It was announced on the WWE Extreme Rules “go-home” edition of WWE RAW on Monday night that “The Exotic Express” will make its’ next stop at RAW next Monday night. So there you have it, Adam Rose makes his debut next week on RAW.
WWE Hall Of Famer Harley Race was in attendance at Monday’s WWE RAW in St. Louis, Missouri.
Live Arena Segment: John Cena, Singing Kids & The Wyatt Family
This week’s show opens up with a video package showcasing what has been going down in the John Cena vs. Wyatt Family program. After that, we shoot live into the arena where a steel cage is lowered over the ring as Michael Cole promotes Sunday’s Extreme Rules cage match between Cena and Wyatt.
From there, John Cena’s theme music hits and the leader of the Ce-Nation makes his way to the ring. He enters the ring, where the cage is covering the ring. He gets on the mic and says “why” over and over again. He’s serious tonight, folks! He asks why he deserved the fans to vote on the WWE App last week to vote for him to fight all three members of The Wyatt Family. The fans respond by chanting “you suck” at him.
Cena says he heard once that you live long enough to eventually become a villain. He talks about being drafted to RAW in St. Louis (where RAW is tonight) years ago. He says a lot of things have changed since then. He mentions that he’s never abandoned the fans and again asks why they fed him to the lions last week. He asks why they’re supporting Bray Wyatt. He says he knows he’ll eventually have to step aside and mentions how he sees greatness in some of the up-and-comers, and mentions some top names. He even mentions some NXT guys that he feels will be big, such as Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn.
John explains that he’s here tonight to inform us that Bray Wyatt is a dangerous man. He says when he speaks it’s beautiful, but his heart is cold. He says this Sunday at Extreme Rules he’ll be standing in a steel cage, just like he is right now. He says we don’t understand it yet. He says if he escapes this cage this Sunday, so will his message and he will continue to corrupt and continue to manipulate. He says it won’t be long before it’s Bray Wyatt versus the world and the world doesn’t stand a chance.
As he continues to speak, The Wyatt Family cut-in happens. We hear a little kid singing “he’s got the whole world” as Cena looks nervous and confused. The lights were off during the singing, as the third verse hits, the lights come back on and we see a whole chorus of kids smiling and continuing to sing the full song on the top of the stage, all wearing black, by the way. The lights go out again and then we hear Bray Wyatt singing. He comes out on stage with his latern, accompanied by Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. He asks the children to sing with him. They all sing “he’s got the whole world” together as they all, children included, make their way to the caged-ring. Bray adds “the whole Ce-Nation” and “the big bad monster” in his hands remix to the song, sung by himself and the children.
Bray sits down in his rocking chair at ringside and the lights go out. When they come back on, he’s rocking back-and-forth, and now the children all have Wyatt Family style sheep masks on and they’re surrounding the ring. All except one, who is also wearing a sheep mask like the rest, but is sitting on Bray’s lap in the rocking chair. Bray starts laughing. He says, “can’t you hear them, John” and continues laughing. The Wyatt Family cut-in happens again as we head to commercial.
WWE Tag-Team Championship
– The Usos (c) vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel
When we return from commercial, we get a video highlight replay of what just went down in the opener. After that, we shoot to the ring. It’s time for some WWE Tag-Team Championship action. The Usos are defending against the team of Ryback and Curtis Axel. Ring announcer Justin Roberts does the formal introductions for the match and the bell rings. Here we go!
Jey Uso and Curtis Axel kick things off for their respective teams. Axel backs Jey into the corner and they trade chops. Jey gains the advantage and then connects with a shoulder tackle or a 2 count. Ryback now tags in. Ryback pie faces Jey and Jey comes back with some bit right hands. Ryback fights back with a knee to the mid section followed by a scoop slam. Ryback goes for a big splash and misses.
Jimmy now tags in and The Usos connects with a double kick to the gut. Axel comes in and eats a right hand. Both men roll to the outside. The Usos both fly over the top rope on to Rybaxel. Jey Uso is selling his ankle as we head to a mid-match commercial.
When we return from commercial, Jimmy Uso is in the ring getting beaten on by Ryback. Cole reminds us that Jey Uso’s ankle is hurt. Axel now locks in a shoulder lock. Jimmy fights back to his feet, but Axel connects with a big running knee. Axel covers and gets a two count. Ryback now tags in. Ryback picks Jimmy up over his head and slams him down. Ryback covers and gets a two count. Ryback connects with a headbutt and now lifts Jimmy on the top rope. He tags in Axel.
Axel and Ryback both go to the top rope with Jimmy. Jimmy fights off both men with headbutts and right hands. Jimmy hits a front suplex on Axel and Axel lands right on Ryback. Jey is back on the apron. Jimmy gets the tag to Jey. Jey comes off the top with a cross body on Axel for a close two count. Jey connects with big uppercuts and right hands to Axel in the corner. Ryback tries to charges but he eats a big kick to the gut. Axel charges and gets hit with a Samoan Drop. Jey charges in and hits the Rikishi Splash.
Jey covers and gets a very close two count. Axel gets back to his feet and tags in Ryback. Axel hits a back drop and Ryback hits a spinebuster. Ryback covers and gets a close two count himself. Ryback calls for the Meathook Clothesline. Ryback charges and Jey connects with a big superkick. Jey covers and gets another very close two count. Jey hits a few chops but then eats the Meahook Clothesline by Ryback. Ryback picks Jey up and goes for Shell Shock, but Jey counters into a roll up for a two count.
Axel now tags in. Jey hits a superkick on Ryback. Axel hits the Perfect Plex on Jey, however he didn’t notice the tag and Jimmy comes off the top with the big slpash. 1-2-3. The Usos retain the titles. After the match we head to another commercial break.
Winners and STILL WWE Tag-Team Champions: The Usos
Adam Rose Debuting On RAW Next Week
When we return from commercial, we see an Adam Rose vignette. We are told that next week on RAW, “The Exotic Express” will make its’ next stop at WWE RAW. So there you have it, Adam Rose debuts next week on RAW.
Backstage: Paul Heyman & Cesaro
After that, we shoot backstage and we see Paul Heyman and Cesaro chatting. Heyman takes offense to what Rob Van Dam said about him last week. He says RVD was right, however, and that he is a liar. He says despite being a liar, however, he takes his clients to the top. Cesaro says that’s all he needed to hear. They smile, shake hands, and that’s it for that segment. After this segment, we head to commercial break.
Backstage: Kane’s Segment
When we return from commercial, we see a backstage locker room, but we don’t know who’s it is. The camera finally pans around and we see Kane’s mask in a glass case. That’s it.
The Friday, April 25th edition of WWE SmackDown scored a final cable rating of 1.77, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 1.77 final draw marks a decrease compared to the 1.96 rating that the show drew the previous week.
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.670 million viewers, which was also a decrease compared to the average of 2.757 million viewers who tuned into the show the week prior.
TNA announced the following on their official website for this week’s edition of Impact Wrestling:
“HUGE NEWS: ImpactWrestling.com has learned that Eric Young has informed TNA officials that he plans to defend his World Heavyweight Championship on Thursday’s huge IMPACT broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c! After retaining the gold in a war against Magnus at Sacrifice, Eric Young wants to be a true fighting champion and will put the gold on the line on Thursday! Read the official IMPACT preview below – check out the footage of Eric Young with JB after IMPACT went off the air!”
You can check out a video preview for this week’s show below:
http://youtu.be/cHrISU6SZ60
WWE posted the following on their official website this afternoon:
“WWE is saddened by the news that Lee Marshall has passed away.
A gifted broadcaster with an unmistakable voice, Marshall provided commentary for both the AWA and WCW and was a Monday Nitro fixture with his weekly “Road Report.” He appeared with WWE for one night only, handling ring announcing duties for the Los Angeles portion of WrestleMania 2. In addition to his contributions to the world of sports-entertainment, Marshall was also the voice of iconic cereal mascot Tony the Tiger on Frosted Flakes commercials.
Our deepest condolences go out to Marshall’s family, friends and fans.”
The following are highlights of a recent BANG Showbiz interview with Chris Jericho:
On meeting Ultimate Warrior in WCW: “I only treat people the way that they treat me and I only met Warrior once and he was really gracious and really cool to me back in 1998 in WCW. He was there to do something with Hulk Hogan and I remember I went up to say hi to him and he went, ‘Hey, Chris Jericho, I know you, you’re doing a great job you’re doing some good work.’ I was a nobody at the time and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, the Warrior likes me that totally smokes.’ It made me feel that I must be doing something right and it gave me a little bit of a boost and I always remembered that … He’s definitely a legendary guy that deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, I’m glad he got to go in when he was still alive.”
On being a fan of Warrior: “As a fan in the late 80s when Warrior came out, he had this energy, this intensity and his look; he was like a heavy metal guy – or he came across that way – and so was I, so I liked that. I always respected him as a performer, some of his matches were pretty quick I remember he came in the Winnipeg arena once and beat Andre the Giant in 30 seconds, at the time I was like, ‘What a rip off! That sucks.’ But I remember WrestleMania VI where he had a classic with Hulk Hogan, much like a lot of guys from that time period he had good matches when he had the right opponent.”
Check out the complete interview at TV3.ie.
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog:
On the passing of Lee Marshall: “Condolences to the family, friends and fans of the late, broadcaster Lee Marshall who passed away over the weekend. Lee was a big time radio voice in Los Angeles among other markets before ne ventured into pro wrestling, a former AWA and WCW broadcaster who was brought to Atlanta by Eric Bischoff who I assume Eric met in AWA while working for Verne Gagne. Lee was also the voice of Tony the Tiger. I never worked with Lee that I recall but mutual friends always spoke highly of him. RIP Lee.”
On Shawn Michaels on the Ross Report: “I will also be working on the blockbuster Shawn Michaels podcast that has so much info in it that it will be a two parter beginning next week. Shawn’s take on Undertaker’s Streak ending is fascinating as are his thoughts on CM Punk leaving WWE as many remember that HBK left WWE for approximately four years at one point in his amazing career. These are just two of the many topics we discussed in depth with, arguably, the best to ever perform for a living inside the 20 foot squared circle.”
On tonight’s RAW: “RAW should be interesting tonight. I can’t see WWE World Champions Daniel Bryan wrestling after taking THREE, Tombstone piledrivers last Monday from Kane but who knows? One thing that I do know is that St. Louis is a terrific wrestling city and the night that we had all the NWA Champions back as our guests there was SO special. St. Louis was also the city that we were in when we found out that my dear friend Brian Pillman passed away the night before. Mixed memories of St. Louis without question but it’s a great city nonetheless. If it hadn’t been for KMOX radio’s coverage of Cardinal baseball with Harry Caray and Jack Buck I may never have been a broadcaster.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– Episode four of Roddy Piper’s new “Piper’s Pit” podcast is now online. The official description for the show reads as follows:
PP-Ep4 – Joe V & The Grappler
“Rowdy Roddy Piper welcomes Joe V from Portland TV morning show “Good Day Oregon” and his buddy, The Grappler aka Len Denton. More wrestling stories and info on the book about The Grappler’s life and career as written by Joe V.”
You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Triple H confirmed via his official Twitter account that WWE Hall Of Famer and former Evolution member Ric Flair will return on tonight’s edition of WWE RAW. HHH tweeted the following on Monday afternoon:
The greatest of all time…… Tonight
#RAW @RicFlairNatrBoy pic.twitter.com/mwJdbxoda0
— Triple H (@TripleH) April 28, 2014
WrestlingDVDNews.com revealed the latest official synopsis for WWE’s new “Ladies and Gentlemen, My Name is Paul Heyman” DVD and Blu-ray set, which is scheduled to be released on August 5th. You can read that synopsis below.
“One of the most controversial managers and figures in WCW, ECW and WWE History! For the first time ever, fans get the full story of the life and career of Paul Heyman. From his beginnings as a ringside photographer at MSG, to becoming a manager at WCW, then heading up the infamous ECW, Paul has his own unique brand of over-the-top, in your face entertainment that has developed him a cult-like following. Unfortunately his financial savvy didn’t match his creative genius, and ECW was eventually purchased by WWE.
Since joining WWE, Paul has gone on to great heights, including managing Brock Lesnar, when he finally broke Undertakers WrestleMania Streak this year.
This collection includes great behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, with past and present talent talking about Paul’s contribution to the world of sports-entertainment. Featuring interviews with Raven, Tommy Dreamer, Joey Styles, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Stephanie McMahon and of course the man himself.”
– The following is the official synopsis for next week’s edition of WWE Total Divas:
“Flirting With Fandango: Summer Rae’s relationship with Fandango moves to the next level; Brie can’t enjoy being a bride; Trinity goes behind Jon’s back and betrays him.”
– The following is this week’s edition of “After Total Divas”
The following is the latest Twitter message from Dana A. Warrior, the widow of the late WWE Hall Of Famer The Ultimate Warrior:
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” – Bob Marley
“Another Monday Warriors…. I thought that each passing day things would get easier. Not so. Losing Warrior isn’t a hole in my life, it is the Grand Canyon! Grief is like the tide I think. It rolls in and out without asking permission. The thing about being a Warrior is the wave can hit us but we are not allowed to fall down. We can stumble, be knocked off balance, but we are required to remain standing no matter the size of the blow. This week I’ll stay standing if you’ll stand with me. I believe, Always.
Dana A. Warrior”
– TNA will be taping the May 1st edition of Impact Wrestling tonight in Orlando, Florida. Also, the company will tape portions of the May 8th edition of the show tonight as well. On Tuesday night, also in Orlando, Florida, TNA will tape the remainder of the 5/8 edition of Impact Wrestling, as well as the May 15th edition of the show.
– The following is the “#IMPACT365” post-show wrap-up with Jeremy Borash for last night’s TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view.
http://youtu.be/-yo6bbPmXuw
The following are highlights of a Main Event Radio interview with TNA star Bobby Roode:
Looking back at his first world title run: “Things worked out for the best for myself. Becoming World Champion. Obviously the disappointment was there at Bound for Glory. I was the first ever winner of the BFG series. Going through that series and win it the way that I did. Being with Beer Money, winning the tag team titles with James and before that with Eric Young in Team Canada. This was my first real shining moment as a singles competitor. To win the series was a huge deal. And then to walk in to the main event of BFG against a competitor like Kurt Angle. It was a perfect story for me. Walking out without the title that night was very disappointing for me personally. Looking back at it, the way it all went down; I think it actually helped me out.
“It lit a fire under me and made me want the world title even more. In the end, I won the world title; I held it longer than anybody else in the history of the company. Held it longer than anybody else, something that I’m proud of. Those were great matches with Austin [Aries]. We had really good chemistry together, looking back at those series of matches had together make me really proud. Then we had the tag titles together which was awesome. The ultimate goal in this business as wrestler is to be the world champion. From day one, to be the #1 guy, to be the champion has been my number one focus. My sights are set on Eric [Young] or whoever has the World title, maybe Magnus after Sunday. My goal is to once again be a World Heavyweight Champion.”
Thoughts on Eric Young being champion: “I’m happy for Eric. We’re two guys who came up the same way, grew up in Canada, with the dream of being a wrestler and a world champion. He’s a TNA original, we were tag champs together, there’s a lot of history between the two of us. He’s been in the business long enough and he saw the way that I carried the title and he sees there’s a bullseye on his back. When the time comes to doing business, I’m going to do what I have to do. I know what it takes to get it, to win it, to hold it, to keep it. That eagerness to carry the world championship again and to have that responsibility again. That was something I thrived on and something I missed. I will take that opportunity and make the best of it when it comes again.”
Wrestling Kurt Angle: “Kurt is in my personal opinion the best there’s ever been. He can go out there in his entire career and entertain the masses by his professional wrestling, the way he handles himself in the ring, his character. There’s no doubt that he is the best there’s ever been in this business. For me to have been able to go out there with Kurt and to have produced the matches that we did. To have fans talk about our matches as some of the best matches they’ve seen, or as match of the year; it meant a lot to me. Something that I’m proud of. Unfortunately with Kurt’s injury we had to cut the program short. Hopefully down the road we get to meet up again and do something special.”
Beer Money and would they ever reform: “In my personal opinion, Beer Money is probably the most recognizable, most over act that TNA has been able to produce from the ground up. You have two original guys, two guys who went out there as Beer Money. We had the tag team titles longer than anybody else in the history of the company. It’s something special. This week on Impact we came back for one night only. We had a common goal to soften up our opponents before their matches (Bully Ray & Gunner). In the wrestling business, you never say never for down the road. But for right now Bobby Roode’s goal is to put Bully through a table and then go on to become a World Heavyweight Champion again. I’m sure that James Storm feels the same way and has the same goal to become a Heavyweight Champion. Down the road, if the time is right, and we both feel it’s right; maybe Beer Money will come alive again.”
AJ Styles and Sting’s departures: “It’s unfortunate. At the end of the day this is a business Not everybody is going to be happy and people go their separate ways. It’s the wrestling business and we’re seen it happen a million times. Unfortunately, AJ was a TNA original and was the face of our company for a very long time. That departure bothers me the most. I had a great relationship with AJ, we were friends, we were part of Fortune together, and we had some great matches. I understand where AJ’s coming from, it’s all business, and I wish him nothing but the best. Sting was a great guy to have in our locker room. He was a veteran leader. A guy that you can go and talk to, a guy who I had some memorable matches, and a guy who mentored me a lot and taught me a lot in the ring. He’s an icon; his name will live forever in this business. And I wish him nothing but the best of luck. At the end of the day this is a business and you’ve got to do what you can for yourself.”
Future Stars: “Our company is looking really strong for the future. Ethan Carter has a hell of a career in front of him. He’s young; he’s got a lot to learn. His eyes and his ears are always open, always asking for advice. He’s handling himself better each and every week. Down the road he will be a main event guy and possible champion. Gunner’s the same thing. He’s got a look and demeanor about him that is world champion material. The Wolves wrestling ability speaks for themselves. They’re a great tag team and great individual wrestlers as well. The future looks very bright.”
Whatever happened to his classic weapon, the hockey stick: “If it calls for it, I’m not afraid to pull it out. Here’s a funny story: Scott D’Amore, Coach D’Amore introduced the hockey stick every match. I used to wear a hockey pad and we were going to use frozen hockey pucks and put it in my sleeve and hit people in the back of the head with clotheslines. That’s another Canadian cliché, a hockey cliché that we were going to use. Maybe I’ll take out a hockey stick for my match against Bully at Sacrifice. Or maybe they’ll make a table out of hockey sticks and I can put him through that.”
When will TNA return to Canada: “Hopefully we can come back to Canada soon. I would love to get an opportunity to run TV in Montreal, or in Toronto, even in Ottawa. Running 4-5 shows would be great. The guys love coming up to Canada, the Quebec area especially. We didn’t get there last year at all. Hopefully this summer or in the fall we can come up to Canada and have Montreal be one of our stops.”
Check out the complete interview at WebSportsMedia.com.
Former broadcaster and wrestling announcer Lee Marshall, who is probably most famous as the voice of Frosted Flakes’ “Tony The Tiger,” and best known to wrestling fans as the former WCW announcer, passed away on Saturday.
In addition to his WCW and non-wrestling work, Marshall also served as the ring announcer for the Los Angeles, California portion of WrestleMania II.
The news was first reported by KFBK-Radio out of California.
The following are highlights of a recent interview with former WWE Superstar and UFC Hall Of Famer Ken Shamrock:
On Triple H’s ego and him possibly running WWE someday: “Here’s a guy that has a huge ego. He has a hard time with putting anybody over and let alone outside the business when someone like Brock Lesnar would have to hurt him. His ego wouldn’t let him walk around in a sling. He wants people to know it’s entertainment unless he’s the one doing it then he wants you to walk around in a leg cast. This is what i see the problem is and I’ve been pretty critical about it. You’ve got somebody in that position that’s got too big of an ego to run a company like that. Hunter goes to extreme lengths to look good, to be big and cut and make sure he’s on the cover of the muscle magazine and make sure he’s in fitness things. He’s the guy who’s putting himself in the forefront. For anybody to run a company like the WWE, you can’t be that guy. You’ve got too much talent out there for you to put yourself out there in front of them.”
On WWE not using UFC to help promote Lesnar when he returned in 2012: “I could easily tell you what happened. Triple H happened. You go in there, you take a guy with his stature, his tremendous ability, the limited experience he had in the MMA world and yet he still went in and beat a lot of world title guys. He goes in and Hunter has a match with him and knocks him out with one punch. I think it’s pretty clear what happened. There’s a lot of ego involved with guys running the organization. It’s a shame too, i mean i don’t know who’s pulling the strings. I wouldn’t think it’s Vince, maybe it is, maybe he’s changed his mindset. The thing i noticed with Vince was Vince didn’t care when someone came in, it was about ratings. It didn’t matter what the organization looked like because he could always somewhere down the line get the organization to look good from an angle. But to come in there and actually have him (Lesnar) destroy people from the MMA world. I think that Vince, his mind thought is yeah i mean come on i control this guy. I could have him come in here and crush 20 guys in a row, build up for a big PPV match then have John Cena or The Rock or The Undertaker or somebody come in and have this big payday and have them beat Brock Lesnar and now you’re back on top again. It didn’t make sense for you not to tuck your ego away for a while and build this guy so it was that. You have control over the final story line. You have the pencil in your hand, so you can write the ending to this story however you want.”
Check out the complete interview at MoreLikeRadio.org.
WWE issued the following this morning:
For Immediate Release
WWE® RAISES MORE THAN $400,000 FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITIES
STAMFORD, Conn., April 28, 2014 – WWE today announced that its global online charity auction, Superstars for Kids, has raised more than $400,000 benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs and New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees’s non-profit organization, The Brees Dream Foundation.
As a part of WWE’s pro-social initiatives celebrating WrestleMania® 30 in New Orleans, the auction ran from March 31 through April 8 on charitybuzz.com, and featured unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences with WWE Superstars and other sports and entertainment celebrities. In addition to the online auction, a red carpet party featuring a live auction emceed by comedian, producer and star of the hit comedy A Haunted Mansion 2, Marlon Wayans was held at the New Orleans Museum of Art during WrestleMania Week.
“The support from WWE and its fans has been overwhelming,” said Drew Brees, Quarterback, New Orleans Saints. “The proceeds from Superstars for Kids is going to go a long way to improving the quality of life for so many children and their families.”
“We are thrilled and humbled by the generosity that WWE has shown and we are grateful for the opportunities that WrestleMania 30 has provided,” said Frank Sanchez, Vice President, Sports, Entertainment & Alumni Development for Boys & Girls Clubs. “The support from WWE will increase our capacity to create great futures for the youth of New Orleans.”
“WWE is committed to improving the lives of children around the world and I’m proud that our fans stepped up to support two very deserving organizations,” said Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer, WWE. “The funds raised through Superstars for Kids will help to create a brighter future for so many children.”
About WWE:
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 150 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Munich and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to https://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
About Boys and Girls Club of America:
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana has been a positive force in the community for nearly fifty years; enabling young people to become productive, responsible and caring citizens through structured programming, safe learning environments and dedicated staff. With a focus on three core priority outcomes – Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles, and Character & Leadership Development, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana provides opportunities to build new skills that raise each Club Member’s belief that he or she can succeed and receive recognition for personal, social and academic accomplishments. Additional information is available at www.bgcsela.org.
About The Brees Dream Foundation:
The Brees Dream Foundation was founded in 2003 by Brittany and Drew Brees with a mission to improve the quality of life for cancer patients, and provide care, education and opportunities for children and families in need. Since its inception, Brittany and Drew Brees and the Brees Dream Foundation have collectively committed and/or contributed more than $20,000,000 to charitable causes and academic institutions globally.To learn more, please visit www.drewbrees.com or follow Drew Brees on twitter at @drewbrees.
TNA Sacrifice 2014
The 2014 edition of TNA Sacrifice opens with an extensive video package previewing some of the top matches scheduled for tonight’s show, focusing primarily on the TNA World Heavyweight Championship rematch between current champion Eric Young and former champion Magnus.
After the video package concludes, we shoot live in the arena in Orlando, Florida, where Mike Tenay welcomes us to the show and delivers some final hype for some of the bigger matches on tonight’s show. From there, we go straight to the ring.
TNA Tag-Team Championship
– DJ Z & The Bro Mans (c) vs. The Wolves
DJ Z comes out and cuts a promo on his way to the ring. He talks about how he and the Bro Mans, the current TNA Tag-Team Champions, are going to take out The Wolves in a three-on-two handicap match. With that said, out come Robbie E. and Jessie Godderz, The Bro Mans.
Out next are the challengers, the team of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards — The Wolves. All five guys are in the ring now, but before the bell rings, The Wolves cut a quick in-ring promo. They ask Christy Hemme to read something. Hemme says per orders of MVP, this is a no disqualification match.
With that said, the bell rings and here we go. The Wolves and The Bro Mans all mix things up in the ring. The Wolves knock both of the Bro Mans out to the floor. They hit a double-dive through the ropes and splash onto the tag-champs. They have DJ Z alone in the ring now and do a lot of high-impact double-team spots on him.
DJ Z ends up blasting The Wolves from behind with the lap top, and now all three guys are triple-teaming both of The Wolves, with the fans chanting “you suck” all-the-while. When the smoke clears, it’s just Jessie in the ring with Edwards. Jessie chokes Eddie with some tape from around his wrist and then tags in DJ Z.
DJ chops the hell out of Eddie. He hits a stun-gun on the top rope and follows it up with a back-breaker. All three guys sandwhich Eddie in the corner and blast him. Robbie tags in and picks up where DJ left off, taking it to Eddie in the center of the ring as the fans rally behind The Wolves team member, chanting “Eddie Edwards.”
Jessie tags back in and lands a beautiful dropkick on Eddie. Eddie starts fighting back, landing a big back suplex to buy himself some time. The Bro Mans try and double team Eddie to keep control of the offense, but Eddie hits a move on both guys and make the tag to a fresh Davey Richards.
Richards takes the hot tag and is flying all over the place, hitting anything that moves. Both of The Wolves go on the top rope on opposite ends of the ring. They each hit a double foot-stomp. They make the pin and three slaps on the mat later, we have new TNA World Tag-Team Champions.
Winners and NEW TNA Tag-Team Champions: The Wolves
Jeremy Borash Interviews Samuel Shaw
Backstage, Jeremy Borash encourages everyone to interact tonight via social media. After that, we see Samuel Shaw creepily standing behind a padded wagon. Borash asks Shaw if he realizes that tonight he may be thrown inside the padded van and be committed. He talks about how everyone calls him a creepy bastard. He says he won’t let himself lose tonight. Borash asks for his thoughts on Mr. Anderson recently visiting his home. He says tonight he’s dedicating this match to his mom, and then says “Christy, this one is for you.” He slams the padded van door shut and walks off.
Committed Match
– Samuel Shaw vs. Mr. Anderson
The video package detailing the history of the Samuel Shaw and Mr. Anderson feud airs. After the video package concludes, out comes Samuel Shaw to the ring. Mike Tenay notes that Christy Hemme, their ring announcer, is not at ringside for this match. He says considering all that has gone down, that’s probably a good thing. Next up, Mr. Anderson’s music hits. He stands at the top of the stage, but declines the mic drop. Instead, he looks to be all business tonight, as he runs down to the ring. Shaw backs out and slides out to the floor.
Anderson goes out after him, but Shaw runs back into the ring. Anderson rolls back into the ring and the bell sounds, but as soon as it does, Shaw backs out to the floor again. It turns out Christy Hemme is at ringside. Shaw runs over and grabs her. Anderson blasts him with a punch and Hemme breaks free. Anderson continues to beat up Shaw outside the ring.
The match gets into the ring and now Shaw has the upper-hand. He goes to dive into Anderson with a spear, but Anderson side-steps him and Shaw flies through the ropes and out to the floor. Anderson goes out after him and works him over on the floor again. Out of nowhere, Shaw locks in his trademark choke on Anderson on the floor. Anderson tries to break free but can’t. Shaw ends up choking Anderson out. He chokes him until he drops to the floor, but doesn’t let go. He keeps choking Anderson on the ground. He finally lets go and turns his attention to Hemme.
Hemme runs into the ring. Shaw grabs her by the hand. He keeps trying to pull her towards him, but Hemme won’t come. Hemme eventually slaps him. The distraction allows Anderson to recover. He re-enters the ring and blasts Shaw from behind. The two spill out to the floor again and Anderson continues to beat him all over the place.
Anderson kicks Shaw’s butt all the way up the entrance ramp. He goes to hit Shaw with a Mic Check on the ramp, but Shaw breaks free. Anderson ends up slamming Shaw onto the solid ramp. Anderson tells Shaw that they’re going for a little ride. Anderson grabs a steel chair and blasts Shaw with it twice.
Anderson slams Shaw into the guard rail. Anderson drags Shaw backstage and sees Jeremy Borash. Anderson holds Shaw in a headlock and asks Borash to interview them. Borash asks them how the match is going. Anderson mimmicks Shaw’s voice and says, “not very good right now, J.B.!” Anderson loads Shaw up on a cart and throws it into a bunch of boxes.
Anderson turns his back on Shaw long enough to look at the padded van. Shaw blasts Anderson from behind. Shaw goes to load Anderson up on the van, but Christy Hemme enters the scene. Hemme distracts Shaw and blasts him with a nut shot. Anderson grabs him from behind and hits him with a Mic Check into the van. He slams the door shut and wins. He and Hemme celebrate as his music plays back inside the arena.
Winner: Mr. Anderson
The following are highlights of a recent Examiner interview with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young:
Learning from his co-workers: “The locker room at TNA is a wealth of knowledge. Kurt Angle is an example of a guy you can’t help but learn from, and there are certainly others. I am friends with many of the guys on the roster and I am always learning and exploring how to get better.”
Being versatile: “Versatility is something I pride myself on and have focused on from the first day I started wrestling. I’ve won every belt in TNA – including Knockouts Tag titles. I can face anyone and go wherever the match leads and takes me. Versatility is my strong suit. It is hard to prepare for someone like me.”
Keeping his beard for TNA & his Off The Hook reality show: “I think if I shaved my beard I might lose both of my jobs. The beard is one of my things now and has been since 2009. I had a beard when it was considered weird. If I shave now people would not recognize me.”
Reaction to him being champ: “The beard makes me completely recognizable. There is no hiding from it – and I don’t want to hide from it. People I meet love seeing the title. They tell me congrats Champ – and it is a thrill. It will never get old.”
Check out the complete interview at Examiner.com.
Adapt or perish. That is the message Triple H has been sending to the Shield in recent weeks since reforming Evolution. The concept seems simple enough when applied to professional wrestling: either evolve your character over time or quickly become irrelevant.
However, Triple H should be heeding his own advice, because it appears Evolution is the stable that will need to adapt in the near future in order to survive. With Batista taking some time off after Extreme Rules and Triple H only working a part-time in-ring schedule, Randy Orton will be the only full-time competitor left in Evolution in a few weeks.
The ultimate goal of the entire Evolution/Shield feud is to set up a contest between Triple H and Roman Reigns sometime this fall, most likely at SummerSlam. If Batista takes a significant amount of time off and Triple H only appears to cut promos, it seems like it will be difficult to drag out the program until August.
Ric Flair is scheduled to appear on Raw this week, meaning he could also be inserted into the program for a brief period of time. I highly doubt that Flair will be around for long though, as he was not originally slated to rejoin Evolution, and considering the fact that he hasn’t shown up to a WWE event sober in months, it seems unlikely that too much importance will be placed on the Nature Boy.
Flair’s sobriety, or lack thereof, aside, he is also not someone who is going to compete in the ring, so his involvement seems rather pointless, especially when considering that Triple H is basically playing the same managerial role that Flair occupied during the stable’s original incarnation.
– As previously reported, WWE teased a possible Undertaker vs. Sting match in a “Fantasy Warfare” feature on their official website. They have added the video to their official YouTube channel, which you can check out below.
– A fan recently sent along the following photo of CM Punk and AJ Lee together at a recent Chicago Blackhawks NHL game.
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On where he feels WWE will end up on cable TV: “WWE should be so lucky as UFC has been with Fox when WWE signs their new, broadcast rights deal in America of which I fully expect to be an enhanced deal with NBC/Universal which will see RAW/Smackdown stay where they currently are. I do think that USA Network and their affiliates can do more to help promote WWE. I’d like to see Smackdown moved to Tuesday and go live. Going live with Smackdown on Friday night isn’t financially feasible or schedule friendly for WWE whatsoever.”
On having no desire to return to a weekly announcing gig: “I have no desire to return to weekly, pro wrestling announcing any where and especially where announcer’s are heavily produced and cannot be themselves. I don’t miss the travel or the politics. I also know that @MichaelCole @JCLayfield @Jerry Lawler don’t get the credit that they deserve under the philosophy currently utilized for their roles.”
On the fallout from Undertaker’s streak ending: “The Streak is dead. It isn’t being resurrected. Now the key is how WWE addresses Lesnar’s situation going forward and any future plans for Taker including when and where he goes into the WWE HOF. Those that are still in shock simply need to get over it and move forward. I did not like it either but I can see where the Streak ending can create unique opportunities on multiple, creative fronts.”
On the boxing documentary he narrarated for FOX Sports 1: “The video feature that I narrated for @FoxSports1 will air Monday night after their boxing event. It’s about the journey that the late, Tommy Morrison’s son Trey has embarked upon in pro boxing. The young, Oklahoman is attempting to follow in his dad’s footsteps. Many will recall that Tommy Morrison appeared in Rocky 5 and also defeated George Foreman to win the WBO heavyweight Title before lifestyle decisions helped end his career and eventually his life at the age of 44.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
The following is the final lineup for tonight’s TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view:
TNA World Heavyweight Title Match
Magnus vs. Eric Young
TNA X-Division Title Match
Tigre Uno vs. Sanada
TNA Knockouts Title Match
Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne
TNA Tag-Team Title Handicap Match
Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Robbie E, Jessie Godderz & Zema Ion
Tables Match
Bully Ray vs. Bobby Roode
I-Quit Match
Gunner vs. James Storm
Committed Match
Samuel Shaw vs. Mr. Anderson
Tag-Team Match
Willow and Kurt Angle vs. Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud
Make sure to visit SESCOOPS.COM later tonight for the absolute best live play-by-play results coverage of TNA Sacrifice 2014.
TNA World Champion Eric Young announced via his official Twitter account that his new show, “No Limits,” will premiere on Animal Planet on May 30th. Young tweeted the following:
It's OFFICIAL! MY new show NO LIMITS airs on @AnimalPlanet may 30th at 800pm #nolimits #newshow #imover
— Eric Young (@ShowtimeEY) April 26, 2014
The Discovery Channel sent out a press release earlier this week, which you can read below:
“”Professional wrestler Showtime Eric Young returns to Animal Planet in NO LIMITS, a continuation of the adventure series OFF THE HOOK: EXTREME CATCHES. Follow Young, an avid yet novice outdoorsman, as he crisscrosses the country to try his hand at various extreme activities, ranging from wildly dangerous to all-out weird! Now that he’s conquered extreme fishing, Young’s never-ending thirst for adventure takes him on a new road trip where he meets some of the toughest and craziest people in the country and embraces their odd, local, adrenaline-fueled traditions. From Young learning what it takes to be a lumberjack in the Smoky Mountains to surfing gnarly sand dunes in Arizona, his newfound quest pushes him to the edge of his comfort zone while he showcases some of America’s most extreme lifestyles.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley was forced to cancel his comedy show at Crackers Comedy Club in Indianapolis, Indiana because of another booking at the C2E2 Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Foley tweeted the following about the issue:
Had to cancel Sun late show in #Indy. Unable to do #C2E2 in Chi, drive 4 hours & do 2 shows, 2 meet & greets. Sorry
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) April 26, 2014
– The following is the official trailer for the new “The Beautiful One: Bobby Eaton” documentary:
http://youtu.be/o6lEb_IX784