– Big Show is being advertised for next week’s WWE SmackDown tapings in Norfolk, Virginia. It’s possible this is an outdated event preview, but Show is scheduled to team with Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt against Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Roman Reigns. Big Show has been off TV since losing the Last Man Standing match to Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules.
– The WWE Network is now available on Apple TV in the UK.
– WWE has announced Ryback will square off against Bray Wyatt this Sunday at WWE Payback.
Jeanie Clarke, Steve Austin’s one-time valet and ex-wife, appeared on In Your Head Wrestling Radio to talk about her time in the world of professional wrestling and struggle with drug addiction. Highlights from this candid interview are as follows:
Her recollections of the day Gino Hernandez passed away
“Oh man, I was there when that happened…I saw Gino the very day he died. He and I lived next door to each other in the same condo in Dallas called Lovers Lane; we were neighbors…I saw him in the parking lot maybe the latter part of the afternoon. He’d just gone out and he bought this peach pie and I said “Oh that looks good”… and he said “Yeah, yeah; well pop over in the morning and have a slice.”…He was going out that night and early in the morning, very early, I saw his Porsche and I noticed it was parked like the wheels were sort of turned funny…The latter part of the day, he hadn’t come out of his condo, and I actually knocked on his door and I looked in the window and I saw the peach pie sitting on his table but I didn’t see him. I left, and then the latter part of the night I knew he hadn’t moved his car because of the way the wheels were. I thought, hmmm, I wonder if he’s OK, and I went back and knocked on his door again and again I thought well he’s in, he’s not gone out, and the peach pie is still on the table. I said to my friend Vicki, “Something’s wrong; Gino he’s not left his apartment, he doesn’t seem in his apartment, it’s just really strange.” Then he didn’t show up at his match that night, and I knew something was wrong…He died. I saw them bring his body out and everything; it was just awful. I had to live right next door to where he died; it was so heartbreakingly sad because he was just such a good character and so funny…When all this happened with Gino, Chris (Adams) was in England and I had to phone him and tell him Gino had died. It was just surreal really, it’s just so sad.”
Is it true that she came up with the nickname “Stone Cold” for Steve Austin?
“Yes, I did, over a cup of tea…Basically, the concept was Steve’s, because Steve and I were just sitting watching TV, flicking channels, and this show came on called “The Iceman” about a killer, a hit man type guy. Steve just said, “I want a character like that”, meaning someone cold, and he called Vince (McMahon) and he said this is the character he wanted. The office, they were just sending all these faxes of these temperature-based names like Fang McFrost…they were so hokey. I remember Brian Pillman and Steve in hysterics over these names, but none of them worked for Steve. One day he was just kind of pensive, a little bit worried-looking, and I just said, “Drink your tea before it gets stone cold” and I went, “There it is, Stone Cold.” He got a big smile on his face, and he liked it, so that’s how it started, over that cup of tea.”
Why things started to go with her marriage to Steve Austin, and her subsequent struggles with drug addiction
“Well, a lot of it was my fault…I got really comfortable in Atlanta, and I had a lot of friends, so when Steve was gone a lot I was always doing stuff and going out for dinner with my friends and shopping and taking the kids to McDonald’s or something and stuff. Then Steve picked out Boerne, Texas, which is quite rural, which is what Steve likes, and I didn’t have any friends. So when he went on the road, I was very lonely, and I developed really bad addiction problems, which I’m going to just be honest about. I started with pain killers and sleepers, and you know how it is. He had a lot of pressure on him then because he was now Stone Cold so he had lots of T-shirts to do, and it just wasn’t good for him or me because he was under a lot of pressure and I was out of it really taking too many pills.”
“I was in rehab for six months, a long time…I have been clean for two years…I can just say that addiction is a very crafty thing because you can start off just taking a little bit, and in the beginning you do feel good, and as the tolerance grows then you still have something a little bit stronger and then you snowball out of control, your whole life goes out of control, and that’s what happened to me.”
Did your experience with addiction give you a better understanding of why so many wrestlers fall into substance abuse problems?
“Yes, absolutely; muscle relaxers and that because you’re really sore, and then you don’t get much sleep because you might have a flight that leaves at 6 A.M. and you have to get up at 3 to get to the airport to be at the airport two hours before the flight. You don’t get out of the arena until Midnight sometimes, so you’re getting two or three hours sleep and then the only feasible thing you can think of is sleep on the plane, but it’s easier just to take something to go to sleep, and then something to bring you back up to go to the gym. It’s just a cycle with the schedule being really difficult.”
Do you have a good relationship with Steve Austin today?
“Yeah, I do. We’re very amicable…As a matter of fact, after I was in rehab for six months I called Steve up and I said you know, I can actually see my part in it now because when you’re using you think everything else is everybody else’s fault and you get really secretive about how much you’re taking…You have another side to you that you don’t want anyone to know about your addiction or how bad it’s getting, so I did say to him this was my part in it and he appreciated that…I talked to him a couple of months ago and he was glad I was still clean.”
Other topics discussed included:
* Who was her favorite person to work with in WCCW?
* How did she and Steve Austin end up in WCW?
* Who in WCW came up with the name “Lady Blossom” and how did she feel about it?
* Why wasn’t her character allowed to talk more in WCW?
* What was her favorite time or role in professional wrestling?
As noted earlier this month, Chris Jericho is returning to WWE this summer for another set of live events, with the possibility of some TV appearances.
WWE has now released the lineups for the company’s tour of Japan and Chris Jericho will be squaring off with none other than NXT star Finn Balor on July 4th. Balor will be replacing Hideo Itami, who is out of action for the remainder of 2015with a shoulder injury.
While it’s unfortunate that Itami won’t get a grand homecoming this summer, Balor is no stranger to Japan, having led the Bullet Club faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling prior to signing with WWE.
Here are the top matches currently advertised:
July 3rd:
US Champion John Cena vs. Rusev
Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett
July 4th:
Cena & Ziggler vs. Barrett & Rusev
Chris Jericho vs. Finn Balor
WWE Tag Team Champions New Day vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro
Other top stars appearing on the tour include NXT Champion Kevin Owens, Neville, Luke Harper, Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores, Bella Twins, and Naomi.
WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon will be inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs Of America Hall of Fame this evening in Atlanta, Georgia. Here’s the official announcement from WWE:
Vince McMahon to be inducted into Boys & Girls Clubs of America 25th Annual Hall of Fame
ATLANTA — This evening, top athletes, entertainers and business leaders will be inducted into Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) Alumni Hall of Fame. Since its inception more than 100 years ago, BGCA has provided kids of all backgrounds with the opportunity to grow and realize their dreams. To celebrate the accomplishments of former Boys & Girls Club members, BGCA annually recognizes distinguished alumni during the organization’s annual National Conference, being held in Chicago in 2015. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Alumni Hall of Fame program, as well as the year the organization changed its name from Boys Club of America to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
The event, hosted by Courtney B. Vance, honors alumni who have gone on to make major contributions in their fields, from sports to entertainment to business. Their stories are very different, but all started out the same — with the life-changing programs, caring staff and fun, safe environment of a local Boys & Girls Club. The BGCA Alumni Hall of Fame Class of 2015 inductees include the following: WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, three-time Grammy Award-nominated singer/producer/actor Trey Songz, fashion and music consultant for FOX’s hit drama “Empire” and Business Executive Monique Mosley, NFL Hall of Famer Andre Reed, world-renown violinist Earl Carlyss, President and CEO of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. Larry Young, two-time Oscar nominated costumer designer Ruth E. Carter, leading opera singer Denyce Graves and Professional Golfer on the PGA Tour Robert Gamez.
“Ensuring today’s youth have the encouragement and inspiration they need to pursue their dreams is at the core of our organization, and the Class of 2015 Alumni Hall of Fame inductees all showcase how a local Boys & Girls Club can be a critical element to ensuring a great future,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO of BGCA. “We are honored to have such exemplary inductees join the other prestigious members of the Boys & Girls Club of America Alumni Hall of Fame in its 25th year.”
The Elizabeth City Boys & Girls Club provided McMahon with a sense of belonging and a vision of what is possible, both of which were lacking in his home environment. He looked up to Club staff, who mentored and cared about kids. The feeling that somebody cared about him meant the world. Meeting other kids and teens from all walks of life showed McMahon there was a whole world of possibilities out there beyond what he knew. Since those early days, McMahon has become one of the most well-known pioneers in the entertainment industry, catapulting the WWE brand from a small, regional wrestling promotion to a global, family-friendly entertainment brand with television programming in 650 million homes in more than 175 countries and 35 languages. Today, WWE is one of the most recognized brands in the world with nearly half a billion social media followers. McMahon continues to carry forward the experience he had at The Club by supporting numerous programs and partners to help make a positive impact in the lives of children and families around the world.
Last night, Ring of Honor presented War of the Worlds: Night 1 from Philadelphia, featuring ROH’s top stars competing against talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Here are the results, courtesy of PWPonderings.com:
– Gedo defeated Delirious
– Roderick Strong defeated KUSHIDA
– ROH TV Champion Jay Lethal defeated Watanabe in a non-title match.
– IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team champions The Young Bucks defeated ROH Tag Team champions The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) and IWGP World tag champions The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) in a non-title 3-team match.
– Naito defeated Michael Elgin.
– ReDragon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) defeated Tanahashi & Jushin Liger when Fish pinned Liger after Chasing the Dragon.
– IWGP World Heavyweight champion A.J. Styles beat Adam Cole in a non-title match with the Styles Clash.
– Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The Briscoes after Okada pinned Mark with The Rainmaker.
– Roderick Strong and Chris Hero were backstage at TNA’s recent Impact Wrestling tapings.
– “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero’s is back with TNA and will be doing some commentary with Josh Matthews. There’s some speculation that he’ll be returning to the ring soon, as he’s been wrestling in Puerto Rico in recent months.
– Bully Ray talks about his return to TNA on last week’s Impact Wrestling where he served as the surprise guest referee for the main event between TNA Champion Kurt Angle and Eric Young:
WWE has rescheduled the May 31st live event at the the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC, the same night as the newly announced Elimination Chamber PPV from Corpus Christi, TX that will air exclusively on the WWE Network.
John Cena and Rusev were advertised for the Greenville show, which will now be a RAW taping on Monday, November 16th.
Online ticket purchases will be refunded, while tickets purchased at the box office or other locations can be exchanged at the point of purchase for the 11/16 RAW show.
Jeff Jarrett’s upstart pro wrestling promotion — Global Force Wrestling — announced on Tuesday official dates for shows in Texas, as well as involvement from WWE Hall Of Famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan.
GFW issued the following press release with all of the details today.
For Immediate Release May 12, 2015
NASHVILLE – Global Force Wrestling is preparing to two-step through Texas – for an appearance in May and three shows in September as part of the “GFW Grand Slam Tour.”
GFW CEO and founder Jeff Jarrett and newly announced GFW Legend “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan will take part in the traditional first pitch on May 28 at Dell Diamond prior to the game between the Round Rock Express (Texas Rangers-Triple A) and visiting El Paso. They also will be meeting fans and signing autographs. During the game tickets will go on sale for the GFW show on Sept. 27 in Round Rock.
The other events in Texas are scheduled for Sept. 25 in Corpus Christi (Whataburger Field/Corpus Christi Hooks/Houston Astros-Double-A) and Sept. 26 in San Antonio (Wolff Stadium/San Antonio Missions/San Diego Padres-Double-A). Those tickets will go on sale at a later date.
The Round Rock-El Paso game will be televised on CBS Sports Network as the first of the new MiLB Game of the Week. Jarrett will be in the broadcast booth to promote the GFW Grand Slam Tour, which begins on June 12 in Jackson, Tennessee, and will include trips to Virginia, Florida, Iowa and California.
“The Grand Slam Tour has built a lot of momentum,” said Jarrett, who already has made several appearances to throw out the first pitch at minor-league stadiums that plan to host GFW events. “Texas has a long and storied history with professional wrestling, and we’re thrilled with the response of the ballparks and the fans in the Lone Star State.”
“We’re excited to bring Global Force Wrestling to Texas,” Ryan Sanders Baseball and Entertainment COO J.J. Gottsch said.”Minor-league baseball is based on affordable, fan-friendly family entertainment, and we believe GFW fits in well with that mission.”
Dates for the GFW Grand Slam Tour are available on globalforcewrestling.com, and more will be added in the coming weeks.
Last night’s RAW featuring the returns of Triple H and Daniel Bryan as well as final hype for Sunday’s Payback PPV averaged 3.69 million viewers, up from last week’s 3.57 million.
RAW was #3 on cable for the night behind Love & Hip-Hop and the NBA playoffs.
Here’s the hourly breakdown:
Hour 1: 3.824 million viewers
Hour 2: 3.853 million viewers
Hour 3: 3.385 million viewers
RAW was #3 on cable for the night behind the Love & Hip-Hop and the NBA Playoffs.
Last night on RAW, Daniel Bryan surrendered the WWE Intercontinental Championship and revealed that his doctors told him they don’t know if he’ll ever be able to wrestle again. On Tuesday, Bryan posted the following on Instagram, saying that he’s doing everything he can to make a return.
– The Miz and Paige are have been off television for the past several weeks working on their WWE Studios project Santa’s Little Helper, which is due out this holiday season. They are expected to return in early June.
– Monday’s RAW ranked #1 among non-sporting events for the night in Nielsen’s Twitter TV ratings. RAW had a unique Twitter audience of 1.750 million, up from last week’s 1.360 million. RAW had 8.819 million impressions, down from last week’s 9.028 million.
– Damien Sandow tweeted the following to people criticizing his Macho Mandow segment from RAW:
With all the things you can criticize WWE for these days, the company should be commended on doing an excellent job in elevating their secondary championships.
If you flashback to around this time last year, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was virtually ‘on ice,’ only being defended on major pay-per-view events due to the champion at the time — Brock Lesnar — working under a special, limited-date contract.
Now, at the time, you could make sense of it, and even Vince McMahon himself did when asked about the topic during his interview on the short-lived “Steve Austin Show” live WWE Network podcast, as he pointed to the fact that having Lesnar defend the biggest title in the company on an infrequent basis made World Title matches feel that much more important.
Fast forward to the present day, and when it comes to championships in WWE — all systems are “go.”
First and foremost, we finally have a fighting WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Sure, the storyline surrounding Seth Rollins, the current world champion, is that he chickens away from ‘the big fight.’ At the end of the day, however, the bell eventually rings, the referee raises the golden belt up high, and two or more competitors end up vying for the richest prize in all of sports entertainment.
Now, move down one level to the two secondary championships. For the longest time, the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship, for all intents and purposes, were viewed as a total joke by the WWE Universe — and rightfully so.
Not anymore.
WWE came up with a great idea heading into WrestleMania 31 this year — put more significance behind their secondary titles. First, slap the U.S. title belt around John Cena’s waist. In a bit of irony, it was Cena who really launched his career off of his first U.S. title run, so in a story-telling fashion, his story comes full circle.
So, basically, WWE decided that now that they want to elevate some new blood into the top spots in the company, they decided to put one of their secondary titles — in this case the U.S. title — on arguably the biggest star in the company today.
On the flip side of the coin, when it comes to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE decided to put that belt on the most popular wrestler in terms of the fans — the leader of the “Yes! Movement,” Daniel Bryan.
And that brings us to Monday’s WWE Payback ‘go-home’ edition of RAW.
After being unable to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett at the recent WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view as originally scheduled, WWE played the waiting game to find out how the latest round of the Daniel Bryan injury-bug would work out. As it turns out, whatever Bryan is going through is serious enough that WWE felt they had no choice but to have him surrender the Intercontinental Title on live television, much like they had him do shortly after he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX last year.
The idea behind his forefitting of the title last night was where the plan regarding secondary titles in WWE remains in tact. The reason given by Bryan, delivered in a passionate way I should add, was that the WWE Universe deserves a fighting champion. A top contender who deserves the right to bust his ass day-in and day-out, city-to-city, state-to-state, country-to-country and even continent-to-continent, all for the right to try and earn what is now once again slowly being viewed as a title of importance. One of value. One worth fighting to obtain.
Where WWE goes next with the Intercontinental Championship in particular remains to be seen in terms of how far they are willing to go to try and elevate the perceived importance of the title.
Basically put, the company can go one of two ways, as I see it. You can follow the mandate that they have been following since this year’s WrestleMania, which is find the most over performer with the fans, give him the I-C title, and try and get the belt over that way, so that in the future, the belt can make the man, as opposed to the current formula, where the man makes the belt.
Their second option is to try and do the opposite. Put the title on an up-and-comer who has the goods to deliver, but just needs something to put him over the edge so he is viewed as a bigger deal than he already is. Names like Neville and Sami Zayn come to mind.
Zayn, depending on his injury, would make a great impact on the main roster by giving U.S. Champion John Cena all he could handle — with an injury no-less, in his first high-profile match on RAW since having his run as NXT Champion in WWE’s developmental system, and then go on to win the next high-profile match he is in and become the brand new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
– Big Show is expected back on WWE TV in the next few weeks. He’s been out of action since since losing the Last Man Standing Match to Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules.
– King Barrett tweeted the following after Daniel Bryan surrendered the WWE Intercontinental championship on RAW:
What a load of horse crap from @WWEDanielBryan tonight. I think we all know I deserve my IC Title back. Pathetic scenes. Jog on.
TNA taped additional content on Monday night at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida for their “Destination X” special on June 12th, as well as matches and segments for the June 19th edition of Impact Wrestling. Some of the following matches, as well as matches that were part of our previous spoiler reports from recent tapings, could end up being mixed around and airing pieced together on different shows.
With that said, here is a detailed report of last night’s tapings, courtesy of WrestlingINC.com.
Possible June 12th spoilers for Destination X:
* Christy Hemme did the introduction for Destination X. Ethan Carter III and Tyrus come out and order her to leave. Ethan cuts a promo on Kurt Angle and being #1 contender. He takes a seat in the middle of the ring and says he’s not leaving until he gets his shot, saying Destination X has been canceled. Angle comes out and they argue but EC3 leaves with Tyrus.
* Kurt Angle defeated X Division Champion Rockstar Spud to retain the World Heavyweight Title. Angle shook his hand and raised Spud’s arm after the match. Austin Aries comes out with his briefcase and stares at Angle.
* The Dollhouse comes out and cuts a promo on Awesome Kong.
* Grado defeated Jonathan Cruz and Kenny King in a Triple Threat
* The Dollhouse comes back and Taryn Terrell calls Kong out for the Lingerie Pillow Fight. The ring has a bed, pillows and other decorations set up. They crack jokes on Kong but out she comes. Taryn berates her for not wearing lingerie. Kong takes out Marti Belle and Jade and brawls with them up the ramp. Taryn tells Hemme to declare her the winner but Brooke Tessmacher comes out and knocks Taryn onto the bed, revealing her lingerie.
* Backstage segment with Joseph Park returning. He come to the ring to interrupt Bram and talks about how he’s gone through hard times but he’s here to stop Bram from hurting his brother Abyss. Bram lays him out.
* Bram defeated Park by putting him through a table.
* Kurt Angle defeated Austin Aries to retain the World Title. Aries tapped out to the ankle lock in a great match. Ethan ran out after the match and attacked Angle, standing tall with the World Title.
For detailed spoiler results of the matches and segments taped for the 6/19 edition of TNA Impact Wrestling, click below to advance to page two …
WWE announced on Monday’s RAW that the Elimination Chamber event will be returning later tater this month as a WWE Network exclusive PPV.
The show takes place on Sunday, May 31st from Corpus Christi, Texas, the same night that WWE has another live event scheduled for Greenville, South Carolina. John Cena, Rusev and King Barrett have been advertised for the Greenville show, but that card is subject to change.
WWE.com’s official preview for Elimination Chamber mentions the following matches:
The anticipated, must-see WWE Elimination Chamber event will emanate from Corpus Christi, Texas, where the WWE Tag Team Championships and the newly vacant Intercontinental Championship will be defended inside the infamous structure.
Stay with WWE.com for more updates and the latest news on U.S. Champion John Cena’s opponent, a WWE World Heavyweight Championship defense and more.
The decision to bring back Elimination Chamber as a WWE Network exclusive event was made over the weekend. If you recall, the show was originally scrapped from WWE’s PPV lineup because the steel structure is difficult to hang from many renovated arenas across the United States. The American Bank Center in Corpus Christi has not been renovated and does not feature a large ‘scoreboard’ video screen above the ring, so there won’t be a problem suspending the cage over the ring.
Join us here on Sunday, May 31st for live coverage of WWE Elimination Chamber.
– On Monday’s WWE Payback “go-home” edition of RAW from Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the main events for this week’s SmackDown, the final edition of the show before this Sunday’s pay-per-view was announced.
In singles action, Roman Reigns will battle Kane, however due to the way their match ended on RAW last night, their match on SmackDown is guaranteed to have a winner by either pinfall or submission.
– Former WWE Vice President of Talent Relations and on-air personality John Laurinaitis commended Daniel Bryan on his decision to vacate the WWE Intercontinental Championship on Monday’s RAW. Mr. “People Power” himself tweeted the following shortly after Bryan made the announcement live on RAW.
I have respect for Daniel Bryan, his values and considerations for the WWE Universe. #PeoplePower@WWE@WWEUniverse he is truly a Champion
— John Laurinaitis (@JohnLaurinaitis) May 12, 2015
This Sunday, WWE presents Payback live on the WWE Network and PPV from the Royal Farms Arena Baltimore, MD. SEScoops.com is your destination for WWE Payback Results. Our detailed live updates are the best around, so if you’re not watching the show, this is the best possible way to follow the action.
The following matches are confirmed for Sunday’s WWE Payback PPV:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship (If Rollins doesn’t retain the title, Kane is fired from The Authority)
– Seth Rollins (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton
WWE United States Championship (I Quit Match)
– John Cena (c) vs. Rusev
WWE Tag Team Championships (2-Out-Of 3 Falls Match)
– The New Day (c) Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
– Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler
– Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback
– “King” Bad News Barrett vs. Neville
WWE Payback Kickoff Show Match
– Macho Mandow (Damien Sandow) & Axelmania (Curtis Axel) vs. The Ascension
– Part two of WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s interview with TNA President Dixie Carter is available on the latest edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast. Check out the interview to hear Dixie talk about her newest employee – Smashing Pumpkins front man and new TNA creative team member Billy Corgan, as well as her past of being put through a table by Bully Ray. Also new on the latest Austin podcast is a state of the pro wrestling union from “Stone Cold” and Jim Ross. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Although he didn’t work an actual match or appear on the show, former WWE Superstar Jimmy Wang Yang was indeed backstage at Monday’s WWE Payback “go-home” edition of RAW. Yang brought some of his V.I.P. contest winners to the show on his Redneck Party Bus and let them meet some of the WWE Superstars and WWE Divas backstage. Yang noted that while his return to RAW didn’t result in a match, maybe he’ll get a shot to show off his in-ring skills at a future NXT show. Yang tweeted the following:
Return to Raw didn't have a match but maybe NXT time.
It was announced on Monday’s WWE Payback “go-home” edition of RAW that this Sunday’s show will not be the only pay-per-view of the month of May.
On Sunday, May 31, 2015 from Corpus Christi, Texas, WWE is bringing back the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, as a WWE Network exclusive only event.
It will be a typical Elimination Chamber match, with the same rules as in the past. It will be a six man match, with two men starting and four locked in pods. The last man standing wins.
Make sure to join us here on Sunday, May 31, 2015 for live coverage of WWE Elimination Chamber.
Daniel Bryan returned on Monday’s WWE RAW and announced that he must surrender the Intercontinental Championship.
Bryan revealed he had an MRI last week and doctors told him they don’t know how long he’ll be out. They told him they don’t know if it will be weeks, months or ever again before he can get back in the ring.
Bryan said the fans deserve the top WWE Superstars fighting for the championship. They deserve guys like Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose fighting for the title.
He thanked the fans and left the Intercontinental Championship in the center of the ring as fans gave him a standing ovation and a Thank You Daniel chant.
This week’s show, which tales place from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, opens up with a limo pulling up to the building. Out comes Triple H, as he heads into the arena and the RAW theme hits.
The WWE ring announcer officially introduces “The Game,” and out he comes by himself to “King of Kings.”
Triple H takes the mic and fans boo. He says “daddy’s home” and says that’s the same thing he says to his kids when he’s been gone on a trip. He says his kids behave better than apparently Kane and Seth Rollins. Triple H says he left for a few weeks to run a billion dollar company but Kane and Rollins couldn’t even do what he asked them to do. He’s not about to let this all unfold due to someone’s unchecked ego. Triple H says we’re going to clear the air once and for all. He calls out Kane and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Rollins is out first with Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble.
Rollins welcomes Triple H back and says they missed him. Rollins want to be the first to say he agrees with Triple H and they are on the same page. Fans chant for Dean Ambrose, the hometown star. Rollins says he can’t function at the top of his game with a 7 foot cancer trying to poison The Authority from the inside. Fans chant “you sold out” and Rollins says he’s trying to talk to his boss here. Rollins feels like Kane has made it his personal mission to make Rollins lose the title. Another Ambrose chant breaks out.
Rollins goes on but is cut off by fans loudly singing Ambrose’s name. Rollins says Kane is broken and can’t be fixed, maybe it’s time they put the old dog out of his misery. Kane’s music hits and out he comes to a pop.Kane gets hype and threatens to chokeslam Rollins straight to hell. They start arguing and Triple H gets in between them. Rollins tells Triple H he needs to do something about this. Ambrose chants start again but Triple H doesn’t let them interrupt him. Triple H admits Rollins can annoy you to the point that you want to punch him but Kane can’t do that because Rollins is what’s best for business. Triple H says if Rollins doesn’t leave Payback with the title, maybe Kane’s services as Director of Operations are no longer needed.
Kane says it’s a shame Triple H feels that way because as much as he respects Triple H, it might be worth it to eviscerate Rollins. Rollins runs his mouth and Triple H gets in his face, telling him to shut up. Triple H says Kane needs to let him know right now if they need to amicably part ways. Triple H extends his hand and says Kane’s silence shows that’s not what he wants, to part ways. Triple H says he needs to know that they’re all on the same page. He announces the Payback main event participants will be in action tonight. He announces Kane vs. Roman Reigns and Rollins vs. Randy Orton. Noble gets in Triple H’s face and isn’t happy about Rollins having to wrestle tonight. Triple H mocks J&J and announces a handicap match with Ambrose vs. Mercury & Noble.
Triple H mocks their height and keels down to get in Noble’s face. He says since they both stack up to one man, they’ll do just fine in a handicap match. The crowd pops. Triple H tells Rollins and Kane to come with him. They leave the ring. We head to commercial.
3-On-2 Match – Dean Ambrose vs. Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury
When we return from commercial, Dean Ambrose comes out to a big hometown pop as Triple H, Rollins and Kane walk past him on their way to the back. Ambrose hits the ring as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Mercury starts off with Ambrose. Ambrose strikes first and unloads in the corner. Ambrose stomps away and is told to back off by the referee. Ambrose with more strikes and a scoop slam. Ambrose sends Mercury to the floor and brings Noble in. Noble begs for Ambrose to take it easy and they shake hands but Ambrose kick him for Dirty Deeds. Noble dodges the move and goes to the floor.
Ambrose follows and J&J takes control, sending him into the barrier and the announce table. Ambrose bounces back from the apron and clotheslines them both over the announce table. They come back in and distract Ambrose, pulling him from the top for a 2 count by Mercury. Noble comes in and keeps Ambrose down, dropping a leg for 2. They keep control and Mercury comes in for some double teaming as fans boo. Mercury keeps Ambrose grounded with a headlock now. Ambrose turns it around with a shoulder but goes down after they butt heads.
Ambrose comes back and unloads on Noble. Mercury pulls Noble to safety, avoiding a bulldog. Ambrose runs the ropes and leaps out onto both of them. Ambrose brings it back in and hits a big double clothesline.Ambrose hits Noble with his finisher for the 1-2-3. We head back to another commercial break.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
“King” Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler
We’re back from the break and out comes Dolph Ziggler and “King” Bad News Barrett. Barrett cuts a demeening promo on Ziggler. Once the bell rings, Ziggler immediately blasts Barrett with a super kick and pins him in a way that you thought it was going to be over right there.
Instead, Barrett kicked out, got back to his feet, and immediately took over control of the offense. Barrett pounds away on Ziggler as we head to a mid-match commercial.
When we return from commercial, the first thing we see is the action resuming in the ring. Barrett is still in firm control. In the end, Barrett managed to blast Ziggler with a “King Bull Hammer Elbow,” which allowed him to score the pinfall victory.
As we have all heard by now, current WWE Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan is officially scheduled to return on tonight’s edition of WWE RAW — and apparently for a very specific reason.
According to a source close to the situation, Bryan will be on hand at RAW to take part in an angle that will see him surrender his Intercontinental Championship, much like he had to do with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after WrestleMania XXX last year.
It should be noted that until additional information surfaces, this should be taken strictly as a rumor for now.
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