WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee and former WWE Superstar CM Punk are engaged, according to a report at f4wonline.com.
AJ Lee will be moving to Chicago soon to live with Punk.
Fans may have noticed that AJ was sporting what appears to be an engagement ring last night on RAW:
Daniel Bryan recently spoke to DirecTV to hype Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Being Compared to Steve Austin: “I honestly don’t think they are accurate. There are some similarities, like anyone who has had issues with authority figures in WWE. But I think our attitudes and how we handle things are different. It was a different era when Steve Austin was battling Vince McMahaon. It’s kind of similar, but to me they are way different.”
Fighting Triple H: “The biggest thing is he’s just really smart and he knows what he’s doing. He’s been doing it for years. Not only that, but he’s also a big tough dude. He tore his quad and kept wrestling. He wrestled Cactus Jack in those Hell in a Cell matches and street fights. He is a multiple time WWE and World Champion. He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to win. Also, he’s been in those big matches and main evented WrestleMania before. I think all of those lend to his strengths.”
Potentially Main Eventing WrestleMania XXX: “That is what every wrestler who has ever wanted to step in the ring strives for. It’s funny, 3 years ago, I would do radio interviews and people would ask me what my goal is, and it was to main event WrestleMania. People you are talking to are like “Oh, that’s a nice little dream.” But now here it is and it’s within my grasp. That is literally – when you are lying in bed as a 15-year old kid, and you are dreaming of being a wrestler – that is what you are dreaming of. You want to be in the biggest match in the biggest show of the year. With 70,000 plus fans screaming. That’s what everybody wants when they start this.”
The following are clips from today’s WrestleMania XXX press conference, which was held in New York City today and aired live on the WWE Network.
Hulk Hogan discusses the future of WWE: WrestleMania 30 Press Conference
Hulk Hogan talks about his impressive history in WrestleMania, as well as the future of WWE.
Daniel Bryan is living his dream: WrestleMania 30 Press Conference
Daniel Bryan is ready to realize his dream at WrestleMania 30.
Triple H discusses the dreams of WWE Superstars: WrestleMania 30 Press Conference
Triple H talks about the dreams of WWE Superstars to be apart of WrestleMania.
John Cena discusses why Wrestlemania is special: WrestleMania 30 Press Conference
John Cena shares a memorable story about what makes WrestleMania moments so special.
Batista and Randy Orton are set for the main event: WrestleMania 30 Press Conference
Batista mocks his critics and Randy Orton makes a big claim at the WrestleMania 30 Press Conference.
The following are highlights of a recent Bleacher Report interview with Paul Heyman:
On WWE’s key to success: “The key to WWE’s success and longevity is that they are, as modern and as relevant as the company may be in modern social media and platforms and contemporary distribution, the company is still built around old-school promotion. Who are these two fighters? Why are they wrestling? And why should I pay to see it? In order to answer those three questions you have to build up the talent. And you can’t just build up talent that has equity in their names. You have to make new stars. And that’s the mantra that has always worked best in any period that you could call the glory days.”
On the Undertaker character succeeding: “I don’t think it was as much the character as it was the man behind the character. I think The Undertaker is, much like Brock Lesnar, a once-in-a-lifetime wrestler, a once-in-a-lifetime athlete and a once-in-a-lifetime performer. You can’t just put somebody in that slot. You need someone who can own up to the role and someone who makes the role theirs, who walks in the skin of the character. When that gels, when the athlete and the performer come together, then you have someone who is truly box office. This is not something that someone else could have accomplished. You couldn’t have given that name and that character to anybody else—they would have never survived.”
On Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX: “I think it’s more than special. I’m very blessed. I get the best seat in the house for the match that has the most historical significance and the longest-ranging ramifications in terms of what happens after the match is over. This is Brock Lesnar’s chance to truly step into immortality. From my perspective it’s a match that Brock Lesnar doesn’t have to win but that The Undertaker must not lose.”
Check out the complete interview at BleacherReport.com.
The following is a preview for this week’s “WWE Countdown,” show, which looks at the top ten most memorable moments in WWE RAW history, and airs tonight on the WWE Network.
This week’s “WrestleMania Rewind” looks at Triple H’s return from injury to challenge Chris Jericho for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania X-8. For whatever reason, WWE didn’t release a video preview for that show on YouTube this week.
– Stephanie McMahon has officially started an Instagram account. You can follow her updates at Instagram.com/StephanieMcMahon. So far she only has two photos on the account, one of which is a shot of she and Triple H on their way to today’s WrestleMania XXX press conference in New York City.
– Chris Jericho revealed his guests for his “Talk Is Jericho” podcasts this week. Jericho tweeted the following:
This week on @TalkIsJericho:
Wed-LaJon Witherspoon of @Sevendust
Fri-@ReyMysterio
Plus more @WWE theme lyrics, & Egypt’s Mania predictions!
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) April 1, 2014
– The following is the official trailer for the “Ultimate Warrior: The Ultimate Collection” DVD, which is available in stores today.
The following are highlights of a new Boston Herald interview with Chris Jericho:
On his WrestleMania XXX status: “I’m not a part of it and I won’t be a part of it. And it was my choice to sit out this year.”
On the reason he decided not to return: “If I’m going to be at WrestleMania, it’s going to be in a position that I can sink my teeth into, a position that I think is significant enough for somebody of Y2J’s experience level and notoriety. Looking at the card this year and you see everybody who came back — Brock Lesnar and Undertaker are back, Triple H is back, Batista is back, and it’s the ascension of Daniel Bryan — how many spots are there available for Jericho at this point in time?”
On the CM Punk situation: “Everyone’s asking, ‘Where is CM Punk?’ Punk had enough of whatever was going on, and none of us really know whatever it was, and he left. And that’s your only choice.”
Check out the complete interview at BostonHerald.com.
The following are highlights of a recent VOC Nation interview with former Men On A Mission member Mo:
On Mabel (Nelson Frazier Jr.) as a possible WWE Hall Of Fame inductee: “The one thing that [Nelson Frazier] talked about more than anything in the weeks before he passed, he wanted to be in the Hall of Fame. He felt like looking at the way the business is now, and he felt like, in his heart of hearts, Men on a Mission … had done enough and we had brought so much to the business because … how [of] many acts have spawned off of just the Men on a Mission characters … He really felt like we should be in the Hall of Fame. He would tell me all the time, “Man, if you’ve got anything bad to say about WWE, anything, just please man don’t say it. Keep it to yourself. Don’t say it. We deserve the Hall of Fame.”
On WWE still using the Men On A Mission gimmick: “If you look at 2014 WWE, right now, just about 60% of the gimmicked characters [or] whatever they have on that TV program right now is a take from either Men on a Mission or from Oscar’s character in a sense. Just about everybody’s using some type of rap thing, some type of rap music. Even John Cena comes to the ring rapping. You’ve got the Usos, now, instead of saying “Whoop there it is” they’re saying “U-so, U-so,” you’ve got Ron Killings (R-Truth) instead of going “Whoop there it is” it’s “What’s up? What’s up?.” You know?”
On getting heat because of Oscar: “We met Oscar the same day we flew up to New York and took a limo to Connecticut. We didn’t click because Oscar didn’t know about the wrestling business. He knew everything in the world about the entertainment business but he didn’t know anything about our business. So, in the beginning we had a lot of problems trying to get him to realize “We’re going to get heat for this, we’re going to get heat for that,” and all these different things … He did [get us heat] … Nobody ever knew we (Mo and Mabel) [were] separate [from Oscar].”
Check out the complete interview at VOCNation.com.
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans who they think will leave WrestleMania XXX as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Here are the results as of Tuesday afternoon, with 90% of fans thinking we’ll see a new champion this Sunday:
– Jake Roberts is the latest guest on WWE’s 30 Years of WrestleMania podcast, hosted by Renee Young. You can listen now at PodcastOne.com.
– The stars of the Real Housewives reality TV shows will be invading Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view. Phaedra Parks (Real Housewives of Atlanta), Kristen Taekman (Real Housewives of New York) and Melissa Gorga (Real Housewives of New Jersey) all tweeted last night that cast members from each of their shows will be attending.
WRESTLEMANIA® TAKES OVER NEW ORLEANS
STAMFORD, Conn., April 1, 2014 – Fans from all 50 states and more than 30 countries will descend upon New Orleans for a week-long lineup of festivities in celebration of WrestleMania 30, taking place this Sunday, April 6 live on WWE Network and pay-per-view at 7 pm ET from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. WWE® will also host more than a dozen pro-social events designed to give back to the host community. WrestleMania Week begins today, Tuesday, April 1 and includes the following events:
· WrestleMania 30 Press Conference – Today, Hard Rock Café, NYC
Before WWE takes over New Orleans and Randy Orton® defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat match against Batista® and the winner of Daniel Bryan® vs. Triple H®, all four WrestleMania headliners will come face-to-face today at 11 am ET at the Hard Rock Café in New York City, where WrestleMania first began 30 years ago. They will be joined by WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WrestleMania 30 host Hulk Hogan™ and WWE Superstar John Cena® to offer a preview of this year’s historic event. The press conference will be streamed live on WWE Network.
· Children’s Hospital Visits – Wednesday, April 2, New Orleans
WWE Superstars Kofi Kingston®, Cody Rhodes® and Zack Ryder® and WWE Diva Natalya™ will visit the Ochsner Children’s Health Center and the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans tomorrow. Mattel will donate WWE action figures for the WWE Superstars and Divas to distribute throughout their visits.
· Hire Heroes USA Autograph Signing – Wednesday, April 2, Jackson Barracks
As part of WWE’s longstanding commitment to the military, WWE has partnered with Hire Heroes USA (#ServiceatWork) to support their mission of creating job opportunities for veterans and their spouses through personalized employment transition training and corporate engagement. Tomorrow, WWE Superstar Mark Henry®, WWE Diva Eva Marie™ and WWE announcer Lilian Garcia® will participate in a meet and greet and autograph signing for military members, veterans and their families.
· Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game – Wednesday, April 2, Tulane University
WWE, a Founding Partner of the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games, and Special Olympics Louisiana will host a unified basketball game (#UNIFIEDSPORTS) tomorrow at Tulane University. Athletes from Team Louisiana will participate in a basketball game where WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil™, WWE Divas The Bella Twins™ and WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon will serve as honorary coaches.
· Superstars for Kids – Thursday, April 3, New Orleans Museum of Art
WWE Superstars and Divas including John Cena, Daniel Bryan, The Miz®, Big Show® and The Bella Twins will join New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and the star of A Haunted Mansion 2, Marlon Wayans at this year’s Superstars for Kids (#STARS4KIDS) red carpet party at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Last week, WWE kicked off a global online auction to benefit Drew Brees’s non-profit organization, The Brees Dream Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs at www.Charitybuzz.com/WWE. The auction features unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences with WWE Superstars, professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities. During the Superstars for Kids red carpet party, Wayans will lead an additional live auction where even more incredible experiences will be made available for bidding.
· Be a STAR Anti-Bullying Rallies – Thursday, April 3 and Friday April, 4
Be a STAR (Show Tolerance And Respect) was co-founded by The Creative Coalition and WWE in April 2011. WWE and The Creative Coalition will hold two anti-bullying rallies (#BeaSTAR) in New Orleans during WrestleMania Week. On Thursday, April 3, WWE Superstars Mark Henry and David Otunga®, WWE Diva Natalya and WWE host Josh Mathews™ will deliver anti-bullying messages to 300 students at Sarah T. Reed High School. On Friday, April 4, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk will join WWE Superstars Alberto Del Rio® and Damien Sandow®, WWE Divas Naomi™ and Cameron™ and WWE host Renee Young™ at the Boys and Girls Club Westbank Unit where they will talk to more than 450 students about showing respect to one another.
· WrestleMania Reading Celebration – Thursday, April 3, Langston Hughes Academy
In an effort to promote literacy among children of all ages, WWE partners with the Pearson Foundation’s We Give Books program and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) to deliver an innovative digital reading experience to children, parents and teachers at www.WWEReadingSuperstar.com. On Thursday, April 3, more than 100 students and faculty at Langston Hughes Academy will participate in a Reading Celebration (#WWEReadingSuperstar) featuring WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes and WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee™.
· WrestleMania Axxess – Thursday, April 3–Sunday, April 6, New Orleans Convention Center
WrestleMania Axxess (#AXXESS) is the ultimate fan experience for the WWE Universe. This year’s WrestleMania Axxess will take place on Thursday, April 3 through Sunday, April 6 at the New Orleans Convention Center. Fans will get unprecedented access to meet their favorite WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends through a host of interactive fan experiences, including more autograph signings and live matches than ever before.
· KaBOOM! Playground Build – Friday, April 4, Woodland West Elementary School
WWE, KaBOOM! and more than 200 volunteers will team up to build a new playground (#PlayMatters) at Woodland West Elementary School. WWE and KaBOOM! launched its first-ever partnership to promote the importance of play in children’s lives. Earlier this year, WWE and KaBOOM! hosted a Design Day at Woodland West Elementary School where children brainstormed and designed their dream playground. The children will have the final design come to life on Friday, April 4, when WWE Superstars, executives, employees and community volunteers help build the playground of their dreams and leave a lasting impact on children in the New Orleans area.
· Make-A-Wish® Pizza Party – Saturday, April 5, Audubon Aquarium
WWE Superstar John Cena will host the annual Make-A-Wish (#MakeAWish) pizza party at Audobon Aquarium in New Orleans, where he will induct 31 wish children into WWE’s Circle of Champions. As part of its 30-year alliance with Make-A-Wish, WWE will also host the 31 wish kids and their families at WrestleMania 30. With more than 400 wishes and counting, Cena has granted more wishes than any celebrity.
· Susan G. Komen Luncheon – Saturday, April 5, Windsor Court Hotel
WWE Superstars, Divas and WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon will be on hand to support Komen New Orleans’ (#KomenNewOrleans) biggest mission day of the year, where they award more than $600,000 to local community grantees. The grants will be distributed to local community organizations committed to helping uninsured and underinsured women of New Orleans receive access to critical breast cancer education, screening and treatment services. McMahon has been named the Honorary Chairperson for Komen New Orleans.
· WWE 2014 Hall of Fame Ceremony – Saturday, April 5, Smoothie King Center
A capacity crowd will fill the Smoothie King Center for the 2014 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (#WWEHOF). On the eve of WrestleMania 30, a new class of inductees will join WWE Legends from the past as they are enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees include The Ultimate Warrior™, Jake “The Snake” Roberts™, Lita™, Razor Ramon, Paul Bearer, Carlos Colon and Mr. T.
· WrestleMania 30 – Sunday, April 6, Mercedes-Benz Superdome
More than 70,000 fans are expected to converge on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for WWE’s annual pop-culture extravaganza, WrestleMania 30 (#WRESTLEMANIA) hosted by Hulk Hogan. Current WWE Superstars will be joined by WWE Legends for a celebration 30 years in the making. Featured matches include the first-ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, The Undertaker® defending his epic WrestleMania winning streak against Brock Lesnar, John Cena battling Bray Wyatt, and Randy Orton defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Batista and the winner of a showdown between Daniel Bryan and Triple H.
For more information on WrestleMania 30, please visit www.wrestlemania.com.
· Monday Night Raw® – Monday April 7, Smoothie King Center
The night after WrestleMania, Monday Night Raw comes to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA. Fans can see their favorite WWE Superstars and Divas as the road to WrestleMania 31 begins. WrestleMania 31 will take place at the brand new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA on Sunday, March 29, 2015.
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, Miami, Mexico City, 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/.
– According to the WWE Network programming schedule, this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony will run for 2 1/2 hours from 9pm until 11:30pm. The show will be archived on the Network and there was also be replays on the 24/7 live stream.
– Mr. T was live-tweeting during last night’s RAW, talking about how excited he is and almost being done writing his speech. Hulk Hogan is rumored to induct his WrestleMania 1 tag team partner.
– Jake Roberts noted in a a recent interview that he will not have a written speech for the WWE Hall of Fame and plans to “speak from the heart” when he’s on stage.
– One WWE Hall of Famer who will not be in attendance at the Hall of Fame ceremony is legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel. The Fink is booked for a WWE AXXESS signing from 8-10pm.
WWE Diva Cameron noted on Twitter that she worked with the NBA’s Washington Wizards cheerleaders on Monday to learn a new dance routine and posted this photo with the girls:
2014 WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts recently spoke with Philly.com to promote WrestleMania weekend. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The Significance Of His Hall of Fame Induction: “There’s so much electricity in the air and so many good thoughts going through me. Nothing can take the shine off what’s about to happen because not only am I being inducted into the Hall of Fame, which is something I didn’t think would ever happen because of my out-of-the-ring antics and some of the things I said.”
Vince McMahon Forgiving Him: “People have to remember that an alcoholic and a drug addict can be known to tell a lie or two and I certainly did my share of it with lashing out and was pretty ugly about it. For Vince McMahon to forgive and forget — maybe he hasn’t forgotten, but at least he’s forgiven — and to invite me into the Hall of Fame … it’s going to be an awesome, awesome moment.”
Diamond Dallas Page Saving His Life: “There would have been no other choice other than god himself. Diamond Dallas saved my life. He didn’t have to, but that’s the kind of guy he is. He’s helped so many people with his DDP Yoga. It’s just incredible with the lives he’s changing, the lives he’s affecting. I am so honored to be part of that. Me making my journey, Scott Hall making his journey, we opened the doors for a lot of people out there that are struggling with all sorts of addictions. Whether it’s food or sex or whatever it’s still an addiction and addictions aren’t healthy.”
His New Book That Comes Out in June: “Right now, it’s 600 pages and that doesn’t even get me to the WWE years. It’s going to be a really, really intense book. I think it will help a lot of people understand more about addiction and more about people that have had struggles in their lives with sexual abuse. I’m opening the doors to my life. I’m not talking about anybody else. It’s just my own. I really look forward to having out there and traveling around and promoting it.”
Rapper Wale got into a physical altercation with a fan at Monday’s WWE RAW from Washington D.C.
According to TMZ, Wale was sitting ringside by the announcers table and was heckled by a fan. An eye witness told TMZ that Wale eventually out of his seat and “the next thing I know Wale is putting the smackdown on dude. Punched him dead in his face. It was a full fight.”
Security immediately rushed over and broke up the fight and took everyone outside of the main arena.
Both Wale and the fan eventually returned to their seats.
According to Wale, the fan he fought was threatening him. He tweeted on Monday night:
@MrBusby4o8 several times.. I don't understand the standards that I'm supposed to live by.. If I knew I honestly would adjust somethings
— Wale Folarin (@Wale) April 1, 2014
@bomani_jones I know not what u speak of brother Bomani I'm just watching the wrasselers wrassle
— Wale Folarin (@Wale) April 1, 2014
@al_uminati everybody can tell u how to live when they not in ur shoes.. U gon let somebody threaten u repeatedly ?
— Wale Folarin (@Wale) April 1, 2014
@BrandNewGuyx somebody threaten u . What u gon do? U throw around "soft" cuz I defend myself .backwards
— Wale Folarin (@Wale) April 1, 2014
– Summer Rae’s new entrance theme “Rush of Power” is now available on iTunes.
– E! sent out a press release announcing that Sunday’s episode of Total Divas was the most-watched episode of the entire series, drawing 1.55 million viewers. Total Divas is second most successful series currently on E! behind Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
– This week’s RAW Fallout video features WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper endorsing Big Show.
– It was announced on the RAW Pre-Show on the WWE Network that Brad Maddox has been officially added to the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at this Sunday’s WrestleMania XXX pay-per-view.
– Vickie Guerrero revealed on commentary during RAW that the Vickie Guerrero Diva Invitational, where AJ Lee will be putting her Divas Championship on the line, will be a one fall match.
The WrestleMania XXX “go-home” edition of WWE RAW, which comes to us live from Washington, D.C., opens with the “Gong.” The Undertaker slowly makes his way to the ring as Michael Cole hypes his streak and match against Brock Lesnar this Sunday on commentary.
Undertaker talks about 21 opponents trying, and 21 opponents failing to beat him at WrestleMania. He says Brock Lesnar is probably thinking how is he going to break the streak. He uses a sinking under water analogy to further point out how Lesnar will not break the streak this Sunday. He says many people believe in three things that can’t be beat: death, taxes and “the streak.” He goes to conclude his promo by informing Lesnar that he will “rest in peace,” however Lesnar’s music hits.
Out walks Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Heyman says he means no disrespect. He says his client, however, does. Heyman says this isn’t a match Lesnar has to win, it’s a match Undertaker must not lose. The fans drown out Heyman with loud “CM Punk” chants. In most cases, over the past few weeks, the Punk chants died down quickly. This week? Not so much. At least not in this case. After 20 seconds or so, they finally die down. Heyman goes on to talk about how Lesnar will break Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Heyman says that’s not a prediction, that’s a spoiler. He throws down the mic.
Heyman and Lesnar turn to leave, but Lesnar stops. He turns around. He and Heyman slowly walk towards the ring. Taker takes his big robe off. Lesnar stops. He turns and walks away again. He stops again. He turns and walks back to the ring again. He stops. He puts a big smile on his face and backs off once again. Well, gee-wiz. He turns around and starts walking to the ring again. This time he circles around the outside of the ring.
Heyman throws a chair in the ring and Taker goes to grab him. Lesnar attacks Taker from behind. Lesnar knocks the “Dead Man” off his feet. Lesnar hoists Taker up and nails him with his F-5 finisher. Lesnar stands over Taker, looking down at him, raising his hands in victory. His music plays and he exits the ring. He and Heyman go to leave, but Lesnar again approaches the ring. He doesn’t get back in the ring, instead he grabs the bottom rope from the floor, shakes it ala Ultimate Warrior, and lets out a trademark Lesnar screech/scream. We head to our first commercial break of the evening.
Big E. vs. Alberto Del Rio
When we return from commercial, WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. makes his way to the ring. Out next is Alberto Del Rio.
The bell rings and these two immediately go at it. When the smoke clears, Big E. is in control of the offense. Big E. spears Del Rio in the corner and then hoists him up with a body-press over his head, dropping him down in Ultimate Warrior style for a near fall. Big E. goes for another spear in the corner, but this time Del Rio moves and the I-C champ blasts the ring post shoulder-first.
Del Rio pulls Big E.’s arms outside the ring, places them on the ring steps and stomps on them. On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial.
When we return from commercial, Del Rio is working over the arm of Big E. in the middle of the ring. Del Rio ends up applying a version of his Cross Armbreaker on Big E. through the ropes. Del Rio goes to fly onto Big E., but the I-C champ catches him coming off the top and slams him down to the mat.
Big E. is making his big comeback now as he nails Del Rio with a belly-to-belly suplex. He goes to follow it up with a big splash, however Del Rio gets his knees up. Del Rio calls for a superkick, but Big E. avoids it. Big E. simply throws Del Rio up in the air and lets him crash down face-first. Big E. goes for the Big Ending, but Del Rio reverses it into a double-knee backbreaker.
Del Rio is calling for the Cross Armbreaker. He grabs Big E., but Big E. back-body drops him. He follows that up with a big splash, this time hitting it successfully. Big E. pulls the straps down, but when he goes to pick up Del Rio, Del Rio reverses Big E. into a Cross Armbreaker. Big E. almost fights out, but Del Rio re-applies it. Big E. again tries to power out of it, and this time he does. He goes to pin Del Rio, but Del Rio grabs the bottom rope.
Del Rio tries crawling out of the ring, but Big E. drags him back in. Big E. sits Del Rio on the top rope. Del Rio knocks him off, but Big E. grabs the middle rope with both arms. Del Rio jumps off the top and double-boot stomps him in the chest. Del Rio blasts Big E. with a big superkick and covers him. 1-2-3. Del Rio wins.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
On Tap For Tonight …
We are told that the fans get to vote on who will face Kane tonight. The options are all three members of The Shield. We are reminded that Randy Orton vs. Batista takes place tonight. We are told that “up next” there will be a “Farewell to the Yes! Movement” segment with The Authority. Right after that, we are told that “up next” is “Follow The Buzzards,” as Michael Cole says Bray Wyatt will address John Cena. I wonder which one is actually “up next?” I guess we’ll find out soon enough! On that note, we head to another commercial.
Backstage Segment: The Wyatt Family
When we return from commercial, Michael Cole hypes up the feud brewing between Bray Wyatt and John Cena. We see some highlights of last week’s RAW, complete with Cena ending up in the sheep mask tied in the ropes.
After the video package concludes, we see a shot of the sheep mask backstage. The camera pans out and we see all three members of The Wyatt Family. Bray talks about craving change. Bray asks “do I have your attention now, kids?” He says he’s going to burn everything they love down to the ground. He says “they’re going to cry for you, John.” He says in time they are going to forget you. He says then they will see you the way he does, as a monster. He sings “he’s got the whole world, in his hands.”
Summer Rae vs. Natalya
We see highlights of last night’s Total Divas, with the focus being the clip where Summer Rae slaps Natalya outside of her house. After that, Summer makes her way to the ring. Michael Cole informs us that coming up after the break is Summer Rae vs. Natalya. On that note, we head to commercial.
When we return from commercial, Natalya makes her way to the ring. Vickie Guerrero joins Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL on commentary. She talks about the Vickie Guerrero Diva Invitational match at WrestleMania XXX. She says the match will be one fall only.
Meanwhile, in the ring, Summer gets Natalya in the corner and stomps away at the back of her head. She clotheslines her down for a near fall. Natalya fires up and suplexes Summer a few times. Summer bitch-smacks Natalya and Cole says it’s a little payback. JBL corrects him, as it was Summer who smacked Natalya in the first place.
Natalya goes for the Sharpshooter but Summer kicks her off. Summer goes to run out of the ring, but Natalya grabs her by the hair and yanks her back in. As she was trying to do that, Summer blasts her with a kick. Summer pins her. 1-2-3. Summer Rae wins.
Winner: Summer Rae
The following are results for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown. The show was taped on Monday night in Washington, D.C. prior to WWE RAW.
– The show opens with the host of WrestleMania XXX, Hulk Hogan, coming down to the ring. Hogan talks about some of his WrestleMania memories and once again hypes up the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Titus O’Neil in singles action in the first match of the evening.
– The Real Americans def. Los Matadores in tag-team action.
I’m not sure if they’re taping additional matches and segments for this week’s SmackDown after RAW, or if the rest of the show will be video packages, etc. If they’re more content filmed for this week’s show after RAW, we will update this post.
The following are results for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. The show was taped on Monday night in Washington, D.C. prior to WWE RAW.
– Sheamus def. The Miz in singles action to open the show. Miz played heel throughout this match, as many would expect. The finish saw Sheamus pick up the victory after hitting Miz with his Brogue Kick for the 1-2-3.
– Tamina Snuka def. Nikki Bella in Divas action. AJ Lee was in Tamina’s corner, and of course Brie Bella was in Nikki’s. The finish came when Tamina hit the top-rope splash on Nikki for the 1-2-3.
The following are results of the match taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars. The match was taped on Monday night in Washington, D.C. prior to WWE RAW:
– Heath Slater (with Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) def. Kofi Kingston in singles action. The crowd was pretty into Kingston in this one. This was a mostly back-and-forth type of match, which ended with the 3MB member getting the victory.
The following are highlights of a recent Jim Ross Q&A update:
On why Undertaker and Chris Jericho never had a major feud: “No reasons that I can think of other than merely timing as I know that Jericho and Taker have great respect for the other.”
On if cable companies charged a per-usage rate instead of flat fee for broadband data, would it affect the WWE Network: “This question is intriguing but way beyond my level of interest or pay grade. I’m certain that WWE has likely thought of every scenario that might occur with their creation of the WWE Network. Lots of high paid people have been in the loop so one would think that all bases have been covered.”
On his memories of working with Bob Caudle at the Great American Bash ’89 event: “Bob Caudle was a great partner. Most underrated broadcaster that I ever worked with in my career. How could a Flair vs. Funk match be bad if both were willing to give of themselves to make the match great….and they did. Bob and I were not over produced and allowed to use our skills and instincts to get the talent over as best that we could. Hopefully, we succeeded. Thanks.”
On his invite to WWE HOF and if it will lead to the resolving of issues between he and WWE: “There’s nothing unresolved. My relationship with WWE is exactly what we want it to be. I’m staying very busy and doing something for WWE Network on an ongoing basis would be challenging. They’ve moved on and so have I with no regrets.”
Check out more Q&A updates from “Good Ole’ JR” online at JRsBarBQ.com.
WWE Superstar Hornswoggle recently spoke to The Northwestern about his role in the “Muppets Most Wanted” film. “It was cool on so many different levels,” said Hornswoggle. “The fanatic in me was just going crazy. I had to pinch myself daily to realize what I was doing.”
Hornswoggle continued, “I never would have thought that in a million years that this would have happened, being in WWE and being in a Muppet film. But for some stroke of luck I guess they both did and I’m loving both of them.”
Check out the complete interview at TheNorthwestern.com.
– The official WWE website recently published a new article called, “The untold stories behind 10 WrestleMania matches that almost happened,” which as the title states, tells the story behind some of the biggest WrestleMania matches that never actually took place. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– Also new from WWE is another installment of their “My First WrestleMania” YouTube series, which looks at William Regal’s debut at the big show. You can watch that below: