The top superstars in the WWE will compete at this Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view. Headlining the event is a fatal four-way matchup for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
In all, there are eight matches scheduled for the event, and nearly all of the company’s titles will be up for grabs. Here are my predictions for Sunday’s Battleground.
Cameron vs. Naomi (Pre-Show Match)
These two have been at each other’s throats since the breakup of the Funkadactyls. Cameron has become increasingly problematic for Naomi, as she continues to rack up wins and have success in the Divas division. I think Naomi will finally put the Funkadactyls by hitting the Rear View for the win.
Winner: Naomi by pinfall
Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal
This should be one of the most exciting matches of the night, as a number of viable contenders will be battling to become the new Intercontinental Champion. Bad News Barrett will also be on hand to present the title to the new champ.
It would appear that only a few of the entrants have a legitimate chance at winning the title, including Sheamus, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and Bo Dallas. I think it comes down to Dallas and Cesaro at the end, with Cesaro ultimately coming out on top. An attack or provocation by Barrett could also turn Cesaro face once again and start a feud, as it appears his days as a Heyman guy are nearly over.
Winner: Cesaro
The Usos (Tag Team Champions) vs. The Wyatt Family (2-Out-Of-3 Falls Match)
These two teams have been battling one another for what seems like forever at this point. I think this is the point where the Wyatt Family finally breaks through and strikes gold. The teams will split the first two falls before the Wyatt Family becomes the new Tag Team Champions after Luke Harper hits a clothesline to win the third fall.
Winner: Wyatt Family by pinfall
AJ Lee (Divas Champion) vs. Paige
I’m not really sure what the plan is with this one. It appeared that they were trying hard for a double turn on the night of AJ Lee’s return, but the crowd wasn’t really having it. The two have now developed into so-called “frenemies.”
This should be a close matchup that will hopefully receive at least five to ten minutes. AJ Lee will struggle throughout, but will ultimately come out on top after locking in the Black Widow and forcing Paige to tap out. Don’t be surprised if Paige attacks AJ after the match in an attempt to turn her heel.
– Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle website has an exclusive gallery of 2014 World Cup models, including former WWE OVW Diva Bobbi Billard.
– After Monday’s WWE RAW from Montreal went off the air, the Wyatt Family entered the ring and attacked John Cena and Roman Reigns. Cena and Reigns quickly fought them off, cleared the ring and celebrated to end the show.
The advertised dark match main event (Cena/Reigns/Ambrose vs. Orton/Wyatt/Rollins) didn’t take place.
– John Cena tweeted the following on Tuesday morning:
Tonight’s episode of Raw took place in Montreal, Canada and featured a total of eleven matches, including a first ever one-on-one meeting between the WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena and Money in the Bank briefcase holder Seth Rollins.
Canadian icon and WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart graced the WWE Universe with his presence and cut a promo. Of course, he brought up the Montreal Screw Job, but it was a nice moment. Also, WWE continued to promote current on-going storylines leading up to Battleground.
Last week’s episode of Raw was one of the best and most exciting in recent history. Did this edition live up to last week’s high standards? Without further ado, here are highlights, lowlights and my random thoughts on the 7/7/2014 edition of Monday Night Raw:
BEST MATCH: The opening bout between the Usos and the Wyatt Family was the best match of the night. There were two other matches that could have stolen the show, but they failed to do so for a couple of reasons. First, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose gave it their best effort, but it was clear to see that the two didn’t have very much chemistry, at least when it comes to singles action. Also, the Dean Ambrose botch wasn’t a crowd-pleasing moment.
Chris Jericho vs. the Miz could have been special, but the match didn’t last as long as I hoped. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins had the most promise, but they weren’t given enough time to do anything memorable and the obvious interference by Kane and Randy Orton ruined the match for me.
What was your favorite match of the night?
WORST MATCH: AJ Lee/Paige vs. Naomi/Cameron was the worst match of the night. Aside from the main event and the tag team match between the Usos and the Wyatt Family, there weren’t any real standout matches. However, this bout stood out for all the wrong reasons and it was a poor showing amongst the four Divas involved. Bo Dallas vs. El Torito was a close second for the worst match of the night award because at least the crowd was somewhat into it.
The worst segment of the night was the Nikki Bella/Alicia Fox disaster, but I don’t think there was an opening bell and nobody was declared the winner. Therefore, Idon’t consider this to be a match; otherwise, it would have won the award.
UPSET OF THE NIGHT: Kofi Kingston defeating Cesaro was the upset of the night. I know that Kofi defeated Cesaro last week on Raw, but I didn’t expect him to do it again and I don’t think the fans/crowd did either. I see Cesaro winning the Intercontinental Title at Battleground and Kingston falling into obscurity once again, but at least Kofi is living in the moment now.
To quote the great Mike Adamle, Kofi be Jamaican me crazy.
MOST SHOCKING MOMENT: I expected Randy Orton to defeat Dean Ambrose in their match tonight, but I was anticipating Seth Rollins to screw Ambrose over, resulting in Ambrose losing cleanly. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Ambrose has been really hot as of late and Rollins costing him the match would have protected Ambrose a bit more. Also, it would have spiced things up and furthered the Ambrose/Rollins feud.
Tag team wrestling in WWE has had its’ high and low periods of time, but now fans of the big company have NXT as well. The Ascension has dominated the NXT tag team division since winning the titles in October of 2013, while three different tag teams on WWE’s main roster have held tag team gold.
Let’s take a moment and investigate each brand’s tag team division in full. On the main roster in WWE are the champions the Usos, The Wyatt Family’s Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, Rybaxel, Goldust and Stardust and even R-Truth and Xavier Woods. I would include Los Matadores, but one of them is currently injured and they were not seen regularly anyway. The Usos and Wyatt Family are currently feuding over the titles. Harper and Rowan are former NXT tag champions and it seems like it’s only a matter of time until they capture the main roster titles. Rybaxel and the Rhodes brothers seem unable to wrestle anyone else these days. Every show it seems like they have a match. The Rhodes brothers are former champions and with Cody’s new Stardust gimmick, it could lead them to another title reign. Rybaxel and R-Truth and Xavier Woods (who rarely appear on WWE programming) are the jobbers of WWE’s tag team division. Never expect to see them win the titles.
wwe.com
In the meanwhile, NXT has a similar number of tag teams in their division. As said earlier, the Ascension hold the titles and they were most recently feuding with Kalisto and El Local. The two teams squared off at NXT’s Takeover special event. Kalisto is brand new to WWE and NXT, while El Local is portrayed by Ricardo Rodriguez. These two lucha libres are super fun to watch and certainly deserve a run with the titles at some point. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy have been on NXT for a while now, but Amore is just returning from injury so they need a little time to get back into the groove. Then, we have some new teams. The Legionnaires, which includes Sylvester Lefort and Marcus Louis haven’t been exposed to the NXT enough just yet. Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger seem like two guys that were just thrown together. Finally, the Vaudevillians. Aidan English was holding his own as a singles star in NXT, but just like that he found the perfect partner in Simon Gotch. If the current tag team champions were babyface, the Vaudevillians would immediately be feuding with them.
While both divisions have their hierarchy of tag teams, NXT’s division has a lot more potential. WWE’s main roster only has three potential champions in Usos, Wyatt Family and the Rhodes brothers. NXT’s division has The Ascension, Kalisto and El Local, as well as the returning Amore and Cassidy, Legionnaires and Vaudevillians. The whole point of NXT is to develop characters and help wrestlers get to the next level in their careers. You don’t see that as much in WWE. The main roster’s tag team division would immediately get a lot more interesting with the addition of some of these up and coming tag teams.
What are your thoughts on the tag team divisions of WWE and NXT? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Seth Guttenplan is a math and computer technology teacher for special education students in New Jersey. In his free time, Seth writes about wrestling for Camel Clutch Blog and SEScoops. Follow Seth on twitter @sethgutt
The WWE’s brightest stars will attempt to cash in at this Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Two ladder matches will main event the program, with one being held to declare a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. In addition, former champion Daniel Bryan will address the WWE Universe during the pre-show.
Here are my predictions for this Sunday’s event.
Summer Rae vs. Layla (Fandango Guest Referee)
I was never the biggest Fandango supporter, but I definitely thought he would be doing something bigger than referring a divas match a year ago. He has regressed over the past year and lost a lot of momentum. This will likely be the bathroom break match of the night, and Fandango will play a major role in the outcome, of course. Summer Rae will win this one by either rejoining Fandango or using him to influence the outcome of the contest before abandoning him.
Winner: Summer Rae by pinfall
Rusev vs. Big E
These guys performed well together at last month’s Payback, even though they were given less than four minutes total. They will hopefully get a little more time during this one, allowing both superstars to showcase their strengths.
I think Rusev will ultimately win this one, but Big E will also look strong during the match. Big E cut a passionate promo on last week’s Raw, so it appears the WWE wants to showcase him a bit more. Both guys will look good, but Rusev will force Big E to tap out in the end.
Winner: Rusev by submission
Stardust and Goldust vs. Ryback and Curtis Axel
The Rhodes Brothers storyline has been moving slowly over the past few months. It first looked as if the two brothers were going to feud with one another, with Cody searching for an adequate replacement because he felt Goldust deserved better.
He eventually rebranded himself as Stardust and the two have been on a winning streak ever since. They will continue to look strong on Sunday, picking up the win after Cody hits his Diamond Dust finisher on Curtis Axel.
One week from today, WWE’s annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view will be held in Boston, Massachusetts. The event has quickly become one of the most anticipated programs of the year, as it provides exciting action and sets up the storyline for months by allowing a WWE superstar to stalk his prey while holding a contract for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
There will be two Money in the Bank ladder matches this year. One will be held for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and the other will be a traditional contest for a shot at the title. The first contest will feature perennial title contenders such as John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, and Alberto Del Rio, as well as up-and-coming stars such as Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Cesaro.
It seems like John Cena is once again the favorite to leave Boston as the champ.
The second ladder match will feature Seth Rollins, with the rest of the lineup to be determined in a series of qualifying matches. Thus far, only three matches have been announced for the entire pay-per-view, and with only one week left before the event, one has to wonder how the WWE will tie everything together in such a brief period.
Other than the two ladder matches, a matchup between the Usos and Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of the Wyatt family is the only confirmed contest on the card. It seems apparent that Dean Ambrose will be one of the participants in the traditional ladder match. Potential options also include those who did not qualify for the championship ladder match, including Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, and Rob Van Dam.
The two ladder matches will soak up a large portion of the roster, meaning the midcard will have to pick up some slack in order to fill up the three hours of airtime. Rumored contests include Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. RybAxel, Rusev vs. Big E, and a Divas Championship match involving Paige and all or part of the Funkadactyls.
It was announced on Monday night’s edition of RAW that the headline match on this week’s edition of WWE Main Event will be a six-man tag-team match featuring The Wyatt Family vs. Sheamus and The Usos.
WWE Main Event takes place live on Tuesday night at 8pm EST. on the WWE Network.
As noted, John Cena suffered a badly swollen eye during his match with Bray Wyatt at the WWE live event on Saturday night in Madison, Wisconsin. There was some concern that he had suffered a concussion, however that does not appear to be the case.
According to what WWE officials are saying, the eye injury occurred when Cena got poked in the eye by Wyatt, not a headbutt or stiff punch as originally expected.
On Sunday night, WWE switched the scheduled Cena vs. Wyatt “No Holds Barred” singles match to a six-man tag-team bout that featured Cena and The Usos against all three members of The Wyatt Family.
It appears that Cena did not suffer any orbital bone injuries, which was another concern the company had. Instead, the belief is that Cena simply suffered a swollen eye and all will be fine once the swelling goes away.
As we noted earlier today, John Cena suffered an eye injury after taking a bad headbutt from Bray Wyatt at the WWE live event on Saturday night in Madison, Wisconsin. Cena’s eye is reportedly swollen completely shut and is said to look awful today.
There was some concern that Cena potentially suffered a concussion as well on Saturday night, however he is booked for tonight’s WWE live event in Rochester, Minnesota.
WWE did change his match to a six-man tag-team match, with Cena teaming with The Usos to take on all three members of The Wyatt Family, which will help limit the amount of physicality he will need to do, but does confirm that he didn’t suffer a concussion.
Had he suffered a concussion, there is no way WWE would have put him back in the ring 24 hours later, especially on a non-televised event.
– Following the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio, a six-man tag-team dark match took place that saw Big Show, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose defeat The Wyatt Family.
– For those who have asked, Dolph Ziggler’s new ring trunks, which he wore this past Monday night on RAW, says “Over It” on the back.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Nick Bockwinkel has stepped down as the president of the Cauliflower Alley Club due to health issues. Former Killer Bees member Brian Blair will now serve as the president going forward.
After his absence from the post-WWE Payback edition of RAW on Monday night, it was announced during the show that Bray Wyatt will be making his return at this week’s SmackDown.
SmackDown will be taped after the live edition of WWE Main Event, headlined by Rob Van Dam vs. Bad News Barrett for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, on Tuesday night. The show will air this Friday on the SyFy Network.
We will have complete spoiler results of the show as soon as the taping concludes on Tuesday night.
While this may have no impact on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship angle WWE is hyping up heading into Payback, new official WWE advertising recently came out that had Daniel Bryan listed as wrestling on the SmackDown television taping on June 24th.
The match on 6/24 for Bryan is listed as a six-man tag-team match, with The Shield and himself against Randy Orton and The Wyatt Family.
Several days after Bryan’s neck surgery, WWE sent out new advertising for their July 12th live event at Madison Square Garden, which is the company’s biggest annual non-televised show, which lists him in the main event against Triple H in a street fight.
Considering the fact that the 6/24 date is only a few weeks away, it would seem likely that if WWE wanted to, they could keep the title on Bryan since he would be back in the ring at a reasonable time.
When we say Uce, y’all say Cena sucks. Something feels off about that last sentence, but oh well, maybe it will catch on someday.
Over the past few weeks, fans have been treated to the somewhat unlikely pairing of John Cena and the Usos. The Tag Team Champions initially helped out WWE’s Superman during a six-man tag contest against the Wyatt Family, and have been accompanying him to the ring during his battles with the Wyatt Family ever since.
Cena and the Usos have enjoyed much success together over the past few weeks.
At first it seemed like the relationship between Cena and the Usos was a forced one. After all, what did the Usos really have to gain by helping Cena fight his seemingly never-ending battle with Bray Wyatt? It simply seemed as if creative was injecting anyone into the program to keep it fresh for a few more weeks.
However, as the weeks go on, it seems like it was a very smart move to include the Usos into the Cena/Wyatt program. The most important reason is that it provides the Usos with more exposure.
It is no secret that the Tag Team Championships have been placed on the backburner. After all, they have not even been defended on an actual pay-per-view telecast since Elimination Chamber and the Usos haven’t had a legitimate feud for the titles since the New Age Outlaws broke down faster than a 1978 Ford Pinto.
Pairing the Usos with Cena allows them to be on television more frequently, even if they are not defending their titles on a weekly basis. It also allows them to look strong, because Cena is absolutely never booked to look weak, as evidenced by his match against Bray Wyatt at Extreme Rules where it took three superstars and a child to finally take down Cena.
It seemed as if the tag team division had been revitalized last year. However, almost as soon as fans started to become excited about the division again, half of the teams were broken up and it has been largely ignored.
The Usos are the current champions, and I think their pay-per-view exposure shows how confident the WWE is that the Uso brothers will draw. After all, they defended their tag titles on the pre-show at WrestleMania and did not appear in any capacity at Extreme Rules.
With that said, it would not take much effort to get the division back to where it was at the end of last year. Here are five current or potential tag teams that could help make the division relevant again (or at the very least, get it onto the pay-per-view card).
5. Rybaxel – At first, this team seemed like it would go nowhere. They had both just basically flopped while under the tutelage of Paul Heyman, so why would anyone believe that they would fare well without him? Surprisingly, both have improved since leaving Heyman, especially Ryback. He is hilarious on the microphone and can actually be pretty entertaining when he’s allowed to speak. I think the WWE still has plans to push both guys in the future, and a run with the Tag Team Championships could help elevate both superstars.
4. Damien Sandow and Dolph Ziggler – These guys have adopted similar personality traits in recent weeks, most notably because both guys seem disgruntled, annoyed, and displeased that their talents are not being properly utilized. Sandow and Ziggler would make a great team if paired together, as both are impressive in the ring and on the mic. There were rumors a while back of a possible stable of disgruntled superstars being formed, including Ziggler and the Miz, but a team of Sandow and Ziggler would work even better and could make the tag title picture exciting again.
3. Jack Swagger and Cody Rhodes – It is no secret that Zeb Colter has been trying to recruit a new member to the Real Americans since Cesaro betrayed him a few weeks back. With Cody being the son of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes, it would make sense for him to become a Real American. Cody and Goldust are definitely going to part ways soon, with Cody likely being the one to turn heel, so it would provide the perfect opportunity for Cody to align with Swagger and Colter afterward.
– The following stars are scheduled to miss this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, as they will be leaving for the company’s tour of Europe immediately after Monday’s RAW: Daniel Bryan, Kane, Randy Orton, The Shield and Big E.
Names that are scheduled for SmackDown this week include John Cena, The Wyatt Family, Sheamus, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show and Alberto Del Rio.
– WWE recently added the following talents to the official NXT roster page on WWE.com: Veronica Lane, Wesley Blake, Tye Dillinger, Marcus Louis and Bull Dempsey.
– The WWE DVD on Paul Heyman, “Ladies And Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman,” which is scheduled for an August 5th release, is scheduled to be built around Heyman as the guy who managed the guy who broke Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Among the people who filmed interviews for the DVD are Raven, Tommy Dreamer, Joey Styles, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Jim Ross, Bill Apter and Stephanie McMahon.
– The Greatest Factions DVD that WWE is producing is set to be built around D-Generation X and the Four Horsemen as the key factions. The DVD will also cover the New World Order, The Nexus, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Evolution, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Nation Of Domination, The Straight Edge Society and The Heenan Family.
As previously reported, there were a number of late changes made to the script for this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. Originally, one of the main events was going to be Daniel Bryan vs. Batista, and as late as Sunday night, that was still the plan.
There was said to be a number of different ideas for angles that the company wanted to do with The Wyatt Family and The Shield on RAW, but ultimately they went with the version we saw on Monday night.
Additionally, one of the original ideas was to go with a Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns singles match for the main event of the show, however they decided instead to go with a six-man tag-team match between both factions.
There was also a plan to have Evolution as guest timekeepers, but as noted, they felt that the finish, with Evolution interfering and attacking The Shield, would be too obvious if Evolution was sitting at ringside during the match.
– John Cena’s feud with. Bray Wyatt feud is expected to continue for some time, past the June 1st WWE Payback pay-per-view.
– Another independent wrestler that was part of Adam Rose’s entourage on RAW was “Portugal’s Perfect Athlete” Shanna, who was previously a TNA Gutcheck contestant.
– As noted earlier, a version of the RAW script that was changed on Monday afternoon featured Daniel Bryan wrestling Batista instead of Kane. Another version had Batista wrestling Roman Reigns, with Reigns getting the victory. WWE announced on Monday afternoon that Evolution would be guest timekeepers during the Wyatt Family vs. The Shield main event, however that idea was nixed as well.
On paper, last night’s card seemed like nothing to write home about. After all, Daniel Bryan was defending his title against a superstar who peaked a decade ago, Bray Wyatt and John Cena were meeting in a rematch from WrestleMania, and other than Evolution vs. the Shield, the rest of the matches seemed like they could turn out to be throwaway contests. The event was basically the furthest thing from a throwaway, however, as it was a well-executed pay-per-view that was filled with worthwhile matches.
The Hounds of Justice stole the show during the match of the night.
Evolution vs. the Shield was the clear highlight of the night, as expected. Each superstar involved in the match put on an excellent show, but the star of the match was without a doubt Seth Rollins. While Triple H, Randy Orton, and Dean Ambrose were battling in the crowd, Rollins dove from the top of the entranceway to take out his Evolution foes, allowing for Roman Reigns to handle Batista in the ring and secure a Shield victory. The match was perfectly executed and is an immediate match of the year contender.
The main event between Daniel Bryan and Kane greatly exceeded expectations. This one seemed like it could be forgettable, as the outcome was never really in doubt and Kane is not exactly a main event superstar anymore. However, both superstars performed well together and the backstage spots were something that resembled contests from the Attitude Era.
In the end, the match even involved a flaming table, although the crew botched this spot a bit by running in with the extinguishers before Kane was even on fire, but hey, what can you do? Overall, it was a great culmination to the night and certainly much better than I was anticipating.
The following are highlights of a recent IGN interview with Seth Rollins:
On The Shield playing off each other well against The Wyatt Family: “Yeah, definitely. From the first time we had any sort of interaction with them, when we were over in the UK last November, there was definitely some crazy electricity that was going on. We knew that once we got into it that it was going to be awesome. I think it exceeded whatever hype it had laid in front of it, and that’s really tough to do nowadays, to have a match where people wanted to see that. They were genuinely like, “Damn, I want to see that. That’s going to be awesome.” So I was really happy we got the opportunity to do that with those guys.”
On the energy in the crowd when they had their first confrontation with The Wyatt Family: “Yeah, that’s what we live for. Those moments are what we do it for. That’s what keeps us coming back. It’s a rush every time we come down the stairs and through the crowd and get in the ring and have a great match. It’s special moments like that where you can’t describe the electricity; it’s a lighting-in-a-bottle sort of thing. That’s what keeps you coming back and really why you do it. Make people really feel something; that’s pretty impressive. That’s an awesome thing to be able to do.”
On if he’d prefer to stay with The Shield for a bit longer before the inevitable split: “I definitely do. I think there’s a lot of life left in The Shield, especially with the different direction the crowd has taken on with us. I think there’s a long way to go for us as a group — as individuals as well. There’s no reason we can’t advance in both situations. I think people assume that for whatever reason there’s an exclusivity to being a single star and a great stable. But for me it’s never about that. We can all grow as individuals, and we can all be big stars in our own right. The Shield can be as big as it’s ever been. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.”
The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which was taped on Tuesday night and will air on Friday, May 2, 2014 on the SyFy Network.
– Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger
– Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth
– The Wyatt Family vs. Sheamus & The Usos
– Damien Sandow vs. Dolph Ziggler
– Big E. vs. Titus O’Neil
– Dean Ambrose vs. Ryback vs. Curtis Axel vs. Alberto Del Rio
For a complete spoiler report for this week’s WWE SmackDown, click ahead to page two …
Veteran pro wrestling journalist recently caught up with D-Von Dudley for an exclusive WWE.com interview. Below is an excerpt from the interview.
APTER: Paul Heyman was, of course, the extreme ringleader. He riled the troops up and got everyone in an extreme mood, didn’t he?
DUDLEY: He sure did. I met Paul after I had a tryout for ECW. He was at the Pelham, N.Y., production studio they used for editing and doing the commentary. I got in there, Paul was sitting down, and we wound up talking and hitting it off great. I will admit right now that I am a Paul Heyman guy! When a lot of us wrestlers back in those days were looking for work and were not looked at by WWE or WCW, Paul was the one who gave us a shot. He believed in us. He saw things in us that we didn’t know we had and it brought out the best in us. Paul knew how to get certain things out of us to make us better. I used to call him Dr. Frankenstein because he created so much talent that came out of ECW that no one else would have been able to create.
APTER: What do you think of the current Paul Heyman?
DUDLEY: It’s the real Paul Heyman! He does things that make you hate him, but a minute later you want to marry him and love him. [laughs]
APTER: Who do you consider extreme on the current WWE roster?
DUDLEY: Daniel Bryan, for one. Most people wouldn’t put him in that category because he is such a technician in the ring, but I can see him getting down and dirty. Sheamus could be in that category as well. Put Randy Orton there, too. We beat the hell out of each other many times. I know a lot of people cheer him and a lot boo him, but I would put John Cena on that list as well. I had many brawls with him when I was in WWE and he was working himself up in the ranks.
APTER: So much of your career was as a tag team competitor with your partner, Bubba Ray. What is your current view of the WWE tag team scene?
DUDLEY: I think it’s great that WWE is strengthening the tag team division. If given the opportunity to go back to WWE, I would love to have a partner to take on The Usos, Cody Rhodes & Goldust, Ryback & Curtis Axel, The Shield, The Wyatts.
The following are highlights of a new SLAM! Wrestling interview with Seth Rollins:
On The Shield’s recent babyface turn: “It’s just how things happen. It’s been an interesting transformation, I suppose. But to be honest with you, we really haven’t done much different. We just started targeting different people, I suppose. By that association, the fans just started to get with us. It’s been fun. It’s been a side to take for sure, but I think it’s something that we’re all pretty excited about.”
On the young crop of WWE Superstars in the company today: “I think that with this new generation of guys, you talk about the Wyatt Family, you can talk about Daniel Bryan, the Usos, you can throw Cesaro in there. There’s this next generation of dudes who are hungry, man. The Shield, coming into WWE, we wanted to change what was going on. We had seen the business stagnate for a good five years at least. Just guys not coming in being hungry, and not wanting to make change, not wanting to ruffle any feathers, feeling like they’re walking on eggshells. Myself, Ambrose and Reigns, we were never like that. We’re all alpha males, that type personality. We all want to be the best, be number one. From the very outset, we were just going to work harder than everybody else, put on better matches than everybody else, cut better promos than everybody else, be more interesting than everybody else. We didn’t really care who that pissed off. I think that attitude resonated with a lot of other guys that we came across, especially in developmental — and they brought that attitude up here with them. It’s really a great time to be a WWE fan, because you’ve got a lot of very invested performers who are willing to make that sacrifice, to make that change.”
On Daniel Bryan’s rise through the ranks: “People say he ascended so quickly, but he’s been in WWE for what, four years now? And before that he was on the indies for over decade. He’s a guy who, if anybody’s put in the time, it’s him; if anybody’s had a slow build to where they’re at, it’s him. It definitely seems like a skyrocket, just because of all the attention the Yes Movement has gathered, the way he’s been positioned over the last six months particularly. But like I said, he’s worked so hard, and I’m super happy for him. He deserves it. I’m real proud of him as a performer and as a friend.”
On he and Dean Ambrose helping Roman Reigns: “He’s smart enough to listen. He’s smart enough to pay attention and pick up little things. He’s someone who’s a student of the game. He played football before he got here. He didn’t spend as much time doing this as we had, but it’s in his blood. His family’s a huge part of this business. He’s just a guy who’s built for it. It’s just part of him. We spend a lot of time in the car and a lot of time in the ring together, and stuff like that, so if he’s not learning, then something’s not right. But I think it’s pretty clear that over the past 18 months that we’ve been teamed up up here that his progression and his development has been accelerated, to say the least.”
You can check out the complete interview at Slam.Canoa.ca.
The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which was taped on April 22nd in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and will air this Friday, April 25th on the SyFy Network.
– “The Great Debate” between Paul Heyman and Cesaro.
– Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger
– Natalya vs. Tamina Snuka
– Curtis Axel vs. Jey Uso
– Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes
– Fandango & Layla vs. Santino Marella & Emma
– The Shield vs. 11 WWE Superstars
For a complete WWE SmackDown spoiler report for this week, click ahead to page two …
Despite the feeling coming out of last night’s RAW being that Bray Wyatt is in store for a babyface turn, the plan is to keep him a heel for the time being.
The thought behind The Wyatt Family right now is to keep them heel until The Shield turns heel, so the two sides will continue to remain on opposite sides of the fence, with the obvious exception of Roman Reigns, who as noted will eventually be split off and turned into a singles babyface competitor.