The following matches were taped for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event prior to the SmackDown television tapings on Tuesday night in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dark Match
– The Prime Time Players def. two local wrestlers.
WWE Main Event
– Cesaro & Tyson Kidd def. The Lucha Dragons in tag-team action. This is the second straight week that the Lucha Dragons have worked the Main Event tapings. The finish in this one saw Cesaro hit his big uppercut for the 1-2-3.
– The Bella Twins def. Paige & Emma in Divas tag-team action. This was a rematch from Monday’s RAW, which saw Brie pin Emma for the finish.
– Stardust def. Kofi Kingston in the headline match of the evening. The crowd got on Stardust’s case with “Cody” chants throughout the match. In the end, Stardust picked up the “W” by way of clean pin fall.
Raw was held in Nashville this week as the build to WrestleMania continues. The event featured a Tag Team Championship match, a few promos, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t really music to most fans’ ears. Here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
As soon as they announced the Usos were planning to invoke their rematch clause, it was obvious fans were going to be in for another treat. As one would expect, the action was fast paced and frequently spilled over to ringside. Kidd’s heel work has been top notch over the past few weeks, frequently using his wife as a human shield in order to gain an upper hand.
The Tag Champs work so well together too, using combination moves such as a catapult into a big uppercut, and a Cesaro swing into a dropkick. Although the match didn’t end clean, it featured some solid action and was probably the highlight of the night. Kidd and Cesaro are the best team in the WWE by far right now. They should get these guys some merch and push them to the moon.
I loved the backstage segment between the Miz and Damien Mizdow. It was awesome (no pun intended) to hear the Miz talk up the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and act like a win would elevate his career to new heights. (That worked out real well for Cesaro last year.)
Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler was a decent opening match. There were honestly only a handful of wrestling moves utilized throughout the match, with most of the action consisting of punches, rest holds, and brawling action outside of the ring. With that said, there were a few impressive sequences. Ziggler countered Wasteland twice, once into a DDT and another into a sunset flip. The sequence where Barrett ended up hitting Winds of Change was also nice.
The Show Off picked up the win after hitting the Zig Zag, allowing for Ambrose to show up and taunt Barrett with his Intercontinental Championship before staring Ziggler down. What are the chances that Barrett never touches his beloved title again? I’d usually say it’s about as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series this season, but they actually decided to crack open the checkbook over the winter so that might not be the best analogy.
#Axelmania. Enough said.
The Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns promo was one of the more interesting moments all night. It was nice to see Daniel Bryan once again acting as the voice of the fans, saying, “The biggest Roman Reigns doubter is right here in Daniel Bryan,” while also echoing fan sentiments regarding Reigns only being in the main event because of his size and look. At the same time, he also put Reigns over for winning the match, ending the segment with a handshake.
Heyman’s interaction with Reigns was also intriguing, as he said he would put his money on Reigns over anyone, including guys like Hogan, Austin, and the Rock – anyone except Brock Lesnar, of course. Reigns was confident and composed during the back and forth with Heyman as he continues to improve on the mic. It’s easy to picture these two guys hooking up in the near future.
The Bray Wyatt promo was more of the same, but still entertaining nonetheless. I can’t wait for the Undertaker to show up respond to Wyatt’s challenge.
WWE Fastlane was held in Memphis last night at the FedEx Forum. It was a fitting venue, seeing as they pretty much mailed it in for most of the night. After a night of action, we now have a pretty clear idea of what WrestleMania will look like in five weeks. Here are the pros and cons from last night’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view.
Pros
After a night of non-finishes and botched endings, the main event between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns was an absolute treat. These two guys started off a bit slow, but once they got going, they really gelled well. Bryan’s wrestling style went so well with the brawling style of Reigns, and it was nice to see both guys getting support from the crowd.
A few of the highlights included Reigns countering Bryan’s dive to the floor into an overhead belly to belly suplex, Bryan countering the spear into a beautiful small package, and also Reigns turning a potential hurricanrana into a brutal powerbomb from the top rope. These two also employed some solid in-ring psychology due to Reigns selling Bryan’s kick to the liver as he tried to hit a Superman punch. Overall, it was an exciting match, both guys looked great, it ended clean, and it’s always nice to see a main event end in a handshake.
The tag team match was a close second for match of the night. These two teams have so much chemistry and it’s really a pleasure to watch them do their thing. Cesaro’s half crab Cesaro swing was cool, as was the combination of Cesaro’s suplex from the apron into a springboard from Kidd.
The Usos looked good as well, teaming up for a double team Samoan drop that I don’t recall seeing them bust out before. In the end, new champions were crowned after Kidd picked up the victory with a swinging fisherman suplex. After their victory, it was nice to find out that they are “still the new WWE Tag Team Champions” (perhaps suggesting the outcome was changed last minute, as the odds shifted after the “smart money” was in).
The Bray Wyatt segment was enjoyable. He had the crowd going nuts in anticipation of the Phenom, only to shatter their dreams by popping out of the coffin. Wyatt called himself “the new face of fear,” and said: “At WrestleMania, I will claim the soul of the Undertaker.” This feud should be entertaining, but it would have been nice to see Wyatt play up the fact that fans weren’t getting ‘Taker, as the company needs more dislikable heels right now.
I’m not totally sure how I feel about the Sting and Triple H segment, so I’ll go ahead and put it in the pros section. Triple H of course continued to bury a long dead company, stating: “My legacy is putting your legacy out of business.” He also threatened Sting with the Benoit treatment, saying he would wipe him from the history books if he didn’t cooperate. It was cool to see Sting use his signature black bat though, and Hunter was very intense throughout the segment. Overall, it could have been better, but it was a decent setup for their match at WrestleMania.
Finally, the Rusev and John Cena match was far from perfect, but it worked out well. There was some hard-hitting action throughout, including a big spinning side slam from Rusev. The action was slow-paced and methodical, but it was entertaining for the most part. It of course ended in another non-clean finish, but it worked well in this case. I have to say, seeing Cena stagger out of the arena was pretty satisfying, even though it means he will definitely get redemption at WrestleMania.
– Sting challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania 31 at the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view on Sunday night. During the “face-to-face” confrontation between the two, Sting pointed to the WrestleMania sign with his bat over and over again until Triple H started to agree. Ultimately, Sting took Triple H out with a bat and left him laying, with the announcers hyping a match between the two at WrestleMania.
– The team of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd defeated The Usos in tag-team action at the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view to become the new WWE Tag-Team Champions.
The Road to WrestleMania will become a lot clearer after Sunday’s pay-per-view. Fastlane is available for free to all new WWE Network customers, and even those who previously cancelled their account and re-subscribed, so there’s really no reason to miss out on the action. Here is how I expect the event to play out.
Goldust vs. Stardust
Man, they really should have saved this one for WrestleMania, but I guess there is only room on the card for one tag team breakup storyline, and it looks like that’s going to be Miz and Mizdow. Expect these guys to put on one hell of a match, as they have been lobbying for it for what seems like years. After a solid ten-minute contest with a number of near-falls, Stardust will pick up the win with Cross Rhodes.
Result: Stardust via pinfall
Rusev (United States Champion) vs. John Cena
These guys have done a pretty good of building up this match over the past few weeks, and it genuinely seems like Cena is interested in winning the United States Championship, which is always a plus. It’s almost guaranteed that this feud is going to continue into WrestleMania, so I expect Rusev to pick up the win, but certainly not clean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHA5g_T227k
Lana will become involved at some point, possibly distracting Cena long enough for Rusev to pounce and pick up the win via the deadliest finisher in all of wrestling (the distraction roll-up), or by using the title as a weapon to knock out Cena while the Ravishing Russian distracts the referee. This will set up a rematch at WrestleMania where Cena will most likely go over.
Result: Rusev via pinfall
Nikki Bella (Divas Champion) vs. Paige
Paige is the most popular diva in the entire company by far right now. They are going to want her to capture the title at WrestleMania. Nikki wins with help from her sister before dropping the title to Paige next month.
Below are the latest online betting odds for Sunday’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view. Keep in mind that the numbers, which are from the 5Dimes website, don’t mean much until about 90 minutes or so before the beginning of the show, where at that point they have approximately a 95-percent accuracy rate.
The Road to WrestleMania took a brief detour last night, stopping at THE Ohio State University for Raw. Sting finally answered Triple H’s challenge, and the show was bookended by a pair of nearly identical matches. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The highlight of the night was easily Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt. These guys have competed over the past two weeks, and have exhibited amazing chemistry on both occasions. There were a number of impressive spots in this one, including Wyatt delivering a brutal blow to Ziggler’s midsection and a devastating clothesline outside the ring that eventually set up Sister Abilgail for the win. Wyatt later cut another promo, presumably directed toward the Dead Man.
Triple H calling out Sting was a close second. The video package, which featured Sting’s makeup being transposed onto Triple H’s face, was both eerie and entertaining. The only downside to this was the absolutely dreadful Sting doppelganger they sent into the ring. With that said, I absolutely can’t wait to see what these guys have planned for Fastlane.
The Usos squared off with Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Kidd and Cesaro put in some decent heel work by crashing the dinner party on SmackDown, and it’s certainly nice to see them getting some television time.
Rusev continues to improve on a weekly basis, in my opinion. I loved his promo, where he made claims such as, “You don’t want me. I am a hero.” His brawl with Cena was also entertaining and helped further their feud heading into Fastlane.
The opening promo was also entertaining, but nothing to really write home about. Reigns seems to be more confident on the mic each week, despite a minor flub. It was also nice to see Bryan on the mic, taking a humorous shot at Triple H for his involvement in the Katie Vick storyline.
It’s nice to see Axel getting more time on the mic. His promo was humorous, even if he was quickly dispelled after being hit with Dirty Deeds. Barrett’s new BNZ segment could also be entertaining, but I’m not totally sure how much shelf life it has.
Finally, the main event helped further the tension between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. The match was nothing incredible, by any means, but there were a few memorable moments, including Dolph Ziggler getting involved at the end. Roman’s spear to Bryan was also the perfect way to end the show. It seems like the next step in Roman’s evolution will be to turn him heel and possibly pair him with Heyman following WrestleMania.
As noted recently, Cesaro, Tyson Kidd and Adam Rose have been referring to themselves as the “Brass Ring Club” in recent weeks, including wearing t-shirts with a logo on it that is similar to the New Japan Pro Wrestling “Bullet Club” faction.
The nickname and t-shirt logos were done because WWE officials asked Cesaro and Kidd to come up with an idea for a name for their new tag-team. The two came up with the name “Brass Ring Club,” likely as a response to Vince McMahon’s “brass ring” speech during his appearance on the initial live “Stone Cold Podcast” on the WWE Network.
WWE officials reportedly liked the idea and the name, with many thinking it was a clever name for the duo.
There is no word yet, however, as to whether or not the company will accept the name for full-time use and get behind it.
– As noted recently, Randy Orton has been advertised locally to return at several of the past WWE television tapings, but was held back due to creative decisions made by the company. Orton is being advertised for the February 16th edition of RAW in Orlando, which is the Fast Lane “go-home” edition of the show. With Orton scheduled to return in time for a program at WrestleMania 31, one would assume that if he doesn’t return on the 2/16 RAW show, he will be returning either at the pay-per-view itself, or at RAW the following night.
– The following matches were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida for tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network:
– Emma vs. Carmella
– Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender’s Tournament)
– Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
– Hideo Itami vs. Finn Bálor (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender Tournament)
– Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville vs. Kevin Owens and Tyson Kidd
Check out the official video promo for tonight’s NXT show below.
– As reported over the weekend, Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler is expected to be the opening match at WrestleMania 31. Like last year, the original plan was for Bryan to wrestle Sheamus at WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan requested to fight Ziggler instead and their discussion on Twitter about a potential match has been part of the updated storyline plans. Expect to see Bryan and Ziggler discussing a WrestleMania match on WWE TV as soon as tonight.
– The upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view on February 22nd will have some stiff competition, with the 87th Academy Awards and UFC’s Fight Night Brazil live event both taking place on the same night.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos are expected to defend against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd at Fast Lane.
– Speaking of Cesaro and Kidd, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was backstage for this weekend’s WWE live event from Calgary and took a photo with the team:
Tyson Kidd recently spoke with the folks at Slam! Wrestling to promote the recent WWE live event in Calgary. During the interview, Kidd spoke about his current tag-team with Cesaro, his relationship with Viktor of The Ascension, his work in NXT, Vince McMahon’s “brass ring” speech and more.
Below are highlights.
On Viktor of The Ascension and their history: “It means a lot because I know of his struggles and past and it is similar to mine. We both competed in a lot of places that weren’t highly publicized so even though you are doing a lot people don’t know about it. You have to keep growing and growing and to see him here is great. Unfortunately for him I am also in a tag team so it is probably for the best for him that our paths don’t cross.”
On working in NXT: “The main thing is that everything is taped at Full Sail. It is kind of like competing on home turf every time in terms of the tapings and specials. The main roster travels, I am in Hartford for live Smackdown, then head to Edmonton and Calgary and Denver. It is travel travel travel. NXT is more stationary. Having a chance to work with Dusty Rhodes, he has helped me so much that I can’t even praise how much. The first time I saw him on WWE television in polka dots I never would have thought that guy would be such an influence on my career.”
On the current talent pool in NXT: “Those guys are unbelievably talented. We really can take nothing away. Just look at my match that aired this week on the WWE Network with Adrian Neville. The guy is phenomenal. It is really cool that they are being bred down there. Add in a guy like Tyler Breeze doesn’t have the publicity, background, or buzz, but is a sleeper — he is the one to keep your eye on.”
On his current tag-team with Cesaro: “Two guys who are insanely talented, extremely shredded and a lot frustrated come together and decide to make a name for ourselves and show why we are who we are. Cesaro’s story is unbelievable; he won a green card lottery in Switzerland and now here he is. The man is a freak. He can clean and jerk 135 pounds with one arm. He is a freak in every sense of the word. Throw in the best guy pound for pound in the business as his tag team partner and I think our upside is limitless.”
On Vince McMahon’s “brass ring” speech: “I think it fired a lot of the talent up. We have a super talented locker room, for any that maybe were coasting it lit a fire under them and for the rest of us ensured we just keep pushing. Every day here is different. One day I was in Phoenix at Axxess wrestling Cryme Tyme in the worst match we ever had with them, which is saying a lot, 48 hours later I am clotheslining Mr. McMahon in front of 58,000 people at Wrestlemania. Things can change here quickly.”
The following is the final advertised lineup for tonight’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and airs live on the WWE Network.
WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Show
– Big E., Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro, Tyson Kidd & Adam Rose
– Booker T interviews Shawn Michaels
WWE Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View
– The Bella Twins vs. Paige & Natalya
– The Ascension vs. New Age Outlaws
– The Usos vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow (WWE Tag-Team Championship)
– 30-man over-the-top Royal Rumble match
– Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
Make sure to join us here at the website tonight for the best WWE Royal Rumble live play-by-play results coverage on the web!
Tonight, fans will be treated to perhaps the most exciting sixty-plus minutes of action all year. Bodies will be flying, dreams will be shattered, and ultimately, one man will punch his ticket to WrestleMania. However, there are still many questions to be answered before we start discussing ‘Mania. Most importantly, here is how I believe this Sunday’s Royal Rumble will play out.
The New Day vs. Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, and Adam Rose
It’s sad to see Kidd and Cesaro once again relegated to the pre-show, but at least they are getting some airtime, I suppose. On one hand, I expect Adam Rose to find a way to screw things up and cost Kidd and Cesaro the match. With that said, the New Day got the upper hand on Raw by picking up a clean victory, so based on WWE logic, it’s Kidd and Cesaro’s turn to win.
Winners: Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, and Adam Rose by pinfall
The Usos (Tag Team Champions) vs. The Miz and Damien Mizdow
Am I going crazy, or have we seen this matchup way too often in recent months? It seems unlikely that Miz and Mizdow would pick up the titles shortly after dropping them, especially as they continue to tease tension between the two. I think Miz once again tries to steal the show and refuses to tag Mizdow, eventually costing the team the match. This will further tension between the partners, eventually resulting in a breakup and payoff match at WrestleMania.
Winners: The Usos by pinfall
Paige and Natalya vs. The Bella Twins
This was basically slopped together so there’s not much to analyze or discuss. Either Paige or Natalya (whichever they want to challenge for the Divas Championship next month) forces Nikki to submit for the win.
The following was taped on Tuesday night for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event in Austin, Texas.
– JBL and Tom Phillips came out to a good reaction from the crowd.
– Kofi Kingston def. Tyson Kidd with a roll-up after countering a Sharpshooter attempt. Adam Rose and Cesaro, who were at ringside, joined in to beat down The New Day afterwards.
– The Miz and Damien Mizdow def. Los Matadores when Miz hit his Skull Crushing Finale for the 1-2-3.
– Natalya def. Summer Rae in Divas action.
– Bray Wyatt def. Jack Swagger with his Sister Abigail finisher for the pin.
– The Usos def. Goldust and Stardust in a non-title match, which served as the main event of the taping.
– WWE is considering the idea of having one or two NXT stars participate in Sunday’s 30-man Royal Rumble match.
WWE surveyed fans asking which NXT stars they would most like to see in the Rumble, with the options being — Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor, Kalisto, Tyler Breeze, Bull Dempsey and Enzo Amore.
– Xavier Woods has been out of action at recent WWE live events due to an injury. The New Day member was wearing a walking boot on Monday’s RAW and noted that his ankle is currently “out of commission.” Regardless, Woods is still advertised to wrestle in the six-man tag-team match against Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and Adam Rose this Sunday night.
Although WWE initially announced a 30-minute Royal Rumble Kickoff Show for this Sunday night, the WWE Network is currently advertising a one-hour pre-show.
Speaking of the pre-show, Booker T mentioned on social media that he will conduct a special interview with Shawn Michaels this Sunday before the pay-per-view begins. Also set for the Kickoff Show, as announced on RAW on Monday, is a six-man elimination tag-team match with The New Day vs. Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and Adam Rose.
Finally, the WWE Network is advertising a 15-minute Royal Rumble Fallout post-show, which is listed as beginning at 10:45pm EST. on Sunday. As is the case with most pay-per-views, the Fallout post-show will likely be dropped if the pay-per-view itself runs long.
On Monday’s WWE Royal Rumble “go-home” edition of RAW, two new matches were announced for this Sunday’s pay-per-view event.
In what will be the WWE Royal Rumble “Kickoff Show” match, the New Day faction, which consists of Kofi Kingston, Big E. and Xavier Woods, will compete in a six-man tag-team match against Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and Adam Rose.
Also announced for this Sunday’s Royal Rumble show is a Divas tag-team match, which will feature The Bella Twins vs. Paige and Natalya.
Make sure to join us here on the website this Sunday night for live WWE Royal Rumble play-by-play results coverage.
The WWE’s next generation was back in class last night, meaning it’s time to grade their performances. Matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, crowd involvement, and overall impact on the storyline. Important promos will also be graded based on entertainment value, believability, and originality.
Without further ado, here is this week’s NXT Report Card.
Tyson Kidd vs. Finn Balor
This week’s show kicked off in a big way, as two of the most talented athletes in NXT locked up. Balor came out firing, going for the diving double foot stomp just seconds into the match.
Kidd eventually took control and slowed the match to a methodical pace, at one point driving Balor through the barricade into about the third row. Balor eventually turned it around after hitting the move Alex Riley so eloquently described as a “floating, spinning neckbreaker of some kind.”
After delivering a kick to the head and hitting a somersault over the top rope to the floor, Balor dominated the rest of the contest (aside from a minor Kidd offensive), eventually picking up the victory after hitting a diving double foot stomp.
Result: Finn Balor wins via pinfall
Analysis: Most importantly, I think it’s awesome that Tyson’s gimmick is basically a guy who loves cats and Beats headphones. With that said, these two worked very well together. The action was fast paced for the most part, and it was nice to see Balor get the win. He definitely needed the win more, and as much as I love seeing Balor and Itami together, I’m hoping he starts his solo career in the near future.
As noted recently, the new WWE tag-team of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd have been working together on some new double-team moves at the non-televised weekend live events.
The double-team powerbomb-blockbuster finisher that they’ve been using, including at last week’s RAW where they attacked Big E. and The New Day during the match with Adam Rose where they were unveiled to be two masked members of “The Rosebuds,” is now being called “The F(act) Bomb.”
In addition to trying things out at the live events, Cesaro and Kidd have been spending time at the WWE Performance Center working on coming up with a series of new double-team moves, a sign many consider to be one that shows the two are taking their new tag-team seriously.
Last night’s episode of Raw was held in the Big Easy, and it’s obvious that the company knew they were going up against the CFP Championship because they seemed to be holding something back all night. Anyway, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The best thing to come out of last night’s show was the announcement that the “Macho Man” Randy Savage will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. It’s about time one of the most talented and influential superstars of all-time takes his rightful place amongst fellow legends. Some will probably complain about the choice to have Hogan induct Savage, but as someone who loved the Mega Powers as a child, I think it’s a good choice and has the potential to be a touching and heartfelt tribute to one of the company’s most iconic figures.
I wasn’t expecting a ton out of the New Day vs. Kidd/Cesaro matchup, but it turned out to be one of the better contests of the night. Kidd and Cesaro worked well together, with the Cesaro Swing into a dropkick spot being particularly impressive. It would have been nice to see Kidd and Cesaro pick up the win, but I guess it’s a minor victory just to see them on television.
The recurring promos featuring Dean Ambrose and the doctor were certainly humorous. Ambrose seems like a natural actor and really at ease on camera, so it’s nice to see him get a chance to show off his talent. The promos were entertaining and it was an original way to have Ambrose gain entry into the Royal Rumble.
Finally, it was nice to see Daniel Bryan back in the city where he captured the title at last year’s WrestleMania. The interactions between Bryan and Stephanie were on point, especially when she tried to present Bryan with her crappy workout DVD. It was finally announced that Bryan would make his return to the ring against Kane on SmackDown this Thursday. As Kane approached the ring, Bryan dove threw the ropes and took out the Devil’s Favorite Demon before celebrating with the crowd.
The new WWE tag-team of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro mentioned on social media recently that they have been testing out some new moves at the recent WWE live events.
The double-team powerbomb-blockbuster finisher that they’ve been using, including at last week’s RAW where they attacked Big E. and The New Day during the match with Adam Rose where they were unveiled to be two masked members of “The Rosebuds,” is now being called “The F(act) Bomb.”
Below is a fan posted video of Cesaro holding a vertical suplex while doing squats and making a tag. The video is from the WWE live event this past weekend in Alabama.
– Within WWE, there has been a lot of talk in regards to the manner in which Roman Reigns’ promos have been scripted as of late. Dave Meltzer reported Wednesday in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that many people in the company are under the impression that Reigns’ promos have put him in ‘quicksand’ and aren’t helping him reach the next level at all.
After comparing himself to Superman on Raw, Reigns delivered another cartoon-inspired promo on SmackDown while speaking face-to-face with Seth Rollins. Take a line from Looney Tunes character Sylvester, Reigns said “Sufferin’ succotash.” Regarding this, Meltzer mentioned on Twitter that Reigns’ promos are being scripted by Vince McMahon.
@WWMoan Vince is writing his promos. Vince is really out of touch. I hate to say it but the promos speak for themselves.
– In the latest edition of “The Rose Garden,” Adam Rose addresses the actions of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd on Raw. To watch the segment, click here.
– New additions to the WWE Network include four episodes of Raw from 1996 (April 15, April 22, April 29 and May 6), the documentary portion of the The History of the World Heavyweight Championship DVD from 2009, Tuesday Night Titans (October 1, 1984) and Prime Time Wrestling (May 26, 1986).
As noted last week, Heath Slater has been taking time off from WWE for what the company is describing as “personal reasons.” Those reasons stem from the alleged domestic assault incident from the WrestleMania after party in 2011.
Due to Slater’s absence, WWE decided to officially drop the “Slater Gator” tag-team with Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil. Everyone within WWE had been praising Slater’s work in getting over what was viewed as a lower card comedy gimmick.
It appears as though the team of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro was put together due to the fact that the Slater Gator team was dropped, as a way to fill the hole left in the heel-end of the tag-team division.
On non-televised live events, Tyler Breeze has been brought up from NXT to work with O’Neil against Los Matadores.
Last night’s Raw was the first of 2015 and the company started the year not with a bang but with a whimper. The show was held in Corpus Christi, TX, and it’s unclear whether the audience was drugged prior to filming, because it was probably the most silent crowd I’ve ever heard at a WWE event. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
Pros
The clear highlight of the night was the Ambulance Match between Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. As always, the two worked pretty well together and delivered a few memorable spots. The ending felt just a bit sloppy, but the rest of the match more than made up for it. In all, it was good to see Wyatt come out on top, as he needed the win more than Ambrose. This program has been one of the only good things going over the past few weeks, so it’s kind of sad to see it come to an end.
Another clear highlight was the Intercontinental Championship match. It was a good way for the Authority to exact revenge against Ziggler, and the 2-out-of-3 falls swerve was decent. It’s also nice to see that the company still has confidence in Bad News Barrett, and this hopefully means that Ziggler will move into the main event picture permanently.
It was nice to see the program actually have an intro and pryo again. This is a minor complaint, but the intro-less format felt really cheap, with it simply going to a lifeless Michael Cole saying, “Welcome to Raw” while panning over the crowd. Unfortunately, the intro and pyro will probably be gone next week due to budget cuts.
Adding Seth Rollins to the main event at the Royal Rumble was brilliant. With Rollins essentially having two chances to win the title in a few weeks, it provides many booking possibilities. My interest level in the main event went from nonexistent to moderately intrigued in a matter of seconds.
Booker T on commentary was a nice change of pace. Hopefully King is well soon, but they really need to shake up the commentary team. I wouldn’t mind seeing Booker become a regular at the table again.
The Kane/Rollins vs. Ryback match was somewhat entertaining but nothing to write home about. The double Curb Stomp was at least a decent finish.
Finally, it was nice to see the company giving guys more time to cut backstage promos. Rusev, Reigns, Ambrose, Wyatt, and possibly a few superstars whom I’m forgetting all received promo time last night. Good to see the company letting the talent speak instead of filling that time with ads or plugs for the Network.
The following is a new blog from WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley’s official Facebook page:
FUTURE CHAMPIONS!
I know they’ve been teaming up for a few weks, but tonight’s ?#?Smackdown? was the first time I’ve seen Tyson Kidd and Cesaro together as a tag-team, I know this may seem like a premature evaluation, but based soley on this one match, I am going to boldly predict that Kidd and Cesaro will be the ?#?WWE? tag team of the year for 2015. Remember, I’m the guy who boldly predicted that the waves of ?#?SandowMania? were going to one day crash down upon our shores…and so they have! Don’t even try pointing to that double-loss on WWE Monday Night Raw either – because the legend of #SandowMania is going to outlive us all, daddy!
Sure, they were probably just thrown together by creative. But sometimes, that’s how great teams are formed. Just ask Billy Gunn and Road Dogg, who were put together on a whim for the sake of a house show run in 1997, and became one of the most entertaining and successful units in pro-wrestling history.
Given the chance, and some time to gel, I see big things – and great matches – in this team’s future. Holler if you hear me.