard to argue that any victory could put Cena over more. Wyatt used the program to get himself over with the audience, but he ultimately looked weak in each of their contests.
Wyatt lost two of the three matches, and his one victory came with the help of Harper, Rowan, and a child. Ultimately, Cena did not gain anything from the feud, and Wyatt is just as over as he was before and looked weak throughout, so I would say that neither guy really benefited.
In his latest weekly sit-down interview with Michael Cole, WWE COO Triple H addressed Seth Rollins’ shocking betrayal of The Shield on RAW and Batista’s decision to “quit” WWE.
– Triple H said he sought out Rollins because he’s the brains, architect, and glue of The Shield. With Rollins gone, The Shield is no longer a unit, only two individuals. He did not explain why Rollins decided to join Evolution – but Michael Cole did note that Rollins declined an offer to be his interview guest this week.
– Regarding Batista quitting WWE on RAW, Hunter said, “It’s what Dave does.” Hunter mocked Batista decision to do movies and said, added, “I know Dave well enough to know that he doesn’t have a Plan B.”
Seth Rollins’ shocking heel turn on Monday’s RAW was not written into the show’s script.
While this could imply that Rollins betraying The Shield was a last-minute decision, we’ve heard that the angle was planned several days before it took place. WWE has known for a long time that Batista would be taking time off this summer to promote his new Guardians of the Galaxy movie and this year’s major ‘summer shakeup’ angle took place earlier than usual.
The script that was used at Monday’s RAW had John Cena vs. Kane in the main event.
After Seth Rollins turned on The Shield on Monday’s RAW, Roman Reigns, who was attacked by Rollins with a chair, tweeted the following about trust, showing off his back again.
The following are highlights from the latest blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Seth Rollins turning on The Shield: “Raw was an o.k. show with a hot ending. Therefore the thing that most people will take away from the broadcast was Seth Rollins turning his back on Ambrose and Reigns and apparently aligning himself with HHH and Randy Orton. Or did he?
I always thought that Dean Ambrose was the natural heel of the Shield but I’ve got no issues with Seth Rollins doing the dirty deed even though in a perfect world I would have preferred that the Shield stay together a little longer. Apparently, WWE felt compelled to re-shuffle the deck which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’d assume that several dominoes will fall as time moves forward and the company prepares for a major push to Summer Slam. In other words, I’d assume that multiple cards are up in the air and won’t land on the table until August.”
On Money In The Bank: “Like most I was surprised that Dolph Ziggler lost again on Raw and failed to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match but somehow, someway I’m not ruling Ziggler out of that bout. Perhaps it’s just my wishful thinking but wouldn’t it be wild if Ziggler left MITB as the new WWE Champion?”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Seth Rollins turned on The Shield during the main event segment on the post-WWE Payback edition of RAW.
Instead of the originally scheduled Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns main event, Triple H revealed that he had a “plan B.” After saying that, Seth Rollins attacked both Reigns and Dean Ambrose with a steel chair, blasting them repeatedly with it. HHH and Orton stood at ringside all-the-while smiling in approval as they saw their plan come to fruition.
They end up joining Rollins in the ring to attack Reigns and Ambrose some more.
– In a pretty coincidental tweet, WWE noted on Twitter today that Indianapolis, Indiana, which is the site of tonight’s edition of WWE RAW, was also the site of the first-ever WWE Buried Alive match. You can check out the tweet below.
– Also new on Twitter, from the official account of Roman Reigns, is a photo of his welted up back following his match against Evolution at last night’s WWE Payback pay-per-view.
– Roman Reigns noted during the WWE Payback post-show on Sunday night that he may have suffered a torn triceps during his six-man tag-team match against Evolution, which served as the main event of the evening. A fan who saw Reigns exit the building after the show noted that he clearly seemed to be in pain.
– Bad News Barrett suffered a black eye as a result of his match with Rob Van Dam at the WWE Payback pay-per-view. Barrett suffered the black eye when taking a stiff blow from Van Dam during their WWE Intercontinental Championship match.
– Bray Wyatt suffered various cuts as a result of his “Last Man Standing” match with John Cena at Payback, a match that many in the company were raving about afterwards.
Former WWE Superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman posted the following mini-rant on his official Twitter account regarding the finish to Sunday night’s WWE Payback main event between The Shield and Evolution.
Going of the air they had all three Shield guys standing over the fallen Evolution. They laid there for Shield & they didn't show it. Why?