According to one source, there is said to be a lot of panic backstage in WWE right now regarding creative plans.
When the call was made to switch Daniel Bryan and Big Show in the WWE title picture, the idea was Big Show vs. Randy Orton in a main event match at Survivor Series, with them following up at the TLC pay-per-view with a Big Show vs. Triple H match. Plans then changed to have Orton vs. Big Show in a tables match, which is why Big Show chokeslammed Orton through the announce table on RAW a few weeks back.
At one point, there was an idea floating around that John Cena would feud with Big E. Langston for the World Heavyweight Championship, with Langston turning back heel. When Survivor Series was over, both of those matches were scrapped and the new TLC main event ended up as Cena vs. Orton for both of the titles. As recently reported, there is now talk of having that match serve as a unification match, despite originally not intending to unify the titles.
As far as the creative team is concerned, one WWE source noted that they are “burnt out and scared of who might not be there too much longer.”
It appears as though WWE has gone back and forth on their plans for the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship ever since the conclusion of the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view earlier this month.
When Survivor Series ended, the plan, despite how it appeared on television, was not to have a unification match. On RAW the next night, WWE apparently went out of their way not to say the words “unification match,” but they are now apparently leaning towards having only one World Champion following Triple H’s latest sitdown interview with Michael Cole.
There has been speculation that the finish at the WWE TLC pay-per-view could see John Cena walk away as the WWE Champion and Randy Orton as the World Heavyweight Champion, with the two basically just reversing roles as far as their championship status is concerned. Whether or not WWE runs with that finish remains to be seen.
The following are highlights from the latest sit-down interview between Triple H and Michael Cole from the official WWE website:
On the goal behind unifying the belt at the WWE TLC PPV: “The goal is one champion. The goal being one champion at the end of the night. One Undisputed WWE champion. Let’s face it – with the brand extension no longer in effect, there is no need for two champions; we only need one… I want there to be one Undisputed WWE champion; the championship that was held by all the greats. Bruno Sammartino, (Bob) Backlund, Bret (Hart), (Hulk) Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Rock, (Steve) Austin, myself, Cena. All the greats. I want there to be one champion who represents this company going into the new year.”
On CM Punk’s dig at him on RAW this past Monday: “I didn’t happen to see C.M. Punk’s promo Monday night because I was a little bit busy creating the biggest match in WWE history. That being said, C.M. Punk says a lot of things; he runs his mouth a lot. It doesn’t make a difference to me. It’s irrelevant to me. He can say whatever he wants. I’m not phased by it. All I care about is C.M. Punk shows up and does his job.”
Check out the complete interview online at WWE.com.
The post-Survivor Series edition of WWE RAW on Monday, November 25th emanates from Long Island, New York, with special celebrity guest host Michael Strahan.
RAW on Monday will focus on the Survivor Series pay-per-view fall-out, as well as the early build to the WWE TLC pay-per-view, which takes place in three weeks and serves as the final PPV effort from WWE in 2013.
This week’s RAW will focus on Randy Orton retaining his WWE Championship against Big Show, John Cena retaining his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio, as well as the Orton-Cena showdown to close out Survivor Series.
Advertised for RAW this week are Orton, Cena, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Wyatt Family, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Kane, The Shield, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Curtis Axel and AJ Lee.
Make sure to check back here at the website later Monday evening for live WWE RAW results coverage.
– As previously reported, WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan is scheduled to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show, “Where Are They Now?” The show is scheduled to air this Sunday night on the OWN network. Other guests listed for the show include Carrot Top and Chris Judd. You can watch a video preview of Hogan’s appearance online at Oprah.com.
– The following are some dates and information for scheduled WWE DVD releases in the early part of 2014:
January 14th — WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2013
-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.
-WWE Superstars Rob Van Dam, Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee and Kaitlyn are scheduled to appear at the 2013 Ringside Fest event on October 26th at Caroline’s Comedy Club. For more information, visit RingsideFest.com.
-The 2013 WWE TLC pay-per-view will be released on DVD on January 14, 2014.
-The WWE Studios film “Christmas Bounty,” starring WWE Superstar The Miz, will be released on DVD on December 3rd.
-In addition to his appearance on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday morning, WWE Superstar John Cena will be all over the place in New York this week promoting the WWE campaign to battle breast cancer with the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
-The presale code for the next WWE RAW from Dallas, Texas is “DALLAS.” The presale will go until Friday, for the RAW on Monday, December 16th, which will be the post-WWE TLC pay-per-view edition of the show.
-Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho’s band, Fozzy, will be performing on Tuesday night, October 1st in Tempe, Arizona at Club Red and on Wednesday, October 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada at Count’s Vamp’d Rock Bar & Grill.
-For those who keep track of this sort of stuff, there were multiple Ric Flair references during some big college football games recently. On the ESPN game on Thursday, when talking about Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, Rece Davis said, “to be the best, you gotta beat the best,” which was followed up with Jesse Palmer throwing in a “Woooo!” Also, during halftime of the Saturday game between Miami and USF, one of the announcers talked about a Miami player who was “playing dirty like Ric Flair out there,” which was also followed up by a passionate “Woooo!”
-Tickets for the WWE TLC pay-per-view event, which is scheduled to take place on December 15th, officially go on-sale this weekend.
-The official WWE website has a pretty interesting read on Daniel Bryan’s time before joining the company. You can check that article out online at WWE.com.
-WWE will be holding a RAW television taping on December 30th in Richmond, Virginia.
-Apparently CM Punk was at an AFI concert on Monday since he had the night off from RAW while he sold the he injuries sustained at the Night Of Champions pay-per-view. As noted earlier, Punk was also given time off from RAW to recover from several legitimate nagging injuries he has been dealing with lately.
– Dolph Ziggler takes aim at John Cena again on this week’s episode of WWE Download, which features The Showoff make a quip regarding the Cenation leader’s wrestling ability.
After a viral video is shown of a German man attempting a cannonball into a frozen pool, Ziggler remarks, “The only thing that would hurt worse would be Lou Thesz’ feelings after watching a John Cena match.”
– R-Truth, who fell to United States Champion Antonio Cesaro Sunday at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, suffered a deep gash in his knee during the bout. Kevin Nash remarked on the severity of the injury, writing on Twitter, “hope @RonKillings is not in too much pain, get well friend.”
– Tonight at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, John Cena will face Dolph Ziggler in a Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract. The Cenation leader addressed tonight’s encounter, stating that history will be made.
“Alright @WWE Brooklyn, time to show me what you’re made of,” wrote Cena on Twitter. “History happens tonight at #TLC do NOT miss Pay Per View TONIGHT!”
– In the latest edition of WWE Countdown, WWE counts down the “Top Table Moments.”
– “The Dog-Faced Gremlin” Rick Steiner is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.
– Promoting his Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract against John Cena tomorrow night at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Dolph Ziggler went on Twitter to taunt his opponent
“studying ladder matches & killing it at the gym -somewhere @JohnCena studies a cue cards poorly crafted reference to my junk,” wrote Ziggler.
– This week on “The JBL & Cole Show,” multi-platinum rapper Flo Rida drops by to talk about the genesis of his name, The Rock and his stirring WrestleMania XXVIII performance.
– WWE will present the final performance of The Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary shows, exclusively on pay-per-view tonight, at 9 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Details on the event are available here.
– Shaul Guerrero (a/k/a Raquel Diaz), daughter of Eddie and Vickie Guerrero, has not been released from her developmental contract with WWE after attempting to quit the organization last week. According to F4WOnline.com, company officials are refusing to release the 21-year-old at this time. One person with knowledge of WWE developmental matters noted to the publication that in recent weeks, she become distant and “seemingly very bitter about the wrestling business.”
– Ticketmaster.com will hold a pre-sale on Thursday for WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, which takes place Dec. 16 in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. The passcode is WWETLC. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
– Tonight’s debut episode of WWE Main Event on ION Television is being heavily promoted today in the New York market on ESPN. The advertisements are centered around John Cena, who is not appearing on the show.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart is featured in today’s “Superstar Spotlight” on WWE.com.