The Undertaker appeared on Wednesday night’s edition of NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” hitting Brad Maddox, who was dressed up in a turkey suit (The Gobbledy Gooker?), with his signature Tombstone piledriver.
The segment featured Fallon taking view suggestions and one fan asked to have The Undertaker hit a Tombstone piledriver on a “guy in a turkey outfit.” Fallon said it was late notice and he wouldn’t know how to get a hold of The Undertaker, when all of a sudden the infamous gong hit.
This led to the action, as after Undertaker came out, Brad Maddox started goofing around in the Gobbledy Gooker outfit as “The Dead Man” removed his gear and nailed him with a Tombstone. He then pinned him as Fallon came over to join them on stage. Fallon tried to shake Undertaker’s hand, but Undertaker just stared at him.
While not included in the video above, Fallon wrapped the segment up by plugging the WWE Network and this month’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Videos have surfaced online of the Undertaker & Wade Barrett segment at this week’s SmackDown taping in Manchester, England. As previously noted, it looks like this was a dark segment and won’t be airing on Thursday’s show.
Here is some video footage from a fan who was in attendance at the tapings on Tuesday:
WWE officials have continued to have discussions regarding their working relationship with WWN Live, the parent-company of EVOLVE, however things are said to be moving slow and no one appears to be rushing anything.
If Triple H and others have their way, NXT will become a full-blown touring brand by the end of 2017, which means a lot of expanding and growth planned for NXT next year. There is reportedly talk of WWN helping to fill some of the void that is created when NXT does go on the road full-time. The idea is that NXT talents who aren’t perceived to be ready for touring can take bookings with WWN in Florida while WWE helps with some of the costs.
WWN is rumored to become somewhat of a WWE territory based out of Florida, with WWE sending them their least experienced developmental talents to improve so that they are ready for NXT tours across the globe. As noted, right now things are still in the very early stages.
With WrestleMania 32 less than 5 months away, let’s take a look at where the card stands in light of a bunch of recent developments.
Originally, the top few matches were slated to be:
Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
The Rock vs. Triple H
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
The Rock will not be competing at WrestleMania due to his movie schedule and more specifically, movie studios having major concerns about whether they’d be able to get insurance for The Rock if he was to get back in the ring. Then things were looking like this:
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H
Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
At some point the decision was made to jump right into Lesnar vs. Undertaker at Hell in a Cell, apparently with the assumption that Vince McMahon had decided on alternate opponents for both men. Of course, Seth Rollins’ ACL/MCL surgery will keep him out of action well past WrestleMania, so he’s out of the mix now as well.
As of this week, these are the top two matches currently planned for WrestleMania 32 (via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter):
– There has been talk within WWE recently about the company being interested in signing Ring Of Honor star Michael Bennett and his partner Matt Tavern as a tag-team when their deals are up with the promotion. Bennett’s wife, former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis, noted her ROH deal is up after the end of this year. Whether or not WWE has interest in Kanellis returning remains to be seen.
– As noted, Rachel Ellering, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Paul Ellering, has been training with Lance Storm at his Storm Wrestling Academy out of Canada. The second generation competitor is scheduled to make her professional debut in a tag-team match with Storm at the Prairie Wrestling Alliance event on November 21st.
It looks like it won’t be long before we see former UFC fighter and Ultimate Fighter veteran Matthew Riddle inside a WWE ring. According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Riddle is expected to start with the company in February.
Riddle reportedly impressed WWE officials during his tryout, however they wanted him to be tested out in the EVOLVE promotion since he had only really wrestled in the Monster Factory gym since leaving MMA.
Many within WWE are said to be high on Riddle’s potential, particularly due to his look and athletic ability, as well as his love for pro wrestling. Riddle actually wanted to be a pro wrestler all along, but ended up in the UFC before he had the connections to make the move.
Although there has been speculation regarding AJ Styles and WWE after WWE.com linked to Styles in a web feature recently, as of this past Monday, the company had not made any contact with Styles.
The video feature, which you can check out here, was about recognizable talents that worked in WWE in the past that fans might not know about. In the video, you can see Styles work a match against The Hurricane.
Styles actually worked three matches for WWE between 2001 and 2002. He won a dark match at a RAW taping in Atlanta, Georgia over Rick Michaels on July 9, 2001, and lost to The Hurricane and Rico in dark matches at RAW and SmackDown tapings in South Carolina on January 21 and January 22 of 2002.
Styles’ current deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling is scheduled to expire after the Tokyo Dome event in January, and he has made it clear that he plans to go wherever he is offered the most money.
In a recent interview with Busted Open Radio, Tommy Dreamer made it clear who he thinks should be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
“Me personally, I think Dean Ambrose is the guy,” said Dreamer. “I think Dean Ambrose has the people’s – the people are behind Dean Ambrose. There’s an underdog way and there’s also that star way and both – to me honestly, Dean Ambrose should be the guy and it could then have Roman Reigns be like, ‘That was supposed to be my spot’. Now you’re totally flipping the switch and making Roman Reigns the jealous guy, you know, and if you want to go further down layers, you could have an awesome beat-down. Here comes, let’s say, the Wyatt Family. Let’s say they get all back together and then who comes out of his injury? Seth Rollins and then you have The Shield back together again. Because we never really had the big Shield vs. the Wyatt Family, which I thought should’ve been a WrestleMania match. They should never have touched.”
Dreamer was there to promote his company House of Hardcore. Busted Open Radio airs on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 2-4pm ET on SiriusXM 93 and on the SiriusXM smartphone app.
Last week on Twitter, Dixie Carter replied to a fan who said TNA should be back on Spike TV. She teased that something may be the in the works, writing “I hear you, stay tuned.”
TNA is reportedly in talks with a couple different networks with greater viewership than Destination America, but it doesn’t sound like Spike is one of them. According to PWInsider.com, no one at Spike TV has heard anything about TNA returning. One well-placed contact at Spike even went as far as to say it was “highly, highly unlikely” that TNA would return to the channel.
PWInsider did report that Spike has discussed doing some live wrestling specials in the future, but not with TNA.
On Tuesday, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins successfully underwent reconstructive surgery to repair ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus tears in his right knee. The surgery took place in Birmingham, Alabama and was done by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas.
He suffered the injury during a match against Kane last week at a live event in Dublin, Ireland. We have a video of him sustaining the injury here.
There’s no word on when Rollins will return to action, but it will most likely be after WrestleMania.
– TNA posted the above video which features Josh Mathews previewing tonight’s edition of Impact Wrestling on Destination America.
– Speaking of tonight’s Impact Wrestling, the following matches are scheduled for the show:
* Mark Andrews vs. DJ Zema Ion
* Matt Hardy vs. Eddie Edwards
* Mr. Anderson vs. Ethan Carter III
* Eli Drake vs. Jessie Godderz
* Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne
– TNA President Dixie Carter posted the following Veteran’s Day tribute on her official Instagram page:
When WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins’ knee exploded last week under a mistimed sunset flip powerbomb attempt in Dublin, Ireland, fans were sad. He’s in the middle of the biggest run of his career and is going to miss WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, which WWE has planned as a “biggest show ever” type of event. That said, when the dust settled and a tournament was announced, there was hope.
With Randy Orton injured, John Cena on sabbatical, Daniel Bryan out indefinitely, and now Rollins out six to nine months, everyone figured WWE had to shake things up. How couldn’t they? They’re being forced into something new and have a ton of options.The bracket and booking for the tournament so far, however, have made it look like they’re not really interested in that. The expected names are in the tournament, like Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, and to an extent, Dolph Ziggler. Everyone else felt like a designated jobber.
Nothing against Kalisto or Titus O’Neil, but they both stuck out like a sore thumb. At least The Miz is a former champion. Tyler Breeze being in the tournament was, in and of itself, a good idea, but then he lost his first ever Raw match in the process to Ambrose. What exactly is the point of that exercise? Seriously, why would you even consider doing that?
The way the brackets line up, it looks like the finals will be Roman Reigns from the left side taking on Dean Ambrose from the right side. There have been a number of times over the last several months where references to their friendship got so heavy-handed that it seemed like one or the other turning heel was inevitable. Now, with a new top heel being a necessity, it’s hard not to think one of them won’t turn. At first, maybe you’d think it’s Ambrose: He’s been a great heel in the past and a strong heel run would make him an even stronger babyface down the line.
After Monday’s Raw, though, that doesn’t look like the plan.
Raw opened with Triple H announcing the tournament and, basically, inviting Roman Reigns to turn heel, join The Authority, and get handed the title as an alternative. After all, that’s what Triple H did as a management-approved top contender in 2002 when the world title split off. Reigns, of course, turned him down…for now.
Where it gets interesting is that there are similarities to The Rock’s storyline 17 years ago this month in 1998. The Rock, then a freshly turned babyface, had left Vince McMahon’s Corporation stable and turned down offers to return. He made it to the finals of the WWF Championship tournament at the famous Survivor Series: Deadly Game PPV, where he was gifted the title in a Montreal Screwjob reprise.
Is this what WWE’s going for? Should they be trying it? One of the things about the fan reaction Monday in Manchester, England was that the fans like Reigns…they just don’t like his current babyface persona and wanted him to turn heel. That’s probably not changing for a while. A heel run where he wipes off the stink of WWE trying to model him too closely on John Cena would be a good setup for an eventual run as top babyface, similar. t0 what I said about Ambrose but arguably more necessary.
That would shake things up. Ambrose turning would shake things up to a point and probably help him, but feels like the worse thing possible for Reigns. At this point, I don’t see what option they have other than Reigns turning heel to get him the momentum he needs.
Meanwhile, in his WWE.com interview that went up today, Triple H had this to say (h/t Cageside Seats for the transcription):
People will do amazing things when given the opportunity. Some people will look at that opportunity and turn it down because they think they know better. Some people would look at that and say they’re crazy for turning that opportunity down. But I can guarantee you this: That opportunity is still there. Somebody will be crazy enough to take that opportunity. Somebody is willing to do absolutely anything to be the man.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has answered some new messages from his fans in the Q&A section of his website. Here are the highlights:
On WWE booking Undertaker & Kane to squash the Wyatt family on TV:
The heels have to retaliate in some manner or you are right inasmuch as there is now no real reason for the match.
On the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament:
If booked wisely and executed in a big way by the talents, several new talents could benefit by being in the tournament. Based on the recent trends of WWE booking I have no idea where the tournament is going. I like a Corporate Champion IE Reigns winning and facing Lesnar who wins the Royal at WrestleMania.
On if The Great Muta will ever wrestle in WWE:
I guess that one never says never but Muta’s knees are shot. Perhaps a one off some day but that’s iffy.
– WWE is advertising The Undertaker for Monday Night Raw in Greenville, SC. PWInsider.com reports that the creative team’s decision to add The Undertaker to Monday’s show, which is the go-home show for Survivor Series, was just made on Tuesday at the SmackDown tapings.
The Undertaker and Kane are advertised to face two members of The Wyatt Family in a tag team match at Survivor Series, but Bray Wyatt has yet to reveal which two members of the Wyatts will be in the match.
– A copy of Thursday’s episode of WWE SmackDown has surfaced online, and it reportedly does not show The Undertaker’s segment with King Barrett. This could mean it was just a dark segment for the live audience at the taping in Manchester, England. The pirated copy of the show cuts to a backstage promo then a commercial right where the ‘Taker segment would have been.
New NXT star Rich Swann recently spoke with WWE.com about signing with the company, his goals and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On how training at the WWE Performance Center compares to training in dojos in Japan:
“It’s very similar [as far as] the training regimen and the schedule, but WWE’s facility is just a bit nicer. [Laughs.] The dojo’s grimy; in the winter it’s cold and in the summer it’s hot. No air conditioning. It’s crazy. Plus, you’re in a country where you barely speak the language in the beginning, it definitely takes a toll. In Japan, you gotta get it, you’ve gotta go after it. You have to prove yourself and wrestle what they call the “young boys.” They don’t teach them the art of wrestling until they feel they deserve it, so when you’re in there with them, you’re getting beat up and bruised and smacked and thrown around and you’re having to prove yourself.”
On who he was influenced by:
“Wrestlers like Psicosis, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, RVD, Jerry Lynnn, Super Crazy, like that. Once I found out what ECW was when I was in middle school — boom — that turned me. WCW, too. I love these bigger guys, but I knew I was never going to be that big. The cruiserweights, however, look at these guys move, flipping around, doing crazy things and being daredevils. Guys like The Hardys. I was drawn to them because that’s what I wanted to do.”
On his goals in NXT:
“Definitely. If you’re in wrestling, you want to be the top guy and you want to be the champion. But my goal right now is to make it onto NXT Live Events, make it onto NXT at Full Sail and TakeOvers, and I want to take it one step at a time. And as the time comes, I just want to have killer matches and do things that have never been done before.”
– WWE posted the above video to celebrate the Veteran’s Day holiday today.
– WWE taped the following matches for tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network:
* Adrien Reese vs. Peyton Royce
* Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger
* NXT Women’s Champion Bayley, Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley vs. Blake, Murphy
* Nia Jax vs. indie wrestler Deonna Purrazzo
* The Mechanics vs. The Vaudevillains for the NXT Tag Team Titles
– Former WCCW announcer Marc Lowrance is the guest on the latest edition of Steve Austin’s “Steve Austin Show” podcast at PodcastOne.com. The official description for the episode reads as follows:
“Former WCCW announcer Marc Lowrance has fond memories of the Dallas Sportatorium where he called matches for the Von Erichs, and the Fabulous Freebirds. He shares what he learned from Gary Hart, Bronko Lubich, and Bill Mercer, why he misses kayfabe, and what he thinks about the loss of the territories.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official Q&A section at JRsBarBQ.com, fielding questions from fans about the ongoing WWE title tournament and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On how he sees the WWE title tournament playing out:
“Based on the recent trends of WWE booking I have no idea where the tournament is going. I like a Corporate Champion IE Reigns winning and facing Lesnar who wins the Royal at WrestleMania.”
On if WWE should use the tournament to elevate new stars:
“If booked wisely and executed in a big way by the talents, several new talents could benefit by being in the tournament.”
On if WWE should put the title on someone who’s never been champion before:
“I agree that is a viable option as I outlined on FoxSports.com and on my blogs here on the site plus the Ross Report this week. However, based on who’s in the tournament the scenario that you outline seems to be a long shot at best.”
On how booking is done when you do talent-sharing or co-promote shows:
“The promotes and bookers generally had a working relationship before their talents were intermingled with other promotions. It was all worked out during the booking process.”
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently spoke with WrestlingINC.com during his promotional trip in India. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On if being one of the first “indy darlings” in WWE made things hard for him in the company initially:
At first, I think there were a lot of misconceptions about the guys who wrestled for a long time on the independents, like, “Oh, they can’t make it in the WWE, because it’s just a different… it’s a larger arena”. I would wrestle sometimes in front of as few as 15 people, but also sometimes in front of thousands of people on the independent scene, but that’s very different from wrestling in front of ten thousand people every single night. It’s a different audience; you didn’t see a lot of kids at the independent shows. There weren’t a lot of 5 year old kids coming to the independent shows. So you have to wrestle for those people too, and the thought process was that, somebody like me – I’m just an average size guy. That’s not what captivates the kids’ imaginations, right? When they see someone like John Cena, who literally looks like Superman; what am I going to do to capture those children’s imagination? And even when I was a kid, what captured my imagination? Jake “The Snake” Roberts, people with animals, people with fancy face paint, and all that kind of stuff.
“There was a lot of hesitation, as far as like, “Wait a second, how is this 5’8″, 190 pound average person going to connect with these people”, in what they call as “superstars”? We’re called superstars, so, “How is he going to connect?” And that was the biggest question mark. They had a lot of doubts about me for a long time, but the real benchmark, for if somebody can connect with the WWE Universe, is if they connect. So it doesn’t matter if you’re big or small or whatever; if I go out there and the fans react, well then I’ve done my job.”
On other independent stars such as Kevin Owens and Finn Balor doing well in WWE:
“I think it’s a natural evolution of what happens. Because, RAW right now is three hours long, right? So what happens is, before, when RAW was two hours, you didn’t see many long matches, and there were separate brands. There was RAW and Smackdown!, and you didn’t see people on both shows very often. Well now, we have a three hour RAW and two hour Smackdown!, so guys are wrestling long matches on both shows. And who’re going to stand out on that kind of platform? Guys who know how to be different in the ring, who can go out there and wrestle a 10, 12, 15 minute match twice a week, and not have the fans get bored by it.
“Because realistically, if you take wrestlers from the previous generations, and if they had wrestled as much on television as we have, they would be over exposed. But then, you won’t like them as much. That’s one of the biggest battles our generation faces; the previous generations’ battle was getting exposure, trying to get exposure. Now our battle is over exposure, and those who can handle over exposure the best are the ones who are popular, and incidentally, people who handle over exposure are the ones who’ve spent years wrestling in all the different places. So they know how to interact with people in different settings, and that kind of stuff. So I think it is natural that the independent stars are the people coming up and doing very well.”
On Kane’s longevity in WWE:
“So a lot of it is, he is very smart. He knows what he is doing. But also, you have to, and this is for all of us. The same applies for my popularity, for Steve Austin’s popularity… a lot of it depends on luck. If he gets a bad injury, at a certain time in his career when he is getting a big opportunity, all of a sudden, maybe his career in the WWE isn’t as long. If one thing happens this way instead of that way, he may not still be in the WWE. But, that said, he’s got really lucky breaks, and he’s good enough to capitalize on those breaks, and that’s why he has been here for so long. He’s smart, he’s really good at what he does, and for the most part he’s entertaining.”
– NXT Champion Finn Balor is scheduled for several WWE RAW and SmackDown television tapings after the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 22nd. Unless Balor is introduced on the main roster in the next few weeks, he will likely be working dark matches at the TV tapings.
– As noted, Monday’s taped edition of RAW in Manchester, England drew 3.173 million viewers, down from last week’s average of 3.248 million viewers. The final RAW rating came in at 2.23, which was also down from last week’s show, which finished with a 2.32 final rating.
– Speaking of Monday’s RAW, WWE posted the following “Top 10 Moments” compilation video for the show.
– In an update from yesterday’s WWE SmackDown television taping in Manchester, England, it appears that The Undertaker and King Barrett segment in the middle of the show was actually a dark segment for the live crowd. As noted, the segment began with Barrett talking about the Wayne Rooney incident from RAW and ended with The Undertaker coming out and hitting him with a Tombstone piledriver.
– As noted, Triple H and Corey Graves recently appeared as Christopher Nowinski’s Concussion Legacy Foundation’s 8th annual Impact Awards in Boston, Mass. and presented the foundation with a check. That check was for $1.5 million. You can check out photos from the event at WWE.com.
– WWE and James Storm are still hyping the former TNA stars’ NXT debut and teasing his eventual return. Storm and the official NXT account tweeted the following this week:
Engaged WWE couple Rusev and Lana, both of whom are currently away from WWE due to injuries, are on vacation in Europe. Here are some photos of them in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Rusev’s home town:
TNA Knockout Taryn Terrell recently spoke with FOX411 about her TNA career and becoming a born-again Christian. Below are some of the highlights.
On her decision to share her journey in finding God publicly:
“You know I found that when I was looking for God I didn’t have the resources, and it was hard for me to connect with more mature Christians, so I thought that if somebody could watch my testimony and see me as an infant Christian, you know, I’m just a baby and I’m still learning, maybe they could connect and they could realize exactly how to find God for themselves.”
On if there has been any reaction from her fellow colleagues:
You know, it’s been really cool because a couple wrestlers have texted me or reached out by phone and said, you know, they’re Christians as well and they would love to share their journey with me, and talk. And it’s just a really great way not only that I can connect with other wrestlers who have been in the entertainment field which is a very tempting world but you know that helps me mature as a Christian, and get better connections with my peers which gives me a better connection with God.”
On walking the fine line of being a performer in the wrestling business and remaining a faithful Christian:
That is something I’m actually struggling with now. You know it certainly wasn’t the fault of WWE or the fault of any other entertainment company that I’ve worked for. It wasn’t the fault of Playboy These were all my decisions and these were, you know, my life choices that I made that were, you know, certainly not of a Christian lifestyle. Like you said, the sexiness and, you know, me essentially being a temptation to men and, you know, that’s sort of the thing I learned that I really want to be a role model. I truly do. I want to be able to help other people get saved just as people helped me to be saved so, you know, that is something I’m struggling with now and realizing that, you know, even in the way that I dress it is important to be Christian. It is important to be more modest and I want to use the ability that I have as performing to connect people. You know, I love to perform. I love to entertain. God gave me those skills to do so and I’ve learned that He put me on this Earth to be able to use that and to reach people, and to bring people near God.”
On if not wanting to dress provocative anymore is conflicting with her TNA career and if at some point she might walk away from the business:
Absolutely. I think that I have played, and recently, I have played an even more sexy character than I was used to playing, and it’s something that I prayed on and I know that’s not who I want to portray anymore. I know that’s not who I am and it’s not who I want to portray, and how can I connect with people, and sort of live that double standard. And yes, if I cannot find a way to use God and be godly in the things that I do then yes, it is time to walk away.”
– Here is video of Roman Reigns answering questions at a WWE 2K16 press event in Spain. A transcript of the interview is available here in Spanish.
– WWE is apparently still adding episodes of SmackDown to the WWE Network in chronological order as the March 16, 2000 show is now available for viewing. Every SmackDown episode through this date with the exception of the February 3, 2000 show can be seen (Chris Benoit faced Triple H in the main event of that show).
– Sasha Banks apparently feels that WWE chief Vince McMahon doesn’t support her.
Kurt Angle recently sat down with the Nottingham Post to promote his “Golden Truth” public speaking tour, where he’ll tackle any questions from his fans. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Kurt Angle on why Vince pushed him as a heel early:
“Vince wanted me to look like somebody that was just too good to be true. I didn’t think they would boo me but Vince knew they would. He saw what happened with the Rock when they tried to push him.
He wanted to do the same thing with me because this time he knew they would boo me. I had no training on the mic or anything like that. I was trained to be a pro wrestler. Vince threw me in the river and watched to see if I would sink or swim. I had a few months in Memphis and I was basically on TV. The top guys – Rock, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker – they carried me for a year.”
Why kayfabe returning could be a good thing:
“Wrestling is always changing. There is no shortage of talent out there,” he said. “It’s an industry that goes in cycles. It’s a little stagnant now. Something needs to change.
I was talking to my wife about it. I think it would be good to go back to kayfabe. When you lifted the curtain and showed people backstage it was new and intriguing, but if you go back to how it was, it could be the change wrestling needs.”
Angle on the Golden Truth tour coming to the UK:
“It’s something I’m really looking forward to. I’ve got a lot to tell and people can ask me whatever they want. UK fans are great. They’re a lot more intrigued by the backstage element of the business.
They respect the business a lot and hold guys in high regard. I’ve been going to the UK for about 15 years. They really appreciate your effort and that makes you work hard to put on a good match for them.”
Related: Kurt Angle Says There’s A Possibility He’ll Fight Ken Shamrock In 2016
Brock Lesnar is being advertised to appear at the January 8th live event in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center. This will be a non-televised event, unless WWE ends up making it a Network special.
This marks Brock Lesnar’s first time appearing in Houston in over 10 years. The arena is also advertising John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Sheamus, The Dudley Boyz, and Divas. Tickets start at $20.
