Batista Returned to WWE and it’s the go home show before the Royal Rumble, but was it enough for us to say YES! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
The Animal Is back, with the world’s tightest pants! NO!
The Authority, Randy Orton & Batista I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this segment. Randy Orton Triple H and Stephanie McMahon is just boring me. Orton is way more whinyer these days as well. This isn’t the cold-hearted viper, we all know and love. This is an annoying whimpy sometimes self-doubting viper. Batista comes out wearing a pair of ridiculous tight Jeans. That outfit is what I would expect someone to put on him as a joke in the WWE 2k14 video game, with a diva’s dancing entrance. He’s back to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans to become the WWE Champion. Part of me want’s to say YES! because Batista is awesome, maybe I’m being to hard on the guy? But if I’m rating the segment by itself I have to go with NO!
Goldust, Cody Rhodes & Big E. Langston vs. The Shield WWE has won me over on tag team wrestling, plain and simple. I enjoy it, I love wathcing Cody and Golddust out there. I think it’s rediciolous that these two are defending their championship on the Royal Rumble pre-show. They deserve mid-card of the Pay-Per-View. Some would arugue, that if you put a solid match on the pre-show that will get people on the fence to buy the PPV. I get it, but still I think this is an attraction worthy of the actual event. Especially because I feel The New Age Outlaws could very well win the titles.YES!
Daniel Bryan is back YES!
Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Great to see Daniel Bryan on Raw, especially since SEScoops.com broke the news a day after last week’s Raw that he had suffered a concussion last week. As a precaution he was pulled of the weekends live events and underwent impact testing to make sure he was good for this Sunday. He’s facing Bray Wyatt in a 1 on 1 match. Currently he is not scheduled to compete in the Royal Rumble. If he doesn’t show up in the Rumble and win it, I will be pretty disappointed, this is his year to win it. Do the right thing WWE, you have a major star on your hands. YES!
Xavier Woods vs. Fandango Fast forwarded this match. I think Fandango won. I have no idea why. Meaningless. NO!
CM Punk vs Billy Gun I didn’t catch Smackdown! on Friday, but I enjoyed The Road Doggs explinatinon here on commentary. The New Age Outlaws aren’t heel’s per se, more like tweeners. I would expect them to win the Tag Team titles to further along a breakup with Golddust and Cody Rhodes. Billy Gun looked a bit blown up in the match with CM Punk, but good match. YES!
Batista gets his revenge on Alberto Del Ro before the Rumble. Now What? – NO!
Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio Another fast forward delight, back in the day before DVR’s and dare I say VCR’s We would change the channel watching this thing live. Truth be told, I fell asleep during this very match live on Monday, and caught up Tuesday. Batista comes out and attacks Alberto Del Rio. Now I thought I was going to have to pay to see Batista get physical with Del Rio? Why give it away on Raw? I can only guess that Alberto Del Rio will cause Batista to be eliminated at the Rumble. We saw Batista destroy him, so something else needs to happen. Perhaps Ricardo Rodriguez comes back and they both get Batista out? Who knows. All I know is I give the match and aftermath a NO!
Brock Lesnar should be Fearless – NO!
Big Show, Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman Brock Lesnar shouldn’t be afraid of anyone at any time, period! I did like the Big Show this week, more serious, more business, calling out Brock Lesnar. I thought it was silly watching Brock backup from the ring, not wanting to get in there with Big Show. Getting thrown out and then throwing a temper tantrum. Brock is going to win this match at the Royal Rumble, a match I am looking forward to. But this segment was silly. I liked Big Show’s impression of Paul Heyman though. NO!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
The following are highlights from a recent Jim Ross online Q&A update:
On if he feels Roman Reigns will ever work with his cousins The Usos: “I assume that any thing is possible down the road. It likely wouldn’t be often or remotely on a regular basis.”
On if it’s fair to compare today’s era against the Attitude Era: “”Fair?” It’s merely speculation and not a decree of fact. Today’s roster has some intriguing, underdeveloped pieces who need to continue to evolve plus have others added to the mix to ever approach the Attitude Era roster. I hope that they do.”
On why WWE didn’t do Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin in 2002: “Nothing serious that I recall. Rock was a better fit for Hogan at WM18.”
On if WWE talents had more creative freedom back in the late 90s and early 2000s: “Yes, somewhat. Those that could assemble their thoughts in a good way were provided some creative flexibility. Needs to get back to that.”
On if he feels Daniel Bryan will be in the Royal Rumble, and if so, should he win: “Your guess is as good as mine. He’s facing Bray Wyatt at the Rumble but that doesn’t mean that any of those talents in one on one matches can’t be in the Rumble match too. Tune in and see….that’s what I’m doing.”
Check out more JR Q&A updates online at JRsBarBQ.com.
With two weeks before the Royal Rumble, Noah Mark is back with his analysis of the second raw of 2014. Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Kick Off Raw vs The USO’S – YES!
The Usos vs. Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan (Part 1) Raw starts off with the match advertised last week of Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. The USO’s were in the ring at the start of Raw ready for the match. The lights blacked out for the Wyatts entrance, and came back on 30 seconds later to reveal Daniel Bryan and The Wyatts already in the ring. I liked the quick entrance. The match was good with Daniel Bryan in a more aggressive style. Luke Harper and Derek Rowan, interfered just before The USO’s were about to get airborne on Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. This prompted another DQ on the Wyatts in their second week in a row with Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan drops to his knees to receive a Sister Abigail from Bray Wyatt. As I said for the last two weeks, I’m okay with this story in it’s context, provided it doesn’t go 16 weeks to WrestleMania. YES!
Damien Sandow holding his own against John Cena – YES!
Damien Sandow vs. John Cena I was fortunate to be in the crowd at Raw in Orlando, FL the night after The Hell-In-A-Cell Pay-Per-View. It was on that night that Damien Sandow cashed in his Money-In-The-Bank briefcase on John Cena. Although he didn’t win the match then, it was a great competitive match with Cena, and this episode of Raw was no different. There is a great chemistry between Sandow and Cena, and proof that Sandow should have a much more elevated status in WWE. All the things about Damien Sandow I enjoy are stripped away, no more robe, no more witty promos, he’s seemingly just an angry body. Where’s the man that would sign autographs with a quill pen? Why do we get “Sandow-Gimmick-Light”? I question this especially, because when he is called upon he delivers. Match was great. Don’t throw away Sandow after this. YES!
Kane & Brad Maddox, No Triple H or Stephanie. Kane and Brad get into it backstage, and Mr Maddox comes up with a Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan vs The Uso’s rematch in a steel cage for the main event. With Kane adding that he will personally chain the cage door shut. I thought this would spell disaster for Daniel Bryan, with some ulterior motive for his former Co-Tag Team Champion.
I did like the fact that Triple H and Stephanie were not on the show this week. Although they seem to back Orton, promoting him as the face Of WWE, they haven’t been targeting John Cena, like they did Bryan, with beat-downs and impossible handi-cap matches. YES!
Left – Intense Big Show to confront Brock Lesnar 1/6 YES! Right – Jolly Big Show eventually Beating Up Zed NO!
On an unrelated note, is Kane injured? Kane is one of the longest tenured Superstars on the roster, I know he has been working several holiday house show matches, however I don’t recall him having a TV match since that aforementioned Orlando Raw I was at where, on that show he shed his mask, this was after returning from filming a See No Evil sequel. It looked like he had a noticeable limp coming down the aisle way.
Big Show vs. Jack Swagger I don’t like smiling big show. I liked hoodie and skull cap wearing, intense Big Show from last week. I want all business Big Show. I want a focused Big Show that is going to seriously take on Brock Lesnar. Big show almost has John Cena-itus. Big Show should learn from his mistakes. Smiling Big Show ended 3-4 Raws this fall, then lost the Big One. Big show can smile his way to another loss at the Royal Rumble. I like Zeb Colter, but for some reason I DON’T want to see him hurt. I like Paul Heyman, but I DO want to see him get hurt. NO!
Moments before The New Age Outlaws, pull back their hands and walk out on CM Punk – NO!
CM Punk & The New Age Outlaws vs. The Shield I’m hoping after The Royal Rumble, CM Punk will move away from The Shield. I love Roman Reigns but If the Shield were to break up, I don’t think he should be put against CM Punk one on one, yet. I like the idea of him building up his singles resume, perhaps with a Big E, Dolph Ziggler, a returning Jericho, maybe even Daniel Bryan, before we see CM Punk vs Roman Reigns in a big time match. I love the New Age Outlaws, and I don’t want to boo them. I haven’t checked out the Smackdown Spoilers (They are scheduled to take on Cody Rhodes and Golddust) so I’m curious to see if they are “bad guys” now. They both appear to be in great shape, and would love to see them, hang around till WrestleMania, but not at heels. Besides, book him however you wish, but at WrestleMania XXX they will no doubt be faces one way or another. NO!
Meaningless win for AJ. Waste of talent – NO!
The Funkadactyls vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka Throw-a-way match, AJ being underutilized. AJ hasn’t had many title defenses, the belt isn’t as special, not because of the person, because of the booking. She taps out and pins people left and right, then a silly beat down afterwords. If you’re going to give her a clean win, why bother, having the faces beat her down after the fact, they lost. This is why there is a huge drop off in star power in WWE, because you have someone like an AJ Lee who can cut a dynamite promo, you can cultivate that, make people want to see her, and let her flourish! Instead of losing her in the shuffle of 20 Total Diva® tag matches. NO!
WWE Hall Of Fame 2014 Inductee The Ultimate Warrior will Headline The 2014 Hall Of Fame. Ironic I watched a DVD about how he was horrible person to work with, held up Vince McMahon for money at SummerSlam 1991, and “self destructed” But as the saying goes Money Talks, and there is a lot of people who remember the guy you see below and could care less about what was hapening behind the curtain. So for that (and because our Webmaster is a huge fan of the man from Parts Unknown) we say YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW and our Overall Raw Rating
Noah Mark is back with his analysis of Old School Raw! Check out The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Orton playing the generic Bad Guy, he’s much better than this. NO!
Ric Flair, Randy Orton, & John Cena PromoOld School Raw kicked off with the 16 time “Nature Boy” Ric Flair out first. He was quickly interrupted by former Evolution partner. Randy Orton. Randy Orton said he respected Ric Flair, but he needed the time more to address the one on one rematch putting himself vs John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at The Royal Rumble. Ric chimes in saying he’s not as good as he thinks. Orton threatens Flair, Cena ends up making the save.
For me this segment fell flat, and seemed forced. Orton was seemingly going through the motions, with “I respect you, but….” going into generic heel mode. This is not The Viper I know and enjoy. I feel some people don’t give Randy Orton the credit he deserves for his promo and character skills, he makes great facial expressions, and conveys a cold-hearted disposition. Well normally he does, this promo didn’t do Orton any favors. Clearly Ric Flair is getting order, or he had a few in the back, because he sounded marble mouth in this segment. Cena didn’t offer anything to this segment either. One month ago Cena may have delivered the best promo of his life in Seattle. Here, I felt the whole thing was boring. NO!
NO!
Jerry Lawler Health Update: Earlier in the day we reportedBreaking News Jerry “The King” Lawler was hospitalized. Of course with Jerry’s Heart Attack last year during Raw, your first thought would be another heart issue. Thankfully it seemed to be a stomach virus or food poisoning. however that didn’t stop the WWE from sensationalizing by directing viewers to turn to the WWE App to get an update on Jerry Lawler. NO!
Daniel Bryan…er Wyatt. So far okay. YES!
Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Daniel Bryan vs. The Usos & Rey Mysterio Our first chance to see Daniel Bryan on TV as a Wyatt. First the original Wyatt trio appeared for their normal entrance, followed by the fourth Daniel “Wyatt”. Daniel Byran came out looking like he was in a Janitor or prison jump suit. A blank stare on his face, as he teamed up with Rowan and Harper to take on The Usos and Mysterio. I enjoyed this, I thought Bryan looked good with the group. They ended up losing the match due to Harper getting rolled up after a brief disagreement with Bryan as to who should come into the match when Rowan tagged both men. I would have preferred The Wyatts to win clean in this match. Their first week out and they’re arguing, I think an eventual separation from Bryan would be more effective if they were on the same page to start. But I’m still okay with this story line, provided I don’t have to wait 15 more weeks for Bryan to “Snap out of it”. YES!
Too Cool & Rikishi just 3 of the Old School Legends at Raw YES!
WWE Legends On Old School Raw:I was happy to see some of my old school favorites on Raw. Everyone had a good role on the show and for older fans this definitely was a great nostalgia feel. I will say that over the past few years we’ve seen a crop of “usual” legends. Most of which were not actually on a whole lot of episodes of WWE Raw. I would love to have seen a Raw with more attitude era and post era stars. Some of them are still affiliated and working for WWE. Perhaps WWE held a few back for a Royal Rumble appearance. There was also no “old school” diva on this show. I know Mae Young was originally scheduled to attend this show, however Mae Young experienced health issues and was unable to appear. With Brock Lesnar, in attendance this seemed like a perfect time for Sable to make an appearance in the show. YES!
Piper’s Pit – Piper’s still got it plain and simple. His interaction with The Shield, the hottest faction, group, whatever you what to call them. Piper pinching Roman Reigns cheek put goosebumps on my arm. I saw Reigns neck throbbing, great moment! People have compaired Dean Ambrose to Piper in the past, it was great to see Ambrose get to interact with a Legend. This would not be his only legend interaction on this episode of Old School Raw. I enjoyed seeing CM Punk and The New Age Outlaws come in to save piper. YES!
View Page 2 to find out more YES and NO from WWE RAW Old School and our Overall Raw Rating
Happy New Year everyone! Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Alright everyone, I’ve been sitting on writing this article to give all of us enough time to digest what we saw on Monday. I didn’t want to make a knee jerk reaction to what I saw. So hopefully here is my calm observation.
Daniel Bryan Takes On Luke Harper – YES!
Daniel Bryan Joins The Wyatts: Daniel Bryan is an incredible wrestler, he’s got a likable personality, and he’s good on the mic. Shawn Michaels definitely taught him well, but Bryan has that extra ingredient needed to make a star, that unteachable “it” factor. You either have it, or you don’t. Bryan has it, and it has developed over the years to something a massive audience can get behind. We are in in a time where WWE has failed to match the caliber star power and top new talents of the decades before it. So partly due to John Cena’s injury Daniel Bryan is given the ball. The crowds love him, and are behind him. Daniel Bryan headlines Summer Slam with Cena, followed by the next 3 Pay-Per-Views with Orton. The Pay-Per-View buy rates were down from the previous year. It shouldn’t rest squarely on Bryan’s shoulders, there is an incredible short shelf on top stars, with practically all of them on John Cena’s level either retired or part time. Look at Survivor Series, headlined by Big Show vs Randy Orton, drawing one if not the lowest Survivor Series buy rates in the PPV’s history. I could argue that Daniel Bryan in the main event SAVED the prior three pay-per-views from a similar dismal buy rate.
Erick Rowan vs Daniel Bryan – YES!
Nonetheless, back down Daniel Bryan goes on the card, he becomes the scapegoat, pun intended! Bryan’s been in a feud with the Wyatts since the end of October. My anger and frustration has clouded my appreciation for the Wyatts, and this story line. So let me look at it just from the perspective of the story line alone. The Wyatts have a great persona, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan can hang with the likes of just about anyone in the ring. I feel Bray Wyatt is the weakest wrestler out of the group, but wrestling isn’t the most important talent needed for this, Bray could easily fit in a horror movie, he looks the part and is competent enough. So after two months of mostly Daniel Bryan getting the short end of the stick, on this past Monday’s Raw Bryan is given a chance to go one on one with Bray Wyatt. All Bryan must do is defeat Luke Harper and Derrek Rowen.
Daniel Bryan Joins the Wyatt Family. YES!
After the two matches Bray comes in the ring, the match starts, Erick and Luke join in on the attack. Bray tells Bryan he’s afraid this is where their story ends. He says he has no mercy left to give. He says this is his fault. Bryan says you’re right, you were right all along and joins the Wyatts. (View Full Details here) So within the story line itself. I’m okay with this, in fact I’m totally fine with this scenario, provided Daniel Bryan is out of this “spell” by The Royal Rumble. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, in this day in age, with people wanting instant gratification, binge-watching full seasons of TV shows in a sitting, I can’t wait 16 weeks for WrestleMania XXX for Daniel Bryan to come out of his spell. Doing so may inflict permanent damage on his popularity. So if Daniel Bryan is “following the buzzards” for four weeks, I’m on board. YES!
CM Punk takes on Seth Rollins on an “Off Night” – NO!
CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins: Everyone has an off night, Seth Rollins and CM Punk didn’t work. there were a few botches, CM Punk tried to cover by turning a move off the ropes into a small package, but it was sloppy. I would imagine most of the heat goes on Seth Rollins, but it takes two to tango. CM Punk on Twitter knew it was a stinker NO!
“@RMB316: @CMPunk IM sure you hear this a lot. Good match on #Raw really enjoyed it. Keep it up all the best in 2014” it was garbage.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.
Complete WWE RAW Results (12/23)
WWE RAW (12/23)
Here are some quick thoughts about this weeks edition of Christmas Raw. Did you watch it?
The WWE Diva’s are awesome to look at. Not so awesome to watch wrestle.
12-diva’s Jingle Bells Match: The tag team division has been completely turned around. At one point it seemed like there was barely a tag team division. AJ Lee is the best women’s wrestler on the roster, why aren’t we seeing her in great matches. I guess I know why, because of Total Diva’s. That doesn’t mean there can’t be great woman’s wrestling. NO!
John Cena, CM Punk, and Big E. Langston victorious to end Christmas Raw
CM Punk John Cena & Big E Langston vs The Shield I enjoyed the match, Cena, Punk and Big E all out there. The end seemed silly though. Why would there suddenly be a disqualification, because the two illegal Shield members saved themselves from being pinned by Big E? It doesn’t make sense, but still the match was better than the Good Santa vs Bad Santa, which I thought for sure would close the show. Therefore it gets a YES!
The USOS vs The Prime Time Players: The match was fun to watch. Good tag team action YES!|
The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all celebrate after the match. Barf
The USOS & Prime Time Players Curtain Call Before the match Darren Young mistakenly refer to Austin Texas as Houston, to get some sort of heel heat, I didn’t have a problem with this. I did have a problem with after the match, The USO’s and The Prime Time Players all doing the Millions of Dollars dance. Here’s why I have an issue with it. This is starting to become a thing, with Superstars hugging after the match, we saw it a few weeks ago with the Michael Strahan, Miz, Titus O’neil segment. We saw it with Big Show, Rey Mysterio and The Rhodes. Forget about ruthless aggression, these guys are all becoming wimps! It’s OKAY for two fan favorites to dislike each other, and not hug at the end. I’m not saying they need to attack each other after the match… but I’m hoping it’s just a lighthearted Christmas episode thing, and not a growing trend. Although with the recent article of WWEshopping their television shows to TV Network’s including Disney. We might see everyone hug at the end of matches in the future. NO!
“Bad Santa’ full of Christmas Cupcakes
Good Santa Vs Bad Santa:It is what it is I guess. Mark Henry playing the good Santa, Damien Sandow playing the bad Santa with produced backstage segments contrasting the two. The announcers played it up as you would have expected. The whole concept is silly. Bah Humbug! NO!
Live Announcing: I would say it was a good thing that Michael Cole and JBL announced the show live from Stanford CT. (They had pre-recorded cut-in’s from the arena, but voiced most of Raw Live) it gave it a fresh feel, JBL made some topical references as he eluded to on twitter. The Batista announcement which clearly wasn’t scheduled for the show originally was added in, and the live commentary allowed for reaction from JB and Cole. Did you miss Jerry “The King” Lawler? I did not. YES!
@NEIL_MALONE@WWE@GoToBermuda pre taped? Not sure u noticed, our commentary was live. The Romo reference should have given that away.
“Santa Claus is an Illegal Immigrant” – Zeb Colter
The Real Americans vs Los Matadores: Another good tag team match on Raw. We saw the Antonio Cesaro swing, which if you haven’t’ seen live is an awesome thing to watch. With all the tag teams in the WWE, I think the WrestleMania pre-show match should involve all the tag-teams that one make it to the PPV. Perhaps the winner can face the champions. YES!
RAW OVERALL: NO! Call me scrooge if you will, but the over cheesy holiday wrestling show, should go on Smackdown! I think Raw looses it’s coolness by being lame. If Disney pony’s up the cash this could be what you see on RAW every week so get used to it! There was some good action on the show which I enjoyed, no real progression of WWE story lines but the big announcement of The Animal Batista, which was awesome to see.
The “Backstage Fallout” video for this week’s Survivor Series “go-home” edition of WWE SmackDown has been added to the official YouTube channel of WWE.
This week’s SmackDown “Backstage Fallout” features WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio reacting to his first in-ring return match on WWE television. Mysterio talks about returning to the ring with The Usos to take on The Shield. He also talks about the match scheduled for this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Also on this week’s “Backstage Fallout” is The Real Americans talking about not winning the WWE Tag-Team Championships from Goldust and Cody Rhodes, as well as Zeb Colter taking over for Renee Young to end the show.
You can watch this week’s “Backstage Fallout” video for SmackDown below:
– While still unofficial, it appears as though the six-on-six confrontation featuring The Wyatt Family and The Shield vs. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and The Usos on Monday’s RAW was the beginning of the build towards a traditional elimination match with all twelve men at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday, November 24th.
– According to reports, WWE Superstar Damien Sandow is currently being groomed for a top position in the company. Sandow, who was given a win over Kofi Kingston on RAW on Monday, recently cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase unsuccessfully against current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Since then, company officials within WWE are starting to work Sandow into a top-tier position.
-Originally the plan for WWE Survivor Series was to feature a traditional eight-man elimination match with The Wyatt Family and one other WWE Superstar against CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and two other WWE Superstars. According to recent reports, those plans have changed and the new idea is to have Erick Rowan and Luke Harper against Punk and Bryan in a regular tag-team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
-Another match planned for Survivor Series on November 24th is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes and The Real Americans, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro. There is a chance that The Usos and The Shield will be added to the match, however that is unofficial at this point.
– During a promo on Monday’s RAW, Triple H compared Daniel Bryan to several former WWE Superstars who were “B+” workers like Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and Edge – guys were never “the one” who was the face of WWE for a generation, like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and John Cena. Jericho responded to Triple H’s remark about him, tweeting:
Thing is @tripleh despite ur major push,u never were either. Good luck in ur future endeavours @emmrichr84: Not the one @TripleH? I disagree
-According to one source, there is a chance the rumored bout between Bray Wyatt and Kofi Kingston at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view this Sunday could see a last-minute change to a six-man tag match featuring Kingston and The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family.
-The Slam! Wrestling website has a new interview up with The Shield member Roman Reigns. Fans interested in checking that out online can do so at Slam.Canoe.ca.
Despite two matches being scheduled as post-show dark match main events for this week’s edition of WWE RAW in Biloxi, Mississippi, no matches took place after the camera’s stopped rolling on Monday night. For those wondering how the live audience was sent home after the television portion of the evening wrapped up on Monday, here’s what went down.
WWE Superstar CM Punk came out to make the save for Daniel Bryan. This led to both Ryback and Curtis Axel running down to assist Randy Orton. As the heels starting gaining the advantage again, The Uso’s and Dolph Ziggler made a run-in to help out the babyfaces. All of the faces performed their finishing moves on the heels to send the fans home happy.
For those wondering what happened before the camera’s started rolling on Monday’s RAW, check out the WWE Superstars taping results, which are up on the main page right now.
The official WWE website has added an article featuring quotes from the WWE Superstars who made the decision to help Daniel Bryan in the main event of Monday’s post-Night Of Champions edition of RAW.
Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, The Prime Time Players and R-Truth were among those, in-character, who provided responses as to why they got involved. Absent from the article were Rob Van Dam, The Usos and Justin Gabriel, who were also part of the group of Superstars who were involved on Monday.
As noted in a previous article posted on the website today, WWE COO Triple H will be addressing the aforementioned Superstars in a segment planned for next Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
– The Uso’s defeated Tons of Funk and the Real Americans on Monday’s RAW to become the #1 contenders to The Shield’s tag team titles. As previously mentioned, the Shield are expected to face the Rhodes Family at Battleground, so the Uso’s tag title shot will take place either on RAW or at Hell in a Cell in late October.
– Also on Monday’s RAW, Triple H stripped Daniel Bryan of the WWE Championship as a result of the fast count that ended his title victory over Randy Orton at Night of Champions.
The WWE website’s roster page currently lists the WWE Championship as vacant.
The title will remain vacant until the upcoming WWE Battleground pay-per-view on Sunday, October 6th from Buffalo, New York. It’s expected that Daniel Bryan will face Randy Orton in some sort of gimmick match to crown the new WWE Champion.
We’ve also heard talk of a 1-night mini-tournament to determine the new champion, but this is not confirmed.
The following is a report from the series premiere of the new weekly WWE reality series on E!, “Total Divas.”
Total Divas kicks off with introductions and back-stories on some of the key characters on the show, such as the Bella Twins, the Funkadactyls (who are going by their real names, Ariane and Trinity) and Natalya (going by the name Nattie).
The show begins in Tampa, Florida. “10 Days Until WrestleMania.”
Trinity is dating John, known to WWE fans as Jimmy Uso, one half of the tag-team known as The Usos. The two are shown training to prepare for their first WrestleMania as wrestlers.
Nattie is shown training for WrestleMania with her father, WWE legend Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart in Tampa.
Now we meet Nkki Bella’s boyfriend, John. As the show notes, you may recognize him, he’s the current WWE Champion — John Cena. Cena and Nikki are shown at Cena’s home. They show a video package on Cena.
Next up we meet Brie Bella’s boyfriend, Daniel. Again, WWE fans may reocgnize him as Daniel Bryan. Brie notes that while he’s known in WWE as Daniel Bryan, his real name is Bryan Danielson.
We get to roam around backstage at a WWE event to see how the organization is run behind-the-scenes, as well as what goes into putting on a live event and television show. At the same time, we see Nattie in her hotel room preparing to go to WrestleMania. As we head to commercial break, we find out that Nattie is not going to be on WrestleMania.
–Commercial–
We return and we get to meet the newest addition to the WWE Diva roster, Eva Marie and Jo Jo. Nattie runs into the Bella Twins at their hotel. They show the new Divas meeting with Jane. Jane is a WWE Talent Relations official. The show how Nattie is treated backstage, which doesn’t come off well on this show.
Ariane is shown talking to her boyfriend in the hotel room. It is explained that Nattie basically has to babysit the new girls, the Funkadactyls and their boyfriends at WrestleMania, instead of getting to perform on the show.
We are backstage at a WWE event again, and ths time we see some heavy-duty drama. It is explained that Brodus Clay blew up at the Funkadactyls and other talent off-camera. Ariane ends up explaining to her boyfriend, Vincent, why she appeared to be noticably upset. Vincent, who is a pretty big guy, but not big enough, became irate. He repeatedly asks Ariane to go get Clay so he can confront him. Eventually, Nattie and Jimmy Uso have to tell Ariane that she needs to calm him down immediately. Someone also notes that Vincent would get his ass kicked.
–Commercial–
We return to some more drama, only a very different version. We are back in the hotel room with the new girls and the Bella Twins. The Bella Twins are upset that the new girls, specifically Eva Marie, look similar to them. They inform her that she needs to dye her hair blond.
We’re two days from WrestleMania now. We see Eva Marie headed to get her hair dyed. As we head to commercial break, she talks about how she doesn’t like the blond hair look.
–Commercial–
We’re back to find out that instead of blond hair, Eva Marie decided to dye her hair extremely red. We see her headed to see Jane, and she’s nervous about what she just did. Jane ends up liking the red hair.
We see John Cena walking the red carpet. Next the Divas are shown walking the red carpet. Nattie is on the red carpet doing interviews and pre-taped intros as it’s WrestleMania weekend kickoff time.
Back to Diva drama. We see the Bella Twins taking charge against the new Divas as it becomes more and more apparent that they don’t like the new girls.
As we head to another commercial break, we see the Bella Twins eating at a Cuban restaurant and talking. Nikki mentions how she is nervous about dating John Cena because she wants to get married and she’s afraid Cena won’t because he recently got out of a bad marriage.
–Commercial–
We return from commercial and we see the Funkadactyls backstage talking about an accident with Brodus Clay.
We shoot to Nikki and Cena out together at dinner. Nikki asks Cena about marriage and asks if the two getting married is something he sees in their future. Cena explains how he tried the marriage thing once and she knows how that worked out. Cena tells Nikki she makes him enjoy life. She tells Cena that she wanted to know if it was an option and tells him she loves him.
We return to the live WrestleMania show and see a countdown to WrestleMania on the titantron inside the arena. They show 30 minutes until the Divas match.
We see the Bella Twins watching Daniel Bryan and Kane wrestling in the ring later on. Then we find out that the Funkadactyls are having trouble getting ready for their WrestleMania match as we head to another break.
–Commercial–
We return and see the Funkadactyls have nothing to wear yet, as their ring outfits are still being made backstage. We see reviews of the Undertaker and CM Punk match as the girls scramble to get dressed.
As they head to the front to get ready to make their entrance, we hear John Cena’s music playing in the arena. Nattie says how they know something is wrong. We find out that their match has been cut from WrestleMania as we head to our final commercial break of the evening.
–Commercial–
As we return for the last segment of the show, they show the Bella Twins talking about getting cut from WrestleMania.
Trinity is shown and says there is absolutely nothing worse that can happen than getting cut from a WrestleMania match.
We return backstage at WrestleMania where we see WWE Diva Layla trying to console the Funkadactyls, who were distraught at being cut from the show.
A video package airs showing highlights of what fans can expect from this season of Total Divas on E! every Sunday night, and that concludes the premiere edition of Total Divas.
– WWE has announced four additional matches for tomorrow night’s Raw broadcast through the Raw Five-Point Preview on the company website.
It was announced on last week’s show that WWE Champion John Cena will take on Ryback in a Tables Match, with former WWE Tag Team Champion partners Daniel Bryan and Kane meeting in a singles match. Also announced for the program are Rob Van Dam vs. Fandango, Divas Champion AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn in a non-title match, World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian in a non-title match, and Mark Henry and The Usos vs. The Shield.
Tomorrow night’s episode was filmed last Tuesday in Laredo, Texas, at the Laredo Energy Arena.
– The series premiere of Total Divas takes place tonight on E! at 10:00 p.m. Previewing the episode, the official website of WWE states, “Watch The Bellas, The Funkadactyls and Natalya prepare for WrestleMania, as two new Diva hopefuls, Eva Marie and JoJo, arrive, ready to make a name for themselves in WWE.”
Vince McMahon promoted the show on his Twitter account. He wrote, “Total Divas get personal this Sunday night #TotalDivas.”
Meanwhile, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus asked her Twitter followers today whether they are looking forward to the show. She added, “Wishing all the girls good luck + my gal @NatbyNature – represent girls!” Natalya responded, “Thanks!!! Super excited…I’m so grateful to be a part of something that taught me SO much about myself.”
– Lilian Garcia, who rarely appears at house shows in the United States, appeared as the ring announcer at Friday’s and Saturday’s events in Georgia.
-Former WWE Diva and recently released TNA Knockout Lisa Marie Varon (aka Tara, aka Victoria) has been teasing fans about preparing for something on Twitter. In her latest tweets, Varon has fans speculating that she’ll return to her old stomping grounds as a WWE Diva in the near future. Fans are assuming this based on Varon’s usage of the following hashtag: “#WhatIsSheGettingReadyFor.” Fans have commented on numerous posts asking if “Victoria” will be making her return to WWE.
-WWE.com has an article up featuring comments from Mark Henry following this week’s SmackDown. On the show, Henry came out to make the save for The Usos, setting up the rumored SummerSlam six-man tag-team match featuring The Shield vs. Henry & The Usos. In the WWE.com article, Henry claimed that it’s time for The Shield to be inducted into the Hall Of Pain.
On Monday’s RAW, we saw somewhat of a reboot for The Uso’s tag team, sporting new facepaint, pyro during their entrance and an overall energized attitude. They picked up an impressive win over the Prime Time Players.
F4wonline.com reports that the team is being slightly repackaged in an effort to build them up as credible challenges to WWE Tag Team Champions, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of The Shield.
The Usos tweeted the following after their win on RAW:
SmackDown wrestler Jimmy Uso has been arrested for DUI again. The arrest took place on Wednesday at 12:47 p.m. in Hillsborough County, Florida, and charged with driving under the influence, according to the official website of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. That’s right – an afternoon DUI.
He was released from jail at 3:08 p.m. on $500 cash bond.
Uso, whose real name is Jonathan Solofa Fatu, was previously arrested on September 29, 2011 in Tampa, Florida on suspicion of driving under the influence. An officer observed Fatu at approximately 3:00 a.m. that day driving the wrong way down a one-way street in a silver Mustang.
– As previously reported, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has signed on to produce and host a new reality competition show on TNT titled, “The Hero.” Casting for the show began yesterday and will run through November 3rd. The casting call indicates that part of show will be filmed overseas. People trying out for the show need to have a valid passport for a “two-and-a-half-week adventure” outside of the US. For more information, visit RealityWanted.com.
– On Monday’s RAW, we saw Sheamus and Damien Sandow get a lot of time for their match, which got strong reviews from virtually everyone. Both men delivered a strong performance and will continue to be pushed in the coming months.
– Vickie Guerrero is trying to sign The Usos as clients. The Usos posted this video on Tout at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings.
