New information is coming in regarding WWE’s decision for Seth Rollins to betray The Shield last week on RAW and align himself with Triple H. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rollins’ heel turn was a ‘last minute’ decision.
There were some hints dropped in recent weeks that Dean Ambrose could be the one to break away from The Shield, however, there were never any serious plans in place for Ambrose to join The Authority.
WWE was reportedly unhappy that the news leaked about the project that related to Sting, with the orchestra, etc., which we wrote about earlier this week.
While the deal isn’t a WWE project specifically, it is for a company that has a business relationship with the company and would be in some form-or-fashion related to WWE.
Apparently this project would be happening whether or not Sting signs with WWE, although it would clearly be more advantageous if he were to sign.
Regarding Sting’s status with WWE, the general consensus seems to be that the two sides are close enough to a deal that the feeling is it will inevitably happen.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
The reason Randy Orton didn’t appear on WWE television this week, despite working the weekend non-televised live events, is because if a collarbone injury he suffered during his match with Big Show on 6/10.
On Monday’s RAW, WWE pushed the idea that Orton missed the show because he was on vacation, with the mindset being that as a heel, it made more sense to portray the situation that way, as opposed to explaining that he was injured.
https://twitter.com/RandyOrton/status/476148322168602624
Orton’s injury isn’t that serious and he’s not expected to miss any significant ring time. He’s still scheduled to be back on television for next Monday’s RAW from Cleveland, Ohio.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
As previously reported, John Cena suffered bad swelling due to a poke in the eye from Bray Wyatt during their “No Holds Barred” match at the WWE live event this past Saturday night in Madison, Wisconsin. By the time RAW rolled around on Monday night, the swelling had subsided substantially, however it was still noticeable. Regardless, Cena worked a match on the show and was a lot more involved compared to the previous night’s house show in Rochester, Minnesota, where he simply tagged in to score the pin during the finish of a six-man tag-team match where he, along with The Usos, took on The Wyatt Family.
The production crew was informed on Monday night not to shoot any closeup shots of Cena during the match, despite the fact that his eye — which was completely swollen shut during the weekend — was in much better shape.
A little known fact that relates to this story is that Wyatt, back when he was still performing as “Husky Harris,” accidentally poked Cena in the eye during a match, an incident that many believed to have resulted in him being demoted to the developmental system due to the fact that he “didn’t apologize enough” for the mistake.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently appeared on Ring Rust Radio with Donald Wood.Here are some highlights of what he said about:
If He Will Be Part Of The New Tough Enough:
“I’d certainly be open to it, but I get my Google Alerts and I read that they were bringing back Tough Enough, but then there have been delays in it. I would consider doing something along the lines of Tough Enough because that was my first endeavor into reality television and that is a world I know and love, and that’s why I was on that show. I’m not going to blow smoke up my ass. I love the business of pro wrestling and it is something I know better than anything else I know about. So if I get a chance to do that show or they offer that spot to me and we could make it work, I’d love to do that show.”
If He Will Ever Wrestle Again:
“I’d consider anything if the perfect situation or opportunity arose and it would be more than a million-dollar question. I don’t want to sit here and promote a match, sell a match or talk about making a comeback. The dirt sheets, or whatever you call them, and I talk to Dave Meltzer and Wade Keller all the time and they’re nice guys and I would consider them friends. I see Dave at almost every MMA fight, but I don’t want to stir any pots or hint or tease anything. People get their panties in a wad and say, “Stone Cold, either do it or not.” So, anything can happen, but I’m not going to endorse, promote, sell or tease anything in regards to a match.”
How He Would Bring CM Punk Back To WWE:
“Man, I don’t know. I haven’t made too much of it. I predicted he would make a comeback at WrestleMania 30 and obviously that didn’t happen. He left the company and whenever he comes back, that’s up to him. I don’t know how I would bring him back. I just know that when I got out of the business for about six-to-10 months, I lost a **** load of money and I believe that if you have got some miles left in the tank, you should make your money while you can and don’t leave it on the table because you’ll never make that money back.
At the end of the day, you can say, “It ain’t about the money.” Well, it is about the money because you need to make as much of it as you can before you can’t make that money anymore.
I don’t know how you bring him back. Certainly the fans would welcome him back because he was doing a great job before he left. And when he gets his head right and wants to come back, I believe he will. As far as me playing Mr. Booker, I don’t have a clue.”
Which Current WWE Stars Have The Most Potential:
“Man, I think it could be any one of a pool of people. I can’t sit here and drop names because I haven’t paid that much attention to the roster. I’ve been trying to DVR the shows. I am several months behind. I just subscribed to the WWE Network and I watched half of the pay-per-view so far. Just from guys on the radar right now, I think all of the guys from The Shield have got big futures ahead of them. I don’t think they’re all carved in stone yet and there are still some missing pieces within each individual part of The Shield.
Antonio Cesaro still has a hole somewhere in his game, but he’s certainly there. I predict a lot of success for that guy. I think Bray Wyatt is starting to kick ass and do a lot of great things. When they put Cesaro with Heyman, that was an interesting move because there were a lot of people starting to get off on Cesaro, and so they put him with Heyman, which put him back as a heel. The rest of the roster, I don’t know enough about.
Here’s one thing that I will say; I remember watching some of my matches from Dallas on my email, and I was watching them back and I see an athletic body and a guy that’s stable, but the look was just not that great. So there are some guys down there that, as they go through the process and they’re not afraid to embrace making some changes and making some alterations to their gear, to their look to find the right gimmick and package to bring it all together.
Man, there’s probably two or three diamonds in the rough down there because they’re not close to an appearance that is going to be the final thing that actually helps them get over and be received by the crowd as a heel or a baby face.”
We’ve got new details on the upcoming WWE 2K15 video game, courtesy of GameInformer.com:
– Developer Visual Concepts will have a much larger role in this year’s game, alongside longtime developer Yukes. Visual Concepts is using their state-of-the-art scanning technology to create the most realistic character models ever seen in a wrestling video game. They have traveled with WWE on the road and already have 90% of the game roster scanned in.
– The new character models are “leaps and bounds” closer to their real-life counterparts. Hair, skin, faces, and ring gear are all majorly upgraded. Visual Concepts is capturing a variety of facial expressions so that wrestlers will express more realistic emotions in the ring.
– The updated list of confirmed playable characters includes John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro and AJ Lee.
– Visual Concepts is working toward more realistic match pacing and flow. The characters will have five times the number of animations than last year’s WWE 2K14.
– The game’s cutoff date for inclusion is several months later than in recent years, allowing for more ‘current’ roster and storylines to be included.
– Audio is getting a complete overhaul as well, with five times the sound of last year’s game. For the first time, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Michael Cole are being recorded in tandem, creating more natural conversation threads. There will be a 30-35 hours of commentary per announcer to keep things fresh and prevent hearing the same calls over and over.
We’ll learn even more about WWE 2K15 this Thursday, when the first trailer is expected to be released at the ongoing E3 video game convention in Los Angeles, California.
WWE 2K15 video game will be released on October 28th for Playstation 4, XBox One, PS3 and XBox 360.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. As always, you can check out JR’s amazing line of BBQ products at WWEShop.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Daniel Bryan Being Stripped Of The WWE Championship: “Feel bad about Daniel Bryan’s injury that has necessitated him being stripped of the WWE World Title. The past couple of months has been the best and the worst of times for arguably the best, pure wrestler in the world. It certainly sets up the opportunity for WWE to craft an amazing comeback story for DB and the opportunity for him to perform all phases of his comeback superbly which could get Bryan more over than he ever was. I’m curious to see how this potentially amazing story will be told and executed.”
Kurt Angle Appearing On His Podcast: “Tuesday night I interviewed Kurt Angle and we went deep into his drug and alcohol addiction, the fact that Kurt has been 11 months clean and sober and his desire to sign one last contract to finish out an amazing, Hall of Fame career. Plus, we talked in depth about the infamous ‘shoot’ amateur workout that Kurt had with Brock Lesnar in South Dakota back in the day before a WWE TV taping that damn near got me fired…again. Other topics discussed was Chris Benoit, Shane McMahon, Steve Austin, Vince McMahon, CM Punk, The Undertaker, training with Dory Funk, Jr. and Tom Prichard, WM19, Impact Wrestling’s up’s and downs and so much more.”
Ric Flair Returning To WWE: “Read online where Ric Flair got cleared by WWE medial personnel to return to the road but is that a great idea? Can Ric add to TV presentations? Absolutely. Does a 65 year old man need to be on the road full time? No. Flair is an iconic figure who needs to not be over utilized and should remain special. I’m all for Naitch appearing on TV in the right role and at selected live events if his appearance is made to be a major, promotional item but putting Ric back on the road full time like one of the boys isn’t wise. Having said all of this, I will admit that I don’t know what WWE has planned for Ric as it relates to his booking schedule and I do applaud WWE for having Ric medically checked from bumper to bumper before doing whatever it is that WWE has planned.”
“If WWE has a plan for Flair to become a red hot, heel manager then all I can say to that is good luck. Flair is beloved and his Woo’s are a part of pop culture. I assume that it could be done but it certainly won’t be easy. I’ve heard that some want Ric to manage the Miz but I’m not feeling that one.”
The following are highlights of a new Busted Open Radio interview with Ethan Carter III:
On his upcoming match with Bully Ray & how important Slammiversary is to TNA: “This is pretty important. This is 12 years the company’s been around. Granted I’ve only been here 9 months, but I intend to be here for the next 400 years. They’re gonna have to freeze me like Walt Disney. This is a huge moment. I’ve had a lot of opportunity to go into the ring with TNA legends. This match with Bully Ray: He’s 100%, I’m 100%. This is a grudge match, and it’s in Texas. I wouldn’t be surprised to have this match have a Texas stipulation added to it. It’s gonna be a match, and it’s gonna be in Texas, and Bully wants to put me to death. This is gonna be a fight. This is gonna be a match I leave it all out there. This is my opportunity to show the world what I got.”
On how big this match is versus how big his match with Sting was: “I think with Sting that was, well, it’s Sting! No matter what stage of his career he’s at, it’s still Sting, and that’s epic. I think what’s gonna separate this match with Bully vs. Sting is it’s gonna be on PPV. It’s gonna be one on one. We’re gonna go the distance and we’re gonna have a lot of time to tell a story in the ring. A lot of times with TV tapings you don’t have enough time to get to where you want. On PPV you have 3 hours dedicated to just wrestling.”
On upcoming TNA shows in New York’s Manhattan Center & New York fans: “Oh man. I can’t wait. I’ve been a wrestling fan since I first saw it. I love New York fans. They always say what’s on their minds. They’re gonna have some creative things they want to say to the Carter family and it’s gonna be exciting. I don’t know what chants I’m gonna get, but I’d love to get a ‘E-C-Fn-3’ chants, I’d be happy. I’m a fan, so how bout this? ‘Ethan Carter the turd’. If you wanna bring it back to the old ECW, ‘you suck *&^%’ or whatever, have it it. Whatever it is good or bad I’ll take it.”
Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.
TNA held a media conference call this afternoon to promote Sunday’s Slammiversary XII pay-per-view. During the call, a rep from TNA confirmed that Sunday’s main event match featuring TNA World Champion Eric Young vs. MVP is still officially on, despite MVP’s recent knee injury.
Eric Young was asked about MVP’s injury and said he’s preparing for their match this Sunday, but will be ready to “deal with” a possible last-minute change to the match if needed.
During an interview with Chris Jericho this week on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, MVP revealed that has not yet undergone an MRI and has started putting weight back on the knee. While he is doing everything he can to be ready for action this Sunday, he did say that TNA is working on a “Plan B” in case he’s not healthy in time.
SEScoops.com will have Live Coverage results of TNA Slammiversary this Sunday night starting at 8pm (Eastern).
Triple H sat down with Michael Cole once again this week for their weekly interview for WWE.com. This week, the main topic of discussion was Daniel Bryan being stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on RAW and a new champion being crowned at Money in the Bank.
Cole asked Triple H why he’s been gloating and laughing a lot this week. Triple H said he’s so happy because he’s excited to finally give the WWE Universe what they deserve: a fighting champion. The uncertainty regarding Daniel Bryan’s ability to compete went on for too long and its now time for concrete results. WWE fans will finally get what they deserve.
Cole brought up Triple H’s own injury history, including the quad tear back in 2001 that kept him out of action for almost a year. He asked Triple H, how is this different than Bryan’s situation? Triple H said that its different because he wasn’t WWE Champion when he tore his quad. If he had been champion, he would have been man enough to hand over the belt and walk away. He came back, won the Royal Rumble and won the gold back at WrestleMania – something Bryan has the option of doing.
Triple H then switched things around on Cole, asking him what he would have done if he was WWE COO. Cole said he’d follow the rules and if the champion can’t defend the title for 30 days, he can’t be champion anymore. Triple H pressed Cole about what he’d do if Bryan refused to surrender the title. Triple H told Cole he would do what was right and ole agreed that he would strip Bryan of the title.
When Daniel Bryan returns from injury, will he get a rematch? Triple H said it depends on a lot of “ifs.” He would consider him for an opportunity, but it depends on a lot of circumstances.
Cole finds it funny that Triple H and Stephanie have been in such great moods lately, despite Batista quitting, one of the most popular acts in WWE breaking up (The Shield), Brad Maddox being removed as RAW General Manager, etc. Triple H says that Cole is the kind of person who worries over things he has no control over. The WWE World Heavyweight championship being decided in a Money in the Bank ladder match is a reason to be happy. It’s not often that he can guarantee that history will be made at a specific moment, but that will happen later this month.
Triple H ended the interview assuring Cole that WWE has never been in better hands.
– The next edition of WrestleMania Rewind, which airs next Tuesday night on the WWE Network, will look back at the Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle match from WrestleMania 20.
– The next edition of WWE Countdown, which also airs on Tuesday night on the WWE Network, the subject of the show will be the top ten “most dangerous Divas” of all-time.
– The latest edition of the WWE YouTube series, “5 Things” features a look at five potential “Paul Heyman Guys.” You can check that out below.
– As previously reported, TNA has been contacting former X-Division Champions to appear at the upcoming Destination X pay-per-view event. TNA’s John Gaburick recently noted on Twitter that they will be announcing the names of guys who will be returning soon. He tweeted the following:
Reading all your suggestions for #TNANYC and that talents for #MyDestinationX.
Keep them coming. Names announced soon!
— John Gaburick (@JohnGaburick) June 5, 2014
– Below is the official video preview for this week’s edition of Impact Wrestling, which airs this Thursday night on Spike TV:
http://youtu.be/rJzlh-jDpHQ
– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features an exclusive interview with TNA star MVP, is now available. The official description for the show reads as follows:
TIJ – EP46 – TNA Impact’s MVP
“Will MVP take part in TNA’s “Slammiversary” PPV event this Sunday? He updates Chris on his knee injury! He’s also talking about his time with NJPW and why he left, how he ended up at TNA, what he thinks about WWE, and how he survived 9 years in prison. Plus, he shares his favorite thing to say in Japanese.”
You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– The latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which features an exclusive interview with WWE Hall Of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, is now available. The official description for that show reads as follows:
TRR – Ep17 – “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
“”The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase chronicles his life in the squared circle with JR – from his early days in the mid-South territory to his days as the most hated wrestler in the biz! Hear stories about Stan Hansen, Bill Watts, Jim Barnett, Vince McMahon Sr & Jr, Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, and Ole Anderson.”
You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Davey Richards noted in a recent interview that he and Eddie Edwards will be defending the TNA Tag-Team Championships at the Slammiversary pay-per-view this Sunday. While he wouldn’t announce who their opponents will be, he did say that fans would “dig it.” You can check out the interview at FightNetwork.com.
– TNA stars Velvet Sky, Taryn Terrell, Jessie Godderz and Bully Ray were in attendance on behalf of the company at the Spike TV “Guys Choice Awards,” which airs tonight at 9pm EST.
– The following is the ninth installment of Kurt Angle’s “#MyComeback” video series:
– Diamond Dallas Page posted the following video on his official YouTube channel, which features highlights from WrestleMania XXX weekend:
– The following is the first official trailer for the WWE Studios film, “Leprechaun: Origins,” which stars WWE performer Hornswoggle (aka Dylan Postl):
The Monday, June 9th edition of WWE RAW scored a final cable rating of 2.93, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 2.93 rating marks a very slight decrease compared to the 2.94 final rating for last week’s show.
Monday’s RAW averaged 4.119 million viewers, down slightly from last week’s average of 4.146 million viewers.
The hourly breakdown is as follows:
Hour One: 3.893 million viewers
Hour Two: 4.217 million viewers
Hour Three: 4.247 million viewers
The Friday, June 6th edition of WWE SmackDown on the SyFy Network scored a final cable rating of 1.96, up from last week’s 1.76, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.782 million viewers, which was also up compared to the 2.437 million viewers who tuned into the show last week.
The show was the highest rated edition of SmackDown since the April 18th episode.
Former Ring of Honor World Champion Kevin Steen has officially signed with WWE, according to an exclusive report at WrestleZone.com.
Steen has been on WWE’s radar for quite some time and was rumored to be headed to NXT this summer after impressing company officials at a recent tryout camp.
Steen will be finishing up his independent bookings before heading to the WWE Performance Center. He currently has shows booked through June.
The following is an excerpt from the latest Jim Ross blog:
On his recent health scare: “After returning home from a great experience at the annual caulifloweralleyclub.org function in Las Vegas I had another issue of disorientation on Thursday upon landing in OKC and my wife insisted on taking me to the emergency room in Norman.”
“I was treated for stroke-like symptoms for two days in the hospital in their stroke care unit. I don’t remember Tuesday morning whatsoever including driving myself to the OKC airport, my wife as in Vegas already as I had to stay behind and record a podcast, nor do I recall boarding the plane in OKC for Vegas. ”
“I presented Terry Taylor with a much deserved Iron Mike award at the CAC and have no memory of what I said. That’s scary. About a month ago I took a fall in our home that had me hitting my head on our wood floor but I no sold it and never mentioned it to my wife. I assumed that the loss of memory and lost days were a result of that.”
“After enduring multiple MRI’s and numerous tests on my brain and heart it was determined that my prolonged use of Ambien as a sleep aid to combat my insomnia was the primary culprit of my issues. Ambien is a ‘temporary’ solution to insomnia but I have been taking it for years. Not good. The side affects of Ambien are scary, read about them, of which now I know. If you are taking it, I strongly suggest that you consult your physician.”
“My meds have now been all adjusted and I am back on a healthy path of diet and exercise and, obviously, NO Ambien. The hallucinogenic issues with the drug are scary and I will never use that medication again.”
“One interesting thing that the MRI showed was that I actually did have a stroke years ago that went undetected. As is said in WWE, one can be sick at work just as easily as one can at work. I took one vacation there in 20+ years so I obviously loved my work. Old school work ethic can be both a blessing and a curse. That’s all on me as I could have taken a vacation any time that I had chosen.”
On tonight’s RAW: “Anxious to see how much WWE re-shuffles the deck tonight on RAW as a way to freshen things up and to get folks talking. I wholeheartedly support “re-casting” from time to time and to try new things and provide opportunities for new talents to see what’s in their tank. Many talents complain about not getting their ever loving ‘PUSH” until they get it and then it’s discovered that many can’t handle the pressure of being a potential, top tier talent. Nonetheless, one doesn’t know until it’s tried. Throw ‘new’ in the game and see how they perform. Give it a few weeks or more and if they don’t succeed then…..next.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.
As noted, John Cena suffered a badly swollen eye during his match with Bray Wyatt at the WWE live event on Saturday night in Madison, Wisconsin. There was some concern that he had suffered a concussion, however that does not appear to be the case.
According to what WWE officials are saying, the eye injury occurred when Cena got poked in the eye by Wyatt, not a headbutt or stiff punch as originally expected.
On Sunday night, WWE switched the scheduled Cena vs. Wyatt “No Holds Barred” singles match to a six-man tag-team bout that featured Cena and The Usos against all three members of The Wyatt Family.
It appears that Cena did not suffer any orbital bone injuries, which was another concern the company had. Instead, the belief is that Cena simply suffered a swollen eye and all will be fine once the swelling goes away.
– With WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan currently out of action recovering from his recent neck surgery, Vince McMahon has personally been booking his storyline, including the recent angle with Stephanie and Brie and Bryan having to surrender the title at Money in the Bank if he can’t compete. As of this weekend, with Money in the Bank just three weeks away, Bryan’s status for the show remains very uncertain.
– Former “Power Rangers” star & MMA Fighter Jason David Frank continues to mock former WWE Superstar CM Punk with his new “Best in the World” t-shirt. Frank, who has challenged Punk to an MMA fight, released the following shirt this week:
Bully Ray commented via Twitter about TNA president Dixie Carter pulling him from Tommy Dreamer’s “House of Hardcore” event on Saturday night. The former TNA Champion tweeted the following:
LONG STORY! Bottom line- @TNADixie completely screwed and hurt ALL @HouseofHardcore fans. I SWEAR TO MAKE IT UP TO ALL OF YOU.
— Bully Ray (@REALBully5150) June 7, 2014
ALL @HouseofHardcore fans. Hold onto ticket stubs. Will personally meet all at PA or NYC TNA TV shows. Let @TNADixie know how ya feel.
— Bully Ray (@REALBully5150) June 7, 2014
The following are new “Take Time to be a Dad Today” videos from the official WWE YouTube channel, which features Roman Reigns and Titus O’Neil:
Also new on WWE’s YouTube channel is the latest edition of “WWE Top 10,” which looks at the ten biggest breakups in history. You can check that out below.
Two big matches are being considered for the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Aside from the tentative Daniel Bryan vs. Kane match and the Money in the Bank ladder match, WWE is also planning Seth Rollins to face his former partner Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton to compete against Roman Reigns.
The idea is that Reigns vs. Rollins would take place at Battleground in July, leading into the rumored Reigns vs. Triple H match at SummerSlam.
WWE Money In The Bank takes place on Sunday, June 29, 2014. As always, we’ll have live coverage the night of the show.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
– There is a feeling among many within WWE that as a way to downplay controversy and negative feelings when talent leaves the company, that instead of announcing releases, they will simply let their contracts expire.
– There has been some talk in WWE about a possible Mark Henry vs. Rusev match at the upcoming Money In The Bank pay-per-view.
– The next edition of WrestleMania Rewind, which airs next Tuesday on the WWE Network, will look back at the WrestleMania 23 match between Shawn Michaels and John Cena.