With Michael Cole “injured,” Byron Saxton handled the sit-down video interview for WWE.com this week. The full interview, which features Roman Reigns, is scheduled to air during this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
“It was terrible. It was right there, I was right there. I climbed the mountain, I felt the top, I was looking down and I got pulled right off of it in a matter of moments” said Reigns during the interview about coming up short at WrestleMania 31 this past Sunday.
“That Seth Rollins, that was his job and that’s what he did,” Reigns added. “He had the Money In the Bank briefcase with a contract he could cash in at any time and what a perfect time – let the animals take each other out and pick the bones. That’s what he did. But I did something too…”
The USA Network issued a press release touting the ratings success of Monday’s post-WrestleMania 31 edition of RAW.
USA NETWORK’S WWE ‘MONDAY NIGHT RAW’ ATTRACTS LARGEST AUDIENCE IN NEARLY THREE YEARS
5.4 Million Total Viewers Tuned-In to See Their Favorite WWE Superstars Live, Following a Record-Breaking WrestleMania
NEW YORK, NY – April 1, 2015 – Following WRESTLEMANIA 31, where Seth Rollins won his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship, this week’s WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW delivered 2.4 million adults 18-49, 2.4 million adults 25-54 and 5.4 million total viewers from 8-11 p.m. (live +same). This is the highest total viewership for RAW in nearly three years, since July 23, 2012, the night of the RAW 1000 special.
Monday’s RAW was televised live from the SAP Center in San Jose, CA, and was highlighted by Brock Lesnar challenging Rollins, the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, to a rematch; United States Champion John Cena defending his title against Dean Ambrose; and Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan defeating Dolph Ziggler.
Monday’s RAW was up vs. last week’s telecast by 27% in adults 18-49, 24% in adults 25-54 and 28% in total viewers 2+. USA was the #1 network Monday night in primetime in adults 18-34 as well as men 18-34 and 18-49 for all of television — including the broadcast networks.
RAW was also the #2 most social show of the day with 400,000 tweets, reaching a unique audience of 3.6 million people and generating 27 million impressions.
WWE has an article on their official website updating fans on the physical condition of the WWE RAW announce team.
The article states that Michael Cole, JBL and Booker T will all be back at next Monday’s RAW following their “injuries” sustained in the attack by Brock Lesnar at this past Monday’s post-WrestleMania 31 edition of the show.
According to the story, Cole was diagnosed with a bulging disc and is battling severe neck, back and shoulder pain. JBL was diagnosed with an abdominal wall tear, and Booker T suffered contusions and soreness.
Jeff Hardy recently spoke with the folks at Ring Rust Radio for an interview.
On whether he has any thoughts of toning down his in-ring style: “It’s always how I’m gonna be till I can’t do it anymore. It’s kinda of a day by day, match by match process with me. I’m pretty sure I know what my body is capable of doing and getting away with without getting seriously injured. That’s the main thing is to avoid that big, serious injury. I feel confident in whatever I come up with in my mind that I can pull it off. I always go for it unless someone shuts me down. As long as I am able to wrestle I will always be that Jeff Hardy style people know and love until I can’t.”
On how important it was to him to know that his cage match spot garnered mainstream attention: “It doesn’t even really matter to me. Matt is more the social media guy. He is the one that wants to get it everywhere. I’m kinda stand behind the evolution of it all. I don’t even tweet that much but I will tweet a picture after a match with my face paint and say thank you Orlando or wherever I am. That’s really all I do, I’m pretty much an anti-social when it comes to that. That stuff is more along Matt’s territory where he cares about all that stuff and I really don’t care about the impact it makes on others. I just care if it was a great match and if the story is good. This Friday on Impact at 9 p.m. on Destination America it is Hardy’s revenge. You gotta tune in to check it out, I get so much revenge on him you just won’t know what to do. It’s a great match, great show, and a flawless story. TNA is doing great right now and we’re just gonna keep climbing.”
On what winning the TNA Tag Titles would mean to him: “It’s all about the collection you know? It’s something to add to the collection and naturally as a pro-wrestler you want to every title you possibly can. From the lightweight championship, tag team championship, U.S. title, Intercontinental title, world heavyweight championship which is the metaphorical brass ring to grab they say. Naturally you want to win them all to add to your collection. To look back on your career and say that you did that, that is something Matt and I haven’t done yet. We have had some killer matches in TNA with the Wolves, Team 3D, and we are going to continue to have those matches until we win those World titles. It’s inevitable that we are and I am looking forward to it.”
On whether he and Matt view their reunion as an opportunity to help restore the importance tag team wrestling: “Kind of, yeah, I would think so. I was always a believer of tag team ranks could be just as important as the world championship and singles matches. I think we could see that down the road in some company where the world tag team titles are more important than the world heavyweight title. Back in the day when we were just the Hardy Boyz before we went our solo ways, we just went out there and had the greatest matches ever. We wanted to steal the show every night and I feel that way now with Matt every time we get together and have a match. I always want to mention the Young Bucks, cause we have wrestled them several times and it is a blast getting together with those guys. We always put together killer matches and tear it up…”
On whether younger wrestlers approach him for advice: “I never view myself as a leader. I compliment people when I see something I really like and tell them that was good, keep doing what you’re doing. That’s as much as advice as you will get out of me. Matt is more that trainer to help a young star be better. If he ever opens a school I might pop in and my big claim to fame is selling and how to take a good butt whooping. I never saw myself as a leader but Matt definitely is that guy.”
On becoming the first OMEGA Champion since 2000: “It’s extremely cool. To capitalize on that like Shane Helms the Hurricane has, all the power and weight behind those shows and everything it takes to pull those off. He was hanging at my house one weekend and we watched a show where the Hardy Boyz wrestled the Briscoe Brothers. Just from beginning to end it was such a good show and all I could say was wow. It was pay-per-view worthy and it was just a match at a high school. All the way through it was built and built until the main event perfectly. Now the possibilities are endless especially now that I have this alter ego Willow. Now when I have these crazy ideas I run them by Shane and he says, “Oh wow, yeah that is cool.” It’s a new day in pro-wrestling and with Omega we can and we will pull of anything. Down the road with Jeff Hardy and Willow you are going to see some really cool, I almost want to say magic-like and special setups for some alter ego Willow stuff going on with Omega.”
On whether there a different variation or completely new type of stipulation that you think fans would want to see in TNA: “Stipulation as in match wise? There’s always room for that. I have an idea but I haven’t pushed it yet. I asked the guy in TNA that does the ring work if there was a way to spin the ring like WCW did back in the Universal days. It would spin around so I got to thinking, and I asked if he could put a ring on a thing that would spin to make it go around and around, make it go faster and slow it down. A rotating match to pull off in the future, where you start the match and at a certain time it’s going to start to rotate and go faster and faster. If you could pull off spots while the ring is rotating would be awesome in itself. Anything is possible if people are willing to attempt to pull it off and get over the fear of trying. I’m willing to try anything.”
Expectations are high for the 31st edition of Wrestlemania, as we get ready to witness history this Sunday on the Grandest Stage of Them All. There is some serious drawing power on this year’s card, with the likes of Lesnar, Sting, Cena, HHH and the Undertaker scheduled to get it on. Many fans feel disappointed by the lackluster build to the event but fortunately the spectacle of WrestleMania is its lure, and there is nothing that can diminish the magnitude of the event.
Executive producers at Lucha Underground know this is the most important week in the world of professional wrestling and responded accordingly with a double main event for both the AAA and LU World Heavyweight Championship titles.
The promotion is looking to heat things up this summer as they are working on a major show that will be booked as “their version of WrestleMania”. The event is scheduled to take place in August and will be called Ultimo Lucha. While pay-per-view is not an option at this juncture, it may end up being a two-hour or even three-hour show on El Rey. Preparations for the event are ongoing as of this writing (spoiler ahead, you’ve been warned) with drastic changes scheduled to take place (still giving you a chance to focus your eyes on the subsequent paragraph) such as Johnny Mundo turning heel in most volatile fashion. He will enter a program with AAA World Heavyweight Champion Alberto El Patron that will begin airing sometime in May and in all probability will spill over as part of the main event at this summer’s Ultimo Lucha event. By the way, Lucha Underground officials are starting to crack down on fans bringing mobile devices into their tapings because of the feeling that they are sending out news and spoilers. They might not be allowing any mobile devices in the building going forward. Not sure how to feel about this as cell phones are an imperative necessity in today’s society. I remember when WWE had this problem during the Monday Night Wars. The only viable solution is going live. You can’t tell fans not to carry their phones or take pictures, might as well tell them not to chant or have fun either.
Last week we were treated to a very well produced casket match that fans and journalists alike are calling one of the best matches of the year so far. This week we see a major shift in storyline as tonight’s episode is centered around the AAA world title and the new and improved Lucha Underground world title. The new belt is an absolute beauty, one of the best designed titles out there.
We get a video package recapping Alberto’s debut against Texano, Konnan teaching Puma the art of war, Cage’s path of destruction and a bit on the drama involving Ivelisse, Angelico and Son of Havov. Matt Striker and Vampiro welcome us to the show, its time for Lucha.
Angelico vs Son of Havoc
Havoc starts off hot with a spear on Angelico, sending him rolling to the outside, then goes for an outside dive through the ropes and either gets tangled up or stops midway to change position. I rewinded several times and couldn’t tell. Striker said he was “changing position to adjust to Angelico getting up the floor” but I think it was a botch. Either way good job on the commentating. Back in the ring, Havoc curbstomps Angelico for a two count. Angelico hits a mix of his cool strike/kick combos. Havoc gets up to the top rope but gets a Pele style soccer kick to the head. Angelico is one heck of athlete. He does an awesome running flipping senton over the corner turnbuckle to the outside that looked amazing. Hits his target right on the money. Had he not, he would probably be in the hospital right now. The crowd is chanting holy s***. Havoc hits a bicycle kick then a standing shooting star press for 2, then a handspring elbow to the corner followed by a backbreaker. Ivelisse literally does not shut up throughout the match. She reminds me of why I’m single. She grabs Havoc’s beard while on the apron but he pushes her away so he could kick an approaching Angelico. Havoc then hits a sick springboard doublestomp onto Angelico’s back and into a standing moonsault. Angelico then lands a running knee on Havoc while he’s in the corner. These guys are tearing it up. He goes for the Fall of the Angels crucifix powerbomb but Havoc counters it into a hurricanrana. That was awesome, hard to pull off and he did it with flair. I love it when wrestlers make difficult moves look easy. Shows their aptitude and poise. They battle it out on the top rope and Havoc lifts Angelico like he’s going for a superplex but crotches him on the top rope instead. He then grabs a mic and says IVELISSE, YOU ARE HOLDING ME BACK, YOU ARE WHY I’VE BEEN LOSING, YOU ARE DUMPED! Finally some balls man! He lands a Shooting Star Press on Angelico and finally gets the win. Havoc wins, Havoc wins! And in the process regains his manhood. Great contest that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Ivelisse can’t believe she got dumped. She kicks Angelico right in the face. That’s what he gets for acting like the lame guys out there who hit girls up fresh out of a long term relationship.
We go straight to Dario Cueto’s office where he is signing an official contract. It’s Hernandez and according to Cueto, Konnan has high praise for him. He says here in Lucha Underground he will not be held back by being in some *smug face* tag team. Cueto gives him a front row seat to the main event.
Bull Rope Match- Alberto El Patron vs Texano
AAA World Heavyweight Championship
This blood feud started in AAA and has crossed over, no pun intended, into Lucha Underground. Both men are tied to the rope as they trade strikes to start off. Alberto dropkicks Texano outside and hits a hurricanrana from the top apron. He climbs up again but Texano smashes him with the cowbell and chokes him with the rope. Texano then grabs a chair and hits Alberto in the back. Goes for another chair shot but Alberto hits a sweet looking DDT that flips him inside out. Texano shakes it off and hits a dropkick but then gets cracked over the head with the bell as he climbs the top rope. Alberto takes advantage and hits a superplex. Digging the offense. He hits his signature backstabber, vintage Del Rio. He grabs the rope Texano brought to the ring and whips him with it but Texano fights back and hits a sick codebreaker for a near fall. A very near fall. Alberto eventually positions Texano on the top rope in a reverse suplex position and hits a brainbuster for two. I’ve always loved that move and Alberto executes it to prefection every time. He calls for the armbreaker but Texano launches him into the wedged chair on the turnbuckle. That was nice. Near fall again. Texano grabs a table but Alberto hits a double knee crusher on the arm and then hits a superkick. He goes for a super hurricanrana but Texano counters and powerbombs him through the table! This one is over, he goes for the cover- 1, 2, kick out! The crowd is going nuts for this. All they’re missing is a ladder for this to be the first ever bull rope TLC match. Texano smashes Alberto with the cowbell while on the top rope and goes for a superplex but El Patron grabs his arm while hanging outside the ring Minoru Suzuki style and taps out Texano to retain. This was solid. Texano is a heck of a rudo (heel) and this match showed why he was AAA heavyweight champion for 2 straight years.
Konnan is seen training Puma in the gym with intermittent flashes of Cage flashing through his mind. In walks Hernandez and Konnan tells Puma they are great friends that go way back, even drops the LAX reference. Hernandex tells Puma “what’s up big time, I’m a big fan”. It looked as if Puma felt he was about to get jumped. They keep teasing betrayal. Konnan is one sketchy guy who is not to be trusted.
Boyle Heights Street Fight – Cage vs. Prince Puma
Lucha Underground World Heavyweight Championship
Striker and Vampiro hype the fact that anything can happen in a Boyle Heights street fight. Having grown up in the hardest projects in town I can tell you from experience that it’s true. Hernandez is watching front row. Dario Cueto comes out with the new title belt and says “this is what you’ll be fighting for!” It’s so well crafted and the gold makes it shine even in darkness. It is truly an awesome looking belt. Cueto is one heck of a compelling authority figure. Puma lands a nice dropkick but Cage brings the power game to Puma and clotheslines him of the apron. Flips him inside out.Puma goes for a hurricanrana on the outside but gets powerbombed into the post. They’re outside battling it out, Cage is beating the tar out of Puma. He throws him back into the ring and gets a chair. Cage goes for a chairshot but gets kicked in the stomach prompting Puma to nail a Vandaminator on Cage. Puma grabs a garbage can lid and hits Cage repeatedly with it. He then does a standing shooting star press onto Cage with the lid on top of him. Puma sets a table up outside but Cage nails Puma with the lid. Back in the ring Puma springboards but Cage catches him in a torture rack position and hits a backbreaker. Cage is everything you need in a champion. He’s fast, athletic and very powerful. He tries to deadlift suplex Puma out of the ring but to no avail. Puma then hits a shooting star press from the top apron onto Cage who is outside. Wow, that was extreme and a thing of beauty; spectacular. If you want to know why he’s champ, that’s why. Cage is placed on the table outside, Puma then springboard 450 splashes Cage through it. Puma is a highlight reel. Camera keeps cutting to Hernandez and Konnan during all of this. Back in the ring, Puma goes for a top rope maneuver but Cage pushes him and sends him flying to the floor. He places Puma’s head in the chair and then slams him into the post. Konann tries to intervene only to be tossed onto the metal fence. Cage takes the garbage can and tosses it in ring. Puma nails Cage with a suplex on the chair and then signals for a 630. Cage moves out of the way as Puma lands on his butt. Too many of those can be lethal to the spinal cord. Cage hits a clothesline from hell for a near fall. Cage hits his Weapon X special, a move which I love by the way, but does not go for the pin. For a moment I thought we had a new world champion. He proceeds to ground and pound Puma with his fists. He hits Puma with repeated powerbombs, the last one onto the garbage can. Cage now calls out Hernandez. Hernandez distracts Cage long enough for Konnan to hit Cage with his “loaded cane”. Another garbage can is tossed in by Hernandez and Puma hits the 630 for the win. Wasn’t thrilled about the finish but the match itself was great. Hernandez didn’t really do much for me or the match but it’ll make for a nice feud between Cage and Hernandez in the near future. Puma is a gifted athlete. He’s unafraid, impressive and full of life. He deserves to be champion even if he doesn’t have the look that Cage has. Cage’s time will come. For now, all hail Prince Puma.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Son of Havoc defeated Angelico @ 6:50 via pin
AAA Mega Championship Bullrope Match: Champion Alberto El Patron vs. Texano @ 8:26 via submission
Lucha Underground Street Fight: Champion Prince Puma defeated Cage @ 12:18 via pin
Final thoughts
Great show but for some reason I feel last week’s was better. That casket match was sick. What was great about tonight’s show is that it felt important and that’s always vital. It was great to see Son of Havoc break away from Ivelisse and finally become a babyface. The Alberto El Patron vs.Texano match was another good chapter for them, even with the anticlimactic ending. The main event was good, though a bit overbooked toward the end. It should have been more about Puma/Cage and not Konnan/Hernandez, but I understand it helps further the story. We have seemingly closed the book on the Patron vs. Texano and Cage vs. Puma feuds for now and will probably start fresh next week with new storylines. Lucha Underground has learned the art of not only writing but booking episodic TV. They have taken us on a rollercoaster of a ride building to peak before taking us to the valley low and peaking again. We’ve had some great cliffhangers throughout the show and it continues to be easy to follow and very fun to watch.
From Boyle Heights, I’m Rudy Cabrera, see you next week.
– WWE staff members left from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara this week to head to AT&T Stadium in the Dallas area to begin early work for next year’s WrestleMania 32 event.
– The reason there wasn’t as much pyro at this year’s WrestleMania is due to WWE being forced to deal with strict FAA rules as Levi’s Stadium is directly under flight paths to the San Jose International Airport.
– WWE officials reportedly enjoyed working with Dana Warrior during WrestleMania Week this year. As a result, it’s believed we will see her involved with WWE more in the future.
Former WWE and TNA star Devon recently appeared as a guest on the Interactive Wrestling Radio show to promote the Team 3D Wrestling Academy. Below are some highlights:
On the origins of the school: “I’m July of 2005, we left the WWE. We knew we were going to TNA but we also knew we were gpomg tp Japan. Anyone who knows this business knows a week without getting in that ring, (laughs) can hurt you. After being off for 2 months, we went to a wrestling school here. I came from Johnny Rodz’s wrestling school. I had heard of schools where you pay your money but then you don’t really learn anything but I never experienced it. We just went down there because at the time, it was the only place that had a ring that we could work out in. This guy wasn’t really doing a lot with them (his students.) After about a year or two, these guys were getting frustrated. I was going down and helping them out. They said, “Why don’t you guys open up a wrestling school? If you did that, we would definitely come”. I approached Bubba with the idea because we always had said we would open up a wrestling academy. Thus, we opened up the Team 3D Academy in Kissimmee, Florida!”
On why Florida is where so much wrestling focus is put today: “Indy wrestling is starting to make a move back. Right now, it just seems Florida has become the hot bed for wrestling. We are happy that WWE has taken so many of our guys. We’re fortunate to say that WWE has used so many of our guys for tryouts. There have been guys that they (WWE) say don’t have it or need improvement that they (WWE) have sent to the Team 3D Academy. I think it speaks volumes. We don’t allow anyone to leave unless we know fully that you are going to represent that school in a good way”.
On the training process: “It is very structured. We take 45 of the most basic moves, moves that you will see and use, and we make that the beginners class. Once you know the basics, you advance to the Advanced Class where we will teach you what to do in a match and what not to do in a match. While many of the schools have a name, me and Bubba are hands on. We’re in there helping you… I’m in the ring, helping you. Bubba is there helping with promos and story telling. That is one of the advantages we have at Team 3D Wrestling Academy, we’re not just guys who opened up a wrestling school, put our name on it, and had some other guys teach you. We’re actually getting in that ring., helping you along, and teaching you. We are the trainers.”
On the evolution of the business and how it changes the training plan: “I don’t care how the business changes. I don’t care how it evolves into this new generation… If you don’t have good story telling, and you don’t know how to put a match together… I don’t care all the flipping and flying you’re doing, you’re on borrowed time. You are going to fall short one way one day. Bubba loves to compare us to the rock group KISS. When KISS came out with Detroit Rock City, Christine (Sixteen), Dr. Love… You loved to hear those song – I don’t care how old you were! But, when they made the new songs, not knocking on KISS, but you didn’t care for it. You wanted to see Gene Simmons blow the fire, you wanted to see him spit the blood. You wanted to see Ace Frehley go crazy on the guitar… ” James mentions that for a good time of the 80’s and 90’s, KISS were not in make-up and Ace wasn’t in the band. “Exactly, and once they did that, it really didn’t matter anymore. But once they did that (put the make-up back on), people loved it again. That is just like the wrestling business. I don’t care how many flips you can do. People still want good story telling. That is what Johnny Rodz taught us and that is what we teach – Good story telling. The things that you know. The 3D, the What’s Up, the Belly to Back, taking and giving homage to LOD, by doing the Doomesday, we do things (like KISS) the fans recognize. You don’t take away what got you there in the first place.”
On LOD and Team 3D battling for the #1 tag team spot in wrestling history: “They set the stage. We always put over Animal and Hawk. You can say we’re #1 but we say we’re #2. LOD will always be #1 in our hearts because we’re taking over where they left off. You can’t have a future without recognizing the past.”
On the “Old School Rules with New School Tolls” at the Academy: “If you look at the Attitude Era, each character was them. Austin was a beer drinking redneck, it really was Austin! The Rock, conceited, could come at you with a punch-line like that – That was The Rock! Taker! There were times I was in the ring with Taker and I thought he thought he really was dead! That was them! When you become a character that is a part of you, it works because it is you. When you give someone a character that isn’t them and hope they hit a Home Run with it, it doesn’t happen. It has to be part of them.”
On the sale price: “You know the WWE Network, $9.99? Well, we are doing the same thing, $999 for a tuition year. $999. That is a hell of a deal! Show me one wrestling school, show me one, that has done anything like we’ve done.”
On Bubba returning to WWE at the Royal Rumble: “I was very happy and very honored that the fans never forgot him but also never forgot me. For them to have been cheering for him like they were and still know and to accept the fact that we have been gone for ten years but we have never been forgotten!”
On why he wasn’t at the Rumble as well: “I look at it from a Biblical standpoint, if God wanted me to be there at the Royal Rumble, I would have been there.”
On a possible WWE Return: “There is a great chance we could return to WWE. THere is also a chance we may not. Only God knows the answer to that.”
On the fall of the Aces and Eights: “If the creator of Sons of Anarchy (Kurt Sutter) had the show idea taken away from him, it would not have been as successful as it was The minute the creator of the Aces and Eights had it taken away from him and the other people put their hands in it, that is where it went south. I believe the Aces and Eights could still be going today. But, the original creator was taken off of it and it was watered down to their version and therefore Aces and Eights went the way it went.”
On his kids now training at the Team 3D Academy: “My boys, Terrence and Terrell, who were seen on Impact, have graduated from high school. They went to college. They are personal trainers now at Gold’s Gym… They now go to the school. You know, Bubba is a hard ass when it comes to looking at people and saying “They’ve got it”… For Bubba to look at my boys and say they’re good speaks volumes… It speaks volumes… I’m definitely looking for them to take over where Bubba and I leave off.”
Part-time WWE Supertar Chris Jericho is sporting a new look, having shaved his head for the “role of a lifetime.”
It’s April Fool’s Day so this could be another elaborate, froot Jericho ruse, but he posted the following on Instagram earlier today:
Welcome to #BALDISJERICHO!! Well I finally did it….after years of thinking about it! Little nervous, but just landed the ROLE of a lifetime and this was part of the deal. Thoughts?
There continues to be talk within WWE of turning The New Day into a heel faction, especially after the reaction they received at WrestleMania 31 and on RAW this week.
Big E. recently cut a Twitter promo on the fans in response to their “New Day sucks” chants at television this week.
Check out Big E.’s “I choose to clap” promo below.
I choose to clap because I wish to forget the despair I feel waking up in another hotel room in a town whose name I can't recall.
The Undertaker told people backstage at WrestleMania 31 this past Sunday that he felt great after his match with Bray Wyatt and is currently planning on working next year’s WrestleMania 32 event in his home state of Texas.
Apparently Undertaker and Sting shared a locker room backstage at WrestleMania this past weekend, and it’s said that the two actually spoke a lot about a potential match against each other at next year’s WrestleMania.
As it turns out, Hideo Itami was not the first choice to be the NXT representative in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 31 Kickoff Show this past Sunday.
According to PWInsider.com, having Itami in the match was a late decision made by the company, as Finn Balor or Adrian Neville were originally considered for the spot. Once the decision was made to bump the battle royal from the pay-per-view to the pre-show, the decision was made to go with Itami instead.
Another reason Itami got the spot was due to the strong Japanese media presence at the show for Tatsumi Fujinami’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction.
Last month, YouTube star Joe Weller set the internet on fire with his “Brutal WWE Moves on Girls” video, which went viral and racked up over 15 million views.
Last week in Los Angeles, Paul Heyman caught up with Joe Weller and filmed, “Brutal WWE Moves on Girls: The Revenge” hosted by Jim Ross, with a cameo from the one and only Madusa.
It’s a special edition of the Heyman Hustle that can’t be missed.
McMahon is said to be very high on Charlotte after seeing her match on the show against NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. There has been talk of bringing Charlotte to the main roster for a while now, however that talk has picked up now that McMahon is on board.
McMahon also requested that Charlotte be more prominently featured in the new Tapout commercials that are part of the new WWE deal with the company.
In addition to Charlotte, McMahon was also reportedly impressed with Banks’ work at the NXT show on Friday.
The New York Post has a new article up about WWE stock dropping 14.7 percent on Monday, closing at $14.09 per share, just one day after their biggest show of the year and just hours after they announced 1.3 million WWE Network subscribers.
Some critics are saying WWE is setting a bad precedent by continually offering free month subscriptions of the WWE Network because it trains fans to cherry pick specifics months instead of remaining longterm customers.
“They’re training fans to subscribe only to those events they really want to see,” said a long-time observer to The Post. “There’s no penalty for ending a subscription and then picking it up again.”
WWE is trying to attract outside subscribers and avoid losing current subscribers by partnering with outside personalities for new original programs, including Seth Green and Jerry Springer, a move media veteran Eric Sherman says could pay off in the long run.
“Partnering with outside creative talent will hopefully create some stickiness to the channel past their cornerstone events,” said Sherman.
WWE announced two big title matches for the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV during Tuesday night’s SmackDown television tapings from Fresno, California.
Newly crowned WWE World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins will defend against Randy Orton in the main event.
Also announced, John Cena defends the United States Championship against Rusev in another WrestleMania rematch.
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Sunday, April 26th, as we provide the best live results coverage of Extreme Rules, which takes place from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
For complete WWE SmackDown spoiler results for this week, click here.
WWE issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon denying online rumors that a permitted blade job took place during the WrestleMania 31 main event on Sunday.
A “GIF” image circulated around the internet shortly after the Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns main event on Sunday that appeared to show a razor blade being passed from the referee to Reigns, with the speculation being that it was done — with Vince McMahon’s permission — as a way to draw blood from Lesnar during the match on Sunday.
WWE has since issued an official statement denying the rumors, which you can read below:
“WWE programming is TV-PG and we don’t permit intentional bleeding. The communication or contact between our performers and referees is part of our safety protocol. That said, unintentional blood sometimes occurs, and we do our best to minimize.”
The following are spoiler results for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which was taped on Tuesday night, March 31st, in Fresno, California. Results are courtesy of ProWrestling.net.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins came out to open the show. He was joined by Big Show, Kane, Jamie Noble, and Joey Mercury. Randy Orton came out to interrupt Rollins. Orton said he is still owed his title match. He talked crap about The Authority, and Kane made a match – Orton vs Big Show to start immediately.
– Randy Orton beat Big Show by DQ. Kane, Noble, and Mercury attacked Orton as he was going to hit the RKO. Rollins entered the ring and Orton got some offense on him until Kane pulled him off and chokeslammed him. Ryback came out for the save and Rollins ran off. Ryback dropped Kane, Noble, and Mercury…
– Naomi beat Natalya. The Bellas sat in on commentary. Naomi won with an on the ground head-scissors DDT…
– There was a backstage segment in which Kane told Rollins that a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Rollins and Orton sounds good for Extreme Rules. Dean Ambrose exited Kane’s personal bathroom. Kane told Ambrose he would face Luke Harper…
– A Roman Reigns interview was shown on the big screen. Reigns spoke about WrestleMania, and said that he beat Seth Rollins before and will beat him again…
– The Miz defeated R-Truth. There was a Mizdow chant right away. Miz won by pin. Mizdow ran out and hit Miz with the Skull Crushing Finale and put on his glasses…
– John Cena came out to a huge pop. Cena announced that he will have an open challenge for the U.S. Championship every week. Rusev came out and said he didn’t lose at WrestleMania, and will crush Cena at Extreme Rules. Cena put him in his place and said Rusev did lose and will fight him now. Rusev responded by saying, “Only thing you are gonna see is this.” Nothing happened. Cena said, “You mean this?” The U.S. flag dropped instead of the Russian flag. Cena got a huge pop. No Cena sucks chants.
– Luke Harper put Dean Ambrose through the broadcast team’s table…
– The broadcast team is Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton… The announced that they will be returning to Fresno on Sunday, August 2… The Prime Time Players cut a promo on New Day that was shown on the big screen…
– Dean Ambrose beat Luke Harper by an apparent DQ. Harper pulled top off table then couple minutes later powerbombed Ambrose through it. They didn’t announce a winner…
– Sheamus came out to a big pop that quickly turned to boos. The crowd chanted “you look stupid” and he embraced it. Daniel Bryan made his entrance to the biggest pop of the night…
– Sheamus beat Daniel Bryan via count out. Bad News Barrett sat in on commentary. It was a very physical match with Sheamus controlling most of the early offense and feeding off the boos. Bryan was knocked to ringside. Barrett hit Bryan with a Bull Hammer while the referee wasn’t looking, and Bryan was counted out. Bryan appeared to be cut just prior to the Bull Hammer. Barrett walked out to loud boos.
The following are spoiler results for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which was taped on Tuesday night, March 31st, in Fresno, California. Results are courtesy of ProWrestling.net.
Dark Match
– Zack Ryder beat Adam Rose. The crowd was firmly behind Ryder, who won with his finisher.
WWE Main Event Taping
– Stardust beat Jack Swagger.
– Paige and Emma beat Summer Rae and Cameron. Emma was destroyed most of the match, but Paige made Cameron tap to the PTO.
– The Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension.
– The New Day came out to boos. Big E referred to Fresno as San Jose. The Prime Time Players came out, and Titus O’Neil corrected Big E.
NXT star CJ Parker was released from the company on Saturday.
According to PWInsider.com, Parker requested his release and the parting of ways was said to be on amicable terms. In fact, it was so amicable, WWE allowed Parker to wrestle at WrestleMania AXXESS on Saturday and Sunday to finish out his run with the company.
Parker, who was originally trained by ROH star Truth Martini, signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2011.
WWE representatives contacted members of the pro wrestling media on Tuesday, correcting an error that was included in the press release on Monday.
The NXT “Takeover” specials will remain a quarterly occurence, and WWE has promised to change the wording in the press release that was issued yesterday.
– Vince McMahon is reportedly very high on Lana’s talent. According to one source, McMahon has big plans for Lana in the near future.
– The “camera man” who took F-5’s from Brock Lesnar on Monday’s post-WrestleMania 31 edition of WWE RAW was a California independent pro wrestler named Dylan Drake.
– NXT wrestlers Enzo Amore, Drake Younger and Solomon Crowe were among those portraying soldiers during Triple H’s special “Terminator” entrance at WrestleMania 31 on Sunday. Below is a photo of the guys in their gear.
– The 2015 WWE Hall Of Fame special that aired after Monday’s RAW on USA Network drew 2.105 million viewers.
– WWE considered moving different matches to the WrestleMania 31 Kickoff Show this past Sunday. Originally, the plan was to bump the Divas tag-team match to the pre-show, however WWE felt there would be a lot of backlash from the fans due to the “#GiveDivasAChance” movement.
– Speaking of the Kickoff Show this past Sunday, the reason WWE wanted two matches was because they wanted the fans who were watching the two hour pre-show to have more live content to keep them occupied. They also wanted to free up time so they wouldn’t be forced to rush during the pay-per-view, however that ended up happening anyways.
UPDATE: RAW scored a 3.68 final rating on Monday, up from last week’s 3.03 rating.
The Monday, March 30th, post-WrestleMania 31 edition of WWE RAW averaged 5.364 million viewers, up quite a bit from last week’s show, which averaged 4.188 million viewers.
RAW was number two on cable television on Monday night, behind the Justin Bieber Roast on Comedy Central.
The hourly viewership breakdown for Monday’s RAW is as follows:
Hour One: 5.227 million viewers Hour Two: 5.597 million viewers Hour Three: 5.267 million viewers
