Apparently the plan all along was for WWE to book The Shield and The Wyatt Family vs. The Usos, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Goldust and Cody Rhodes as a match on RAW. Since the promotion teased the six-on-six match two weeks ago, the plan was always to come back and hold the match on RAW the following week. At no point did WWE consider putting the match on the Survivor Series pay-per-view, despite previous reports to the contrary.
According to reports, the number one priority in WWE right now is to build up RAW and SmackDown so that the ratings are as strong as possible when the time comes to negotiate the new television rights fees domestically and internationally.
The feeling in the company is that if they can double or triple the rights fees they get for their weekly television shows, that they’re be doing well financially for the next several years. With the recent $8.2 billion television deal that NASCAR secured, several people within WWE feel that they can quadruple their current rights fees.
During Triple H’s weekly sit-down interview with Michael Cole at WWE.com, he announced that Curtis Axel will get a rematch against new Intercontinental champion Big E Langston at Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Triple H took credit for both men’s success in WWE, due to his own involvement with WWE’s developmental program.
With that match set, here’s the updated card for this Sunday:
WWE Championship
– Randy Orton (c) vs. Big Show
World Heavyweight Championship
– John Cena (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio
Tag-Team Match
– CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan
Intercontinental Championship:
– Big E Langston (c) vs. Curtis Axel
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
– The Usos, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and a mystery partner vs. The Shield & The Real Americans
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
– AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, Aksana, Kaitlyn and Rosa Mendes vs. The Bella Twins, The Funkadactyls, Natalya, Eva Marie and JoJo
Survivor Series Kickoff Show Match
– The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston
Survivor Series Kickoff Show Hall Of Fame Expert Panel
– Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley, Booker T and Josh Mathews
– With WWE’s announcement this week that the Classics On Demand service will be ending in January, people in the company are under the impression that the WWE Network will finally launch before WrestleMania XXX.
– On Monday’s RAW, WWE scripted Randy Orton to say that he “can’t beat Big Show on his own” as a way to sell the possibility that Big Show has a strong chance of winning the WWE Championship this Sunday at Survivor Series.
– David Otunga made the media rounds on Tuesday to promote his new Muscle & Fitness cover. He tweeted this photo after filming the Steve Harvey show:
– Singer Chili of the group TLC and R&B singer Monica were in attendance for Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Atlanta, GA. MLB stars Zack Wheeler and Josh Reddick were also in attendance, sitting together at ringside.
– Here is a clip from this Sunday’s episode of WWE Total Divas, featuring Nikki Bella talking to her sister Brie about the “co-habitation agreement” John Cena asked her to sign:
– As previously reported, WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio made his official television return at Monday’s “RAW Country” show in Nashville, Tennessee. Mysterio returned in the 12-main main-event to help the babyfaces even the score during a heel beatdown spot after the conclusion of the match.
While it was widely speculated following the show, it has since been made official — Mysterio will be the “mystery partner” in the traditional elimination match at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. The match will feature The Usos, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and Rey Mysterio vs. The Shield and The Real Americans.
– Local advertisements for next week’s post-Survivor Series edition of WWE RAW are promoting “The McMahon’s, Triple H and more.” Whether or not this is another case of early advertising, or “The McMahon’s” meaning Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, even though it’s plural, remains to be seen. If you go by WWE advertising, it appears as though Vince McMahon will be back on RAW next week. He has been rumored to return for a while now, although his return continues to get pushed back each time it’s scheduled to happen.
– Also announced for next week’s RAW are dark matches featuring John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton vs. Big Show for the WWE Championship, both of which will be Survivor Series rematches by that point.
– The latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast is now online. This week’s first show features Steve Austin interviewing veteran pro wrestling journalist Wade Keller. You can check out the show online at PodcastOne.com.
The following is the latest official lineup for this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view:
WWE Championship
– Randy Orton (c) vs. Big Show
World Heavyweight Championship
– John Cena (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
– The Usos, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and a mystery partner vs. The Shield & The Real Americans
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
– AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, Aksana, Kaitlyn and Rosa Mendes vs. The Bella Twins, The Funkadactyls, Natalya, Eva Marie and JoJo
Tag-Team Match
– CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan
Survivor Series Kickoff Show Match
– The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston
Survivor Series Kickoff Show Hall Of Fame Expert Panel
– Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley, Booker T and Josh Mathews
Make sure to join us here at the website this Sunday night for the absolute best live results coverage of the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view and Kickoff Show.
– WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio made his official WWE return on the special “RAW Country” show on Monday night. Mysterio returned after the main event, which featured CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Goldust, Cody Rhodes & The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family and The Shield. After the babyfaces won the match, The Real Americans hit the ring to help the heels beat them down. Mysterio’s music hit, and out came “Mr. 6-1-9” to help even the score. Mysterio hit his 6-1-9 on two members of the heel team and celebrates with the babyfaces to close the show.
– Part-time WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tweeted on Monday night his memory of debuting with WWE at the Survivor Series pay-per-view back in 1996. The Rock tweeted the following:
– It was announced on Monday’s special country-themed edition of WWE RAW that at the WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show this Sunday there will be a Hall Of Fame expert panel. Representing the panel for the Kickoff Show will be WWE Hall Of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Mick Foley and Booker T.
– Also announced on RAW this past Monday night is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match between the current champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes, and The Real Americans – Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro.
WWE has confirmed that at the upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view there will be a traditional five-on-five elimination match. The match will feature Cody Rhodes, Goldust, The Usos and a mystery partner vs. The Shield and The Real Americans.
Below is an excerpt from the announcement WWE made on Monday:
“Four of WWE’s premier teams will collide when The Usos, WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Goldust and a mystery partner battle The Shield and The Real Americans in a 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match. Which Superstar will round out Team Rhodes/Uso?”
– One of the main angles on this coming Monday’s WWE RAW, the Survivor Series “go-home” edition of the show, will be The Authority (Triple H and Stephanie McMahon) returning from “vacation” to address the performances of Kane, Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero on last week’s show.
– There is some speculation that the 3MB group in WWE will be permanently switching to The Union Jacks after debuting the look at last week’s WWE television tapings in England. Additionally, there is speculation that the group will switch up their look for the “RAW Country” edition of RAW this coming Monday night.
– WWE pushed an article earlier this week featuring several top superstars, as well as Triple H, talking about their respect for William Regal. They have now published an interview with the man himself. Here’s what William Regal said about the future of the business:
“WWE NXT is something incredible and special. It’s just great to see the fellows get there and work hard and do everything that they’ve got to do. You get to see them flourish. When it gets down to brass tacks, the same people who are making it now, if they had been around in my generation, would have made it just the same.”
“I’m not one of those guys that goes knocking everything and everybody saying, ‘Back in my day … ” I can safely say at this point in my career that I’ve done as much, if not more, than anybody in this job. But there’s nothing I hate worse than all that nonsense. The ones who make it now; they earn it. They all earn their spots. They all work hard, they all create. They all have to be really good at this. You could coast through this a few years ago by just looking a certain way or genetics, but not anymore. You look in that ring now and these fellows can all go, and go as good as anyone.”
– The official theme song for WWE Survivor Series is “How I Feel” by Flo Rida. WWE has publishd the following video of past Survivor Series highlights featuring the song:
WWE has confirmed a new match for next weekend’s Survivor Series pay-per-view from Boston, MA. As expected, CM Punk will team with Daniel Bryan in a tag team match against Luke Harper and Eric Rowan of the Wyatt Family. An article at WWE.com states:
“Though The Straight Edge Superstar is quick to proclaim himself a “lone wolf,” he and Bryan have more in common than either Superstar might freely admit. Both competitors spent years honing their craft around the globe before arriving in WWE, and both Superstars — with eight combined World Championships between them — have ascended to the top of WWE despite the objections of company brass. Now, a common enemy in the form of The Wyatt Family rounds out their list of similarities, creating a very dangerous tandem to be sure.
“Whether their shared disdain for the creepy faction will be enough to topple Bray Wyatt’s brutish monsters remains to be seen. Since their arrival, the towering henchmen have forged an incredible path of destruction, and Harper has given both Bryan and Punk tough challenges in singles competition. What will happen when it’s an all-out two-on-two war at WWE’s fall classic? “
– 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.
Day seven of the WWE European tour continues on Tuesday with half of the WWE roster remaining in Manchester, England for the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping, while the rest of the roster travels to Newcastle, England for a non-televised live event.
Announced already for the SmackDown television taping is an arm-wrestling contest between World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and former champion Alberto Del Rio. The two will continue to hype their upcoming title rematch at the WWE Survivor Series on Sunday, November 24th.
Confirmed for the WWE Main Event portion of the television taping is a WWE Divas Championship match between current title-holder AJ Lee and Natalya.
Also official for the SmackDown television taping is an appearance of WWE Superstar CM Punk.
Unless WWE continues their recent trend of false-advertising, you can count the following Superstars out of SmackDown and Main Event on Tuesday: Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and The Shield. Orton vs. Bryan is advertised as the main event for the WWE Championship at the live event in Newcastle, as well as a six-man tag-team match featuring Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz vs. The Shield.
Make sure to check back here at the website on Tuesday afternoon for live play-by-play spoiler results of the WWE SmackDown and WWE Main Event television taping.
-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.
-It was announced at the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina that John Cena will be defending his World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch against Alberto Del Rio at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 24th. The match had been expected for a while, but was not official until the announcement at SmackDown.
-As previously reported, Triple H announced that the new “corporate Kane” has been named the “Director Of Operations” for WWE. The announcement came as part of the latest sit-down interview that “The Game” did with Michael Cole for the official WWE website. You can check out the complete video interview online at WWE.com.
The following are highlights from the latest online blog by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On Monday’s WWE RAW: “Perplexing and unique night in many ways for Monday Night’s edition of Raw. The final two segments of the show had me scratching my head especially that surprising, last commercial break. The obvious, over riding theme of the broadcast was the issue between the South Carolina native Big Show and WWE COO HHH. That’s the match that fans seemingly want to see based on the feedback that I have received and my own take as a fan. I’m curious to see what more will be done to ignite the WWE Title bout at Survivor Series between the ‘Biggest Gamecock of them All’ and Randy Orton considering that HHH has more antagonist momentum than does RKO or so it seems.”
On Cody Rhodes & Goldust: “The reunion of the Rhodes Brothers has been a breath of fresh air within WWE over the past several weeks. Really enjoyable to see their storyline evolve. The grandsons of a plumber have been involved some the best matches on any WWE TV show the past several weeks. That’s not a coincidence. Dustin Runnels aka Goldust rebirth, not only as a performer but as a man, has been nothing short of miraculous.”
On WWE Survivor Series: “I’d love to see some classic, Survivor Series moments featured on Raw and Smackdown to remind fans what the PPV used to represent in WWE. The event has a history and that history should be marketed including having at least one traditional, elimination tag team match.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com.
-The main event angle on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW saw WWE Superstar Big Show get re-hired by WWE COO Triple H, ending what was probably the shortest “banned for life” sentence in WWE history. Additionally, Big Show was guaranteed a WWE Championship match against Randy Orton at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
-Daniel Bryan was officially removed from the WWE Championship picture. As noted, Big Show will receive the next shot at the title, with Bryan now positioned in a feud alongside CM Punk against The Wyatt Family.
-Paul Heyman re-emerged on RAW on Monday in the form of a live telephone interview with RAW announcer Michael Cole. Heyman claimed multiple injuries suffered at the hands of CM Punk at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, and was reportedly scripted to say that he was getting medical treatment in Europe, which is where next week’s RAW will take place.
For more news from this week’s RAW, you can read our detailed report of the show here: WWE RAW Results (11/4/13)
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.
WWE announced Big Show vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship as the main event of the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday, November 24th in Boston, Massachusetts.
Also announced on RAW for this week’s WWE television taping on Tuesday night are Curtis Axel vs. Big E. Langston for WWE Main Event on Wednesday, as well as Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper for WWE SmackDown on Friday. Both shows will be taped on Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
-As previously reported, the plan for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view is to book Randy Orton vs. Big Show for the WWE Championship. The reason it seemed like WWE was pushing a Big Show vs. Triple H match once again on Monday’s RAW is because the plan is for that match to headline the WWE TLC pay-per-view in December. Obviously plans could change as time goes on, but as of right now, that is what’s scheduled to happen.
-For those asking why Vince McMahon did not appear on RAW on Monday night, apparently there were two scripts for Monday’s show. One script had McMahon written into the show, while the other didn’t. WWE apparently went with the script that didn’t have McMahon appearing, despite the fact that he was heavily advertised locally. The plan is for McMahon to still return sometime in the near future, with Big Show planting the seeds for his return by referencing him in an around-about way in promos.
– World Heavyweight champion John Cena was interviewed by Renee Young last night after defeating Damien Sandow on RAW. Cena said Sandow gave a great effort, but he doesn’t plan on losing the World Heavyweight title any time soon. Cena says he plans to carry himself like a champion, unlike other people in WWE.
– CM Punk suffered a cut over his eye after being attacked by Bray Wyatt and The Wyatt Family on RAW. WWE.com has video footage from a commercial break of Punk refusing help from referees.
– The following matches are rumored for WWE Survivor Series:
* World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio
* WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Big Show
* A traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match with CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and 2 partners vs. The Wyatt Family and a partner.
* 4-Team Tag Title Match featuring Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Real Americans vs. The Shield vs. another team, probably The Usos.
(Information from f4wonline.com was used in this report)
– Several students from Bully Ray and Devon’s Team 3D Wrestling Academy received tryouts with WWE at last night’s RAW from Orlando. Others were also used as extras during the show.
– After the Real Americans’ non-title win over WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust on RAW, Zeb Colter says his guys won’t be ignored anymore:
– Speaking of WWE’s tag team division, it’s rumored that a four-team match for the WWE Tag titles will take place at Survivor Series. The match will feature Cody Rhodes & Goldust defending against the Real Americans, The Shield and another team, likely the Usos.
(Information from f4wonline.com and pwinsider.com was used in this report)
-WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio made his WWE pay-per-view return on Sunday night as he working the Spanish commentary during the show. Other than doing commentary, nothing was done to set up a future storyline for Mysterio.
-WWE Superstar Kane made his official return to WWE on Sunday night as he made the save for The Miz during an attack from The Wyatt Family, and then chokeslammed Miz for no apparent reason afterwards. As noted, WWE is likely building towards a Kane vs. Bray Wyatt match at the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. The match was in jeopardy at one point, with Wyatt suffering a leg injury at a WWE live event, however all reports point to the fact that Wyatt should be ready to work matches again by the time the pay-per-view rolls around.
