The following are highlights of a new DC 101 interview with Seth Rollins:
Money In the Bank Ladder Match on Sunday: “Looking at the field there’s a lot of guys who are going to take risks, I think a lot of people might think I might be one of those guys. But in this scenario, what I’m going to do I think is let the other guys take their risks and when they crash and burn I’m just going to climb that ladder, snatch that contract and be the man for the next year!”
Being the first NXT Champion: “To be the inaugural, to be the first is very special. And if you look at the legacy NXT has already created within the past couple of years, and the legacy that I’m sure it’s going to have moving forward shaping our industry for the next couple of decades most likely, to be the first guy, to be the placeholder is pretty awesome.”
Will Wade Barrett be able to compete on Sunday after hurting his shoulder: “I think we’re still waiting to see how that goes. I know Wade’s been riding an incredible wave of momentum over the past couple of months, his Bad News thing has really been awesome. As a competitor in the match I can’t say that it’s a shame that he may not be in it anymore, but as someone who is a little bit of a fan of Bad News Barrett I would be kind of upset if he had to miss out.”
Check out the complete interview above, or by going to DC101.com.
– Bad News Barrett is featured on the latest edition of The JBL & Cole Show, which is now online. The show, which is the 63rd episode in the series and can be seen below, is accompanied by the following description:
“After weeks of speculation and endless hours of investigation, Bad News Barrett finally delivers what Cody Rhodes has been waiting for: JBL’s infamous nephew, Clem Layfield.”
– Speaking of Michael Cole, his father, Thomas Coulthard, passed away last Friday at age 74 after a long battle with cancer. Our condolences go out to Michael Cole and his family for their loss.
As noted in the spoiler report for this week’s WWE SmackDown show, which was taped on Sunday night in Washington, D.C., following the main event, Wade Barrett came out for a “Bad News Barrett” segment.
Apparently the segment was not part of what is expected to air on the broadcast, as live fan notes from the show claim that CM Punk came back out to interupt the segment. Punk reportedly hit Barrett with his “GTS” finisher to send the crowd home happy.
For a complete WWE SmackDown spoiler report for this week, click here.
WWE Hall of Famer Edge returned to Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this week for the second part of their interview. During the show, the two revealed some interesting news about the year John Cena squashed Nexus at SummerSlam. The original plans called for the match to come down to Edge and Jericho vs. Nexus, however, John Cena squashed the idea and decided to he would be the last man standing, taking out both Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel. Cena would later regret the decision.
Chris Jericho: “It was Team WWE vs. Team Nexus, and the finish boiled down to [Edge] and [Jericho] in there, but it was Cena against a couple of them. John wanted to do things a certain way and we told him ‘you’re wrong’. He did it anyways, and it sucked. And then after he came over to us and said ‘I should have listened to you, but I wasn’t seeing it that way.'”
Edge: “I remember. I was like, fine I’m out of the match by that point.”
Chris Jericho: “He wanted to get DDT’d on the floor by Barrett, then kick out and beat them both. And you and I were like, that’s the dumbest thing. That’s just throwing it away for no reason.”
Edge: “They should have gone over because they were so hot.”
Chris Jericho: “We were fighting for Barrett to go over. And where’s Wade Barrett now?”
Edge also spoke out about why he was successful the first time he won the WWE Championship from John Cena, and how Vince McMahon played a big role in that success.
“I had Vince on my side. Vince was the only guy who believed I could break through … The week before New Year’s Revolution I said ‘Vince I got an idea. I’m a heel. I’m probably the most despised guy in the company. If I cash this thing in after I’ve held it for ten months, in a straight-up match, that’s really stupid on my part, as a character. I can cash it in whenever. Why wouldn’t I do it after the Elimination Chamber?” … “I get there and Vince says, ‘prove me right.’ You can see when I hand that briefcase over to him, he says ‘prove me right’. They were only gonna give me three weeks. But in those three weeks I did everything I could to make them change their mind. 25 million hits on WWE.com the night I won the title. Big ratings.”
The following are highlights from a new online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Batista’s WWE return: “Good to hear WWE talk of Batista’s return on January 20. Dave is a major player and WWE has the opportunity to capitalize on his established reputation and accomplishments. Hopefully, there is a long term, strategic plan for ‘The Animal’ that has been established.”
On Daniel Bryan, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and The Wyatt Family: “6 man tag with Rhodes Brothers and Daniel Bryan vs. the Wyatt Family seemingly did what it was supposed to do. Reasons the match worked…there is an established story and the talents had the ring time to tell said story. No fan favorites are executing better in WWE, IMO, than the Rhodes boys and Bryan.”
On TNA and three-man announce teams: “On a recent interview, I mentioned that one of the reasons that I had no interest in going to TNA was that I had no desire in affecting the chemistry of broadcasters Mike Tenay and Taz. Yes, a three man booth would obviously be possible but I’m not a big fan of three man announce teams in pro wrestling, as a rule. Mike and Taz do a great job especially when they are on point calling holds, near falls, etc and keeping a ‘sports feel’ on the in ring action. They certainly don’t need me. I did enjoy the three man announce team of McMahon, King, and me back in the day. It’s good having the boss sitting right next to you as it helps greatly with communication and creative direction. In those days, a quick huddle, so to speak, during commercial breaks was timely and efficient. With that said and as I’ve mentioned here before, I see my broadcasting days in pro wrestling aka sports entertainment as history. It’s time to do other things that interest me and my style of play by play really doesn’t fit in today’s genre.”
On Wade Barrett: “I’d still like to see William Regal associated with “Bad News” Barrett, in some manner, of whose new, TV persona I haven’t quite understood as of yet. I applaud Barrett getting some TV time because that’s where it all starts and am anxious to see where his creative journey takes him. The talented Brit has a marketable upside, IMO.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
John Cena & Randy Orton’s Brawl On RAW: “The end of show brawl featuring John Cena and Randy Orton helped the broadcast and added much needed sizzle on the TLC PPV where WWE will unify the WWE and World Titles. By the time one gets to the end of the 3rd hour of RAW, an argument can be made that most fans have heard enough talking. So if RAW closes with verbiage it must be strong talk but adding the brawl was timely.
WWE Title Unification: “Speaking of Cena vs. Orton at TLC to unify the two primary titles, I think that they will have a helluva match because they have legit chemistry and will likely have 30+ minutes to tell a compelling story. I also get the sense they both realize that their main event at TLC in the great city of Houston can’t be just another PPV closing main event. My expectations for this match are extraordinarily high.”
Brodus Clay Turning Heel: “Looks like Brodus Clay is becoming a villain. I’m all for that. Always talked to him at NXT about my experiences with a young, One Man Gang who was a tremendous villain for Cowboy Bill Watts Mid South Wrestling. Watch Gang on the Legends of Mid South DVD. Different dude that many remember seeing in WWE.”
Bad News Barrett: “Not sure what’s up with Wade Barrett but I’m willing to give his new persona a chance. I like Barrett and think that he can be a player. Would love to see him aligned with William Regal which would help Barrett on many fronts.”
Getting Ribbed On RAW: “Yes, I got the inside joke on me regarding famous, Oklahoma wrestling announcers when JBL and Cole mentioned the late Reasor Bowden and the late Boyd Pierce. Reasor was the Mid South ring announcer and was from Shreveport and worked at KTBS channel 3 while Boyd was a ring announcer and broadcaster who lived in Burleson, Texas.Oh, that witty, announcer repartee.”
– John Cena has launched 10WeekBodyChange.com, a website where fans can sign up for a weight loss program with Cena as their personal coach. The actual program goes live on December 1st and advertises that you can eat as much as you want to and do “close to no exercise” and get the body you want in just 10 weeks.
– WWE.com has a feature up titled, “Current meets classic: 7 modern takes on legendary Superstars” – including past vs. present dream matches between Bret Hart and Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and Steve Austin and Luke Harper and Bruiser Brody.
– WWE Superstar Wade Barrett noted on Twitter that he is back in the United States after resolving the issues with his work visa that kept him out of the country and off television.
– The entire upper deck was said to be tarped off at the WWE television taping on Tuesday night in Manchester, England, so this would be among the lowest selling TV tapings the company has ever done overseas. RAW on Monday night in the same building was legitimately packed.
– WWE Superstar Wade Barrett met with Preston North End striker Kevin Davies this past week. Their meeting will air on Match Of The Day Kickabout this Saturday, November 16th at 7:45 a.m. on CBBC in the U.K.
– Both Rick and Scott Steiner will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall Of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa. The Steiner Brothers were announced as inductees for the 16th class inductions on July 18th and July 19th. Another former WWE Superstar, Diamond Dallas Page, will be receiving the Frank Gotch Award during the presentation as well.
Wade Barrett, who has not appeared on WWE’s television shows since August, defeated Damien Sandow in a dark match prior to tonight’s Raw taping in Manchester, England at Phones 4u Arena. Fellow countryman William Regal handled ring announcing duties.
In a match taped for WWE Superstars, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and The Great Khali squared off against The Prime Time Players and The Miz.
In Divas action, The Funkadactyls, Cameron and Naomi, squared off against Alicia Fox and Aksana.
– WWE Superstar Wade Barrett wrestled as “Bad News Barrett” at WWE’s live event from Dublin on Thursday. He cut a heel promo on Ireland, saying “God Bless The Queen” – which resulted in fans throwing trash at him in the ring. He defeated Zack Ryder.
– TNA star AJ Styles is denying a report by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that he received a low-ball offer from WWE that was for approximately 20% of what he currently earns with TNA. Styles tweeted:
Let me clear things up. I haven't talked with wwe. I shouldn't have to tell u this but, don't believe everything u read on the internet.
WWE will tape their weekly Main Event and SmackDown television programs tonight in Charlotte, North Carolina, before heading out for their bi-annual European tour on Wednesday.
The main event for this week’s SmackDown, as announced on WWE RAW on Monday night, is Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper.
Also announced on Monday’s RAW was a match pitting the current Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel against Big E. Langston, in a match that was originally slated to serve as the Kickoff Show match prior to the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in late-October.
World Heavyweight Champion John Cena was advertised on RAW as appearing on this week’s SmackDown for the second time in a row, as he will continue the build to his rematch against the former champion, Alberto Del Rio, at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
In addition to the aforementioned WWE Superstars, the following names are being advertised locally for the SmackDown and Main Event television taping in Charlotte are Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Randy Orton, Big Show, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett.
The post-show dark match scheduled for the taping tonight is John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. That match, which also served as the dark match main event at RAW in Greenville, South Carolina on Monday night, is subject to change.
Make sure to check back here later tonight for complete WWE Main Event and WWE SmackDown spoiler results.
While we don’t have a lot of details at this point, WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio worked a full match at the WWE live event in Guadalajara, Mexico on Thursday night.
Mysterio teamed with Sin Cara to defeat Alberto Del Rio and Wade Barrett. It was Mysterio’s first official match back with WWE since March of this year.
We should have a full report from Thursday’s WWE live event in Guadalajara, Mexico later today.
-One of the key reasons Wade Barrett has not been featured on WWE television or at WWE live events in recent weeks is due to the fact that he is back in England dealing with visa issues. As noted previously, Barrett recently returned to action with the company during their current live event tour in Mexico.
-The new Rey Mysterio DVD produced by WWE is scheduled for a release in 2014.
-For those wondering, it indeed was Vince McMahon who made the call for Jerry “The King” Lawler to mention the “Goldberg” chants on Monday’s RAW and tie it into the current “Ultimate Goldberg Collection” DVD that was released by the company this week. Whether or not more transpires as a result, remains to be seen.
WWE is currently running a live events tour of Mexico, with the first show taking place last night from Querataro. Here are full results from the show, which featured a few returns:
* Los Matadores beat 3MB. As you can imagine, Los Matadors were very over in Mexico.
* Wade Barrett returned to action, defeating Zack Ryder with the Bull Hammer.
* Sin Cara also returned, losing to World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio. The crowd was chanting “Dos” at Del Rio and “Mistico” at Sin Cara. Del Rio won with the armbar and refused to let the hold go after the match. This brought out Rey Mysterio, who attacked Del Rio and saved Sin Cara. Rey and Sin Cara celebrated together after the match.
* Divas Champion AJ Lee defeated Natalya.
* The Wyatt Family defeated The Primetime Players.
* Damien Sandow defeated R-Truth.
* In the main event, CM Punk defeated Intercontinental champion Curtis Axel in a non-title match.
Here are photos of Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and Wade Barrett back with WWE (links open in new window at 24Wrestling.com):
-Apparently the WWE television storyline where Triple H bought Big Show’s house was taken from the CM Punk DVD that the company produced. On the documentary portion of the DVD, a real-life story was told where Joey Mercury was facing financial problems due to some personal issues he was experiencing, and as a result, Punk bought Mercury’s house for him.
-It’s said to be unlikely that WWE Superstar Wade Barrett’s new gimmick will be the “Bad News Barrett” character that we see on the weekly JBL & Cole Show that appears on the official WWE YouTube channel. Many in the company feel it would be surprising if the higher-ups chose to use anything that is featured on YouTube on their actual television storylines. Regardless, the rumors are true that the company is planning on repackaging Barrett, simply because the feeling is the roster is lacking depth in the heel department.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Bob Backlund was in attendance at the WWE live event in Syracuse, New York on Friday night. Fans interested in reading a full report from the WWE live event in Syracuse on Friday can do so on the main page.
-Several WWE Superstars, including Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Booker T, The Miz, Damien Sandow, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Titus O’Neil and Brodus Clay, fielded questions about life in WWE during a recent interview with The National publication in the Middle East to promote next week’s WWE tour in Abu Dhabi. You can check that article out online at TheNational.ae.
-WWE Superstar and member of The Shield, Roman Reigns, recently took a shot at Dustin “Goldust” Rhodes” in a WWE Battleground promotional tweet posted on his official Twitter account on Saturday afternoon. Reigns wrote:
@DUSTIN_RHODES1: the poor fool isn’t familiar with how we do things. #WWEBattleground = #TheRhodesRetirementParty Believe That!
– WWE announcer JBL says he plans to lose 35 pounds by the end of the year, in preparation for his next mountain climb in January. He tweeted on Wednesday night:
Last dessert tonight for 13 weeks, going on end of year diet for #WWEClimbingTeam 's next adventure in January. Going to lose 35 pounds!
– The first edition of WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley’s new WWE comic book, due out in December, will feature John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Triple H, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Kane, AJ Lee, Fandango, Summer Rae and of course, Foley himself.
– As previously reported, there is talk of repackaging Wade Barrett when he’s brought back to WWE television. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that officials are considering bringing him back with the “Badnews Barrett” gimmick he’s been using on the JBL & Cole show.
– WWE creative writers are contemplating repackaging Wade Barrett and giving him a strong push. The English grappler has not appeared on television since last month, following multiple losses to Daniel Bryan.
– The official YouTube account of WWE has released a WWE ’13 video simulating an episode of Raw. This week, a Money in the Bank Ladder Match and United States Championship Fatal 4-Way highlight the show. Appearances by “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Goldberg are teased.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2UrG9nRI08
– Former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky has been announced to face Kory Kincaid and JJ Sanchez in a Handicap Match on October 12 in Selkirk, Manitoba, for Canadian Wrestling’s Elite. Click here for event details.
The following are interview highlights with WWE Superstar Wade Barrett:
On being a babyface: “I’ve spent 99 percent of my career being the bad guy, and I’ve always kind of enjoyed that. Sometimes it goes well, and you are at the peak and the highlight of the show. Other times you’re more of a background character. I have an open mind, and I don’t know where I’ll be further down the road.”
On being a part of the creative process: “You have some influence. If you’re an actor in a film, you can use some leeway and exert some creative influence, but you’re controlled by writers. With our story lines, we get our kind of creative influence on them. That’s something I enjoy, twisting things my way.”
On earning a degree in marine biology: “I was 17, 18 years old. I was done with my high-school education and I had gotten very good grades. I didn’t yet have a plan for what I was going to do with my life. I was young and immature and physically I wasn’t built like I am now. I thought I would develop my personality and my mind. I chose a subject that was seen as a good degree, and I chose a respected university (University of Liverpool). It wasn’t some master plan I had to be a biologist, but I thought it would be worthwhile.”
Check out the complete interview online at AZCentral.com.
-WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently posted a tweet after meeting with the currently injured WWE Superstar Sheamus on Friday. JR stated:
“Had a great talk w/ @WWESheamus today. Helluva man’s man. Would have been a player in any generation. His best days lie a head. #WWE.”
-Speaking of Twitter, the leader of the Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt, continues to taunt Kane on his official Twitter account. Bray Wyatt tweeted the following recently, in regards to the upcoming “Ring of Fire” match at SummerSlam:
“Be careful monster, if you look into the inferno long enough, it might just stare back……..RUN!! #smackdown”
-WWE Superstar Wade Barrett celebrates his 33rd birthday today. Barrett was born on August 10, 1980.
-WWE Superstar Ricardo Rodriguez, who returned from his Wellness Policy suspension on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, commented on the savage attack he received at the hands of Alberto Del Rio after he cost his boss a match against Rob Van Dam. Rodriguez tweeted the following:
“It’s been 2 days and still can’t grasp what happened on RAW. 3 years of friendship. Hurt Not just by my boss but my friend. #Betrayed”
-Also on Twitter, WWE Superstar Wade Barrett commented on getting half of his beard shaved by Daniel Bryan on Monday’s WWE RAW show. Barrett tweeted the following:
“Undecided as to whether I will re-grow the beard. It is perhaps a little uncouth and more suited to “tough and tasty dunces”.”
-WWE Superstar Wade Barrett’s mouth was busted open during his match with Rob Van Dam on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. The blood was likely drawn from a stiff kick from RVD. RVD has always had a reputation of working stiff, and many times opponents get banged up when working with Van Dam.
-CM Punk mentioned the staples in his head as well as his ribs, arm and ankle as injured parts of his body during his promo on Monday’s edition of RAW. Punk listed the nagging injuries to sell the beatdown he suffered at the hands of Brock Lesnar the previous week. According to reports, the injury list was a shoot, as Punk is pretty banged up from head-to-toe lately.
– This week on WWE Superstars, Wade Barrett and Zack Ryder square off. Highlights from the match are available here.
Plus, in a battle of Total Divas, Natalya goes up against Naomi.
– Former WWE NXT talents Chase Donovan and Chad Baxter joined former WWE developmental wrestler Kevin Matthews and J-Silva on their Two And A Half Wrestlers podcast. This is a must listen as Chase and Chad dropped some major bombshells on Bill Demott which includes a second-hand story of DeMott pulling out a gun in front of some trainees, firsthand accounts of him hitting talents on the back with a yardstick, using homophobic slurs daily, telling talents to go kill themselves, bullying and over training talents, getting Cena’s trainer fired, etc. This is a must listen!
Kevin Matthews runs down his history with Demott to start off the show and the interview with Donovan and Baxter starts at the 20 minute mark twoandahalfwrestlers.com.
– Jerry Sags of the Nasty Boys turned 49-years-old on Friday.
