Randy Orton and Kane continued their attack on Daniel Bryan after Raw went off the air, John Cena’s theme played and he came down and cleared the ring of Orton & Kane.
Orton and Kane then tried to attack Cena, but he delivered an AA on each of them to end the show and send the crowd home happy.
The advertised dark match main event between Cena and Orton did not take place, likely due to Cena’s eye injury.
It was announced on this week’s edition of WWE RAW that Randy Orton will compete in one-on-one action against Christian on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
It was mentioned in the opening segment of RAW by Stephanie McMahon that Orton would be squaring off against every Elimination Chamber entrant in singles matches over the next several weeks. Orton’s first match was against Daniel Bryan on Monday’s RAW.
It was confirmed on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW from Omaha, Nebraska that WWE Superstar Mark Henry will make his official WWE return on next week’s edition of RAW.
Michael Cole and the RAW commentary team noted that Henry has been out of action on WWE television since having his arm broken at the hands of Brock Lesnar several weeks ago.
– Chris Jericho recently confirmed that his guest on his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this week will be Chavo Guerrero.
– It was announced on RAW that Randy Orton will compete against all of his upcoming Elimination Chamber opponents in singles matches on the next several weeks of WWE television. On Monday’s RAW, Orton competed against Daniel Bryan. This leaves John Cena, Sheamus, Christian and Antonio Cesaro.
It was announced during Monday’s WWE RAW show in Omaha, Nebraska that at next week’s edition of RAW there will be a special celebrity guest host.
The guest host of next week’s RAW will be none other than Betty White. The RAW announce team promoted White’s upcoming appearance on “The Tonight Show” and noted that the third season of her television show is about to begin.
The following are results from the matches taped prior to RAW on Monday night in Omaha for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
WWE Superstars Taping Results
– Tamina def. Natalya in Divas action. This was your typical WWE Divas match, with a decent amount of back-and-forth action. Tamina ended up getting the win via a clean pinfall. The crowd was doing some “CM Punk” chants throughout the match.
– The Usos & Los Matadores def. 3MB & Curt Hawkins in an eight-man tag-team match. This was mostly a comedy match with The Usos ended up getting the pin and the victory for their team.
RAW Opener: Randy Orton & The Authority
This week’s show opens up with a shot of the live crowd in Omaha and Michael Cole welcoming us to RAW. After that, Randy Orton’s music hits and out walks the WWE World Heavyweight Champion to the ring to a chorus of boo’s. We shoot to the announce table during Orton’s entrance as Cole talks about Orton being in a bad mood due to his match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Orton begins speaking and almost immediately a loud “CM Punk” chant breaks out. Orton raises his voice to try and drown it out. Orton complains about having to defend his title at the upcoming pay-per-view. Orton says despite people wanting him to lose, he’s going to win the Elimination Chamber and go on to beat the “jacked up freak” Batista. He says during the Evolution days, he and Batista were equals. He says now he’s simply better than him. Orton calls himself the greatest Superstar of this and every other generation. He says he’s the main attraction each week on RAW.
Triple H’s music hits and out comes “The Game” and Stephanie McMahon. As soon as Stephanie begins speaking, another loud “CM Punk” chant breaks out. Stephanie tells Orton he’s paranoid and not to bite the hand that feeds him. Triple H says Orton comes out week after week complaining about facing unfair odds. HHH says that doesn’t sound like words that should be coming out of the mouth of the “face of the WWE.” Triple H says maybe The Authority should consider putting their faith in someone else. As soon as he says that, a loud “Yes, Yes” chant breaks out. Stephanie says in the next several weeks, Orton will face his Elimination Chamber opponents in one-on-one matches. Stephanie talks about considering they may have to consider making Daniel Bryan the new face of WWE. The crowd erupts with “Yes” chants as Triple H does the hand-raising gesture that Bryan normally does. Bryan will compete against Orton tonight and if Bryan wins, The Authority claims they will consider him as the new face of the WWE.
The Shield vs. Rey Mysterio, Big E. Langston & Kofi Kingston
The Shield’s music hits and out comes all three members through the crowd. We see video highlights of the Wyatt Family costing The Shield their chance to quality for the Elimination Chamber on RAW last week. After that, highlights are shown from SmackDown of the segment with Roman Reigns getting in Triple H’s face and setting up The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. We head to a commercial.
When we return from commercial, Rey Mysterio is making his entrance. Big E. Langston and Kofi Kingston are already in the ring. The bell rings and a six-man tag-team match begins. Langston and Dean Ambrose start things off for their respective teams. Langston gets the better of Ambrose and then tags in Kingston. Kingston picks up where Langston left off.
Ambrose tags Seth Rollins in and Kingston immediately goes to work on Rollins. The babyfaces are in firm control of this one thus far. Rollins gets Kingston in the heel corner and tags in Ambrose. The Shield seem to be taking over this match now. Ambrose tags in Roman Reigns and the crowd pops a bit as Reigns picks up where Ambrose left off with Kingston. Reigns beats Kingston up a bit and then tags Rollins back in the match. Rollins works over Kingston a bit and then tags Ambrose back in the match. The Shield are keeping Kingston in their half of the ring and utilizing quick tags to keep fresh guys on him.
Kingston finally makes a tag to Rey Mysterio. Mysterio tags the hot tag and is flying all over the place, beating Rollins from one side of the ring to the other. We are told that Roman Reigns is trending right now on Twitter. A “6-1-9” chant breaks out from the fans in Omaha. Mysterio ends up in the heel corner, where Reigns tags back in and now the bad guys are back in control. We head to a mid-match commercial on that note.
When we return from commercial, Reigns is dragging Mysterio to the heel corner. He slaps Mysterio in a rear-chin lock as we see footage, via the WWE App, of The Shield beating up Mysterio during the commercial break. Reigns tags in Ambrose and The Shield continue their beat down of Rey-Rey. Ambrose misses a spear on Mysterio in the corner and Mysterio finally makes the tag to Langston.
Langston takes the hot tag and is now throwing The Shield members around like rag dolls. Reigns ends up busted open during all of this. All six guys end up in the ring and there are bodies flying everywhere. Reigns ends up nailing Langston with the Superman punch. Ambrose tags himself in as Reigns was going for the spear. Ambrose steals the pin for his team.
Winners: The Shield
After The Match
Roman Reigns looks pissed at Ambrose. The two argue back-and-forth a bit while Rollins tries to calm the situation down. The Wyatt Family ends up appearing on the titan tron. Bray Wyatt cuts a promo. He says he has their blueprint stamped in his brain. He calls them pawns. Bray says The Shield’s moment is coming sooner than they think. Luke Harper ends up getting a speaking role. He says “he has always been your king.” He begins whistling as Erick Rowan leans in wearing the sheep mask. Rowan says “run.” We see Bray smiling as Harper continues whistling. And that’s about it. We head to another commercial break.
Daniel Bryan & The Seahawks
When we return from commercial, Michael Cole promotes the fact that the Seahawks did the “Yes” chant after winning the Super Bowl, as well as the Seahawks tweeting Daniel Bryan after their big victory.
Bad News Barrett & Jerry Lawler
We return live in the arena for a Bad News Barrett segment. He points out that the Super Bowl on Sunday was the most-watched show in U.S. history, but he’s afraid he’s got some bad news. He talks about people eating junk food during the game. As he laughs, Jerry Lawler jumps on the house mic. He says he’s afraid he’s got some bad news for him. Lawler says hopefully next week, Barrett won’t be around. Lawler’s music plays. That was it.
Christian vs. Jack Swagger
After a WWE App and WWE Network plug, Christian’s music hits. Christian makes his way to the ring as Michael Cole points out he qualified for the Elimination Chamber on SmackDown last week. We head to a commercial as Christian makes his way to the ring. When we return from commercial, Christian is in the ring, as is his opponent, Jack Swagger.
The bell rings and we have a rematch from last week. Antonio Cesaro and Zeb Colter are at ringside for this one. As soon as the bell rings, Swagger takes Christian down. He throws Christian into the corner and goes to work on him with punches. The announcers talk about possible jealously within The Real Americans due to Cesaro qualifying for the Elimination Chamber. Meanwhile, Christian knocks Swagger out to the floor.
Swagger ends up beating up Christian on the floor a bit before throwing him back in the ring. We see Colter talking to Cesaro outside the ring as Swagger continues to punish Christian inside the ring. Christian tries to fight his way back into the match, but Swagger cuts his attempt short and continues his beat down. A “let’s go Christian” chant breaks out as Swagger continues to dominate.
Swagger misses a big splash in the corner and now Christian is firing up on offense. Christian hits a big missile dropkick off the middle rope on Swagger. Christian goes for a big splash off the top rope, but Swagger catches him and reverses into his ankle lock. Christian escapes, looks for the Killswitch, but Swagger avoids it. Swagger goes for the Swagger Bomb but Christian avoids that. Christian rolls Swagger up. 1-2-3. Christian wins.
Winner: Christian
Take-Two officially confirmed today via their third-quarter earnings report that a WWE 2K15 video game will be released during the company’s 2015 fiscal year.
The Cinema Blend website notes the following regarding the game:
“WWE 2K15 will be the second WWE game released by Take-Two. The company purchased the rights from THQ in early 2013. They retained long-time series developer Yukes to handle WWE 2K14. While sales figures weren’t provided for 2K14, the game was apparently successful enough for Take-Two to justify continuing the franchise.
Unlike NBA 2K14, WWE 2K14 was only released on current-gen consoles. It seems likely that the 2K15 will be available on Xbox One and PS4 as well, though.”
For more information, visit CinemaBlend.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin taped an episode of his “Unleashed” podcast today where he took phone calls from fans on current WWE controversies, such as the CM Punk and Daniel Bryan situations. Austin was joined during the show by Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer. The episode is expected to air this Thursday.
– The Key Arena website has removed their Facebook post regarding WWE Extreme Rules not being booked for May. The post, which is no longer featured, originally read as follows:
“Unfortunately we do not have WWE on May 4th. We are aware of the rumors that have been circulating. We love having the WWE and WWE Fans in our building and can’t wait to have them back!”
– According to reports, WWE is well aware that there may be an issue with CM Punk chants at tonight’s RAW. The general impression within WWE is that although it’s a possibility for tonight, they don’t expect it to become a real issue until they move into the Northeast, and Chicago in particular. The company apparently feels as though Omaha, the site of tonight’s RAW, is not a “hotbed of internet fans.”
– Speaking of Punk, WWE has replaced him on the RAW banner of the WWE App with John Cena. Punk’s girlfriend, AJ Lee, remains on the SmackDown banner of the App.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
TNA star Kurt Angle was photographed in a wheelchair in the United Kingdom this past weekend. There is no word as to whether or not Angle is in a wheelchair to sell a television attack that is part of a storyline, or if Angle is having a hard time getting around.
As noted, Angle has been pushing back a surgery operation that he was scheduled to undergo in late January.
– PWInsider.com reported recently that a reader was issued the following response when asking WWE about the availability of the WWE Network on Apple TV:
“Hi Josh, thank you for reaching out to us. In order to experience WWE Network on an Apple TV, you must have a second generation or later (black) Apple TV and be a WWE Network subscriber. Once WWE Network is available, you will be able to launch the WWE Newmarket app directly from your Apple TV. Let us know if you have further questions! Thank you.”
– Former WWE Diva Jillian Hall recently posted the following tweet regarding rumors that she is making a WWE return:
Whoa…… Slow down there little assumers!! Haha…
— Jillian Hall (@Jillianhall1) February 3, 2014
According to WrestlingDVDNews.com, the WWE’s Greatest Factions DVD and Blu-ray set is scheduled to be released on May 27th, with the working title, “WWE Presents: Wrestling’s Greatest Factions.”
The following is the official synopsis for the project:
“For decades, Superstars have sought allies and banded together for strength in numbers. From the Four Horsemen to the n.W.o, DX, The Nexus, The Shield, and everyone in between, factions are as woven into the fabric of sports-entertainment as the rules they tend to ignore. Now, WWE celebrates the biggest, baddest and coolest factions in history.
From those who influenced generations of Superstars to those who just ran roughshod over the competition, this 3-disc DVD/2-disc Blu-ray presents a brief history of the top factions from all eras and collects several of the greatest matches and moments that made each one a household name. Also featuring The Fabulous Freebirds, The Nation of Domination, Evolution, The Heenan Family, Straight Edge Society and much more!”
The following are highlights of a recent interview with former SmackDown head writer Alex Greenfield:
On CM Punk: “I know there’s been a certain amount of dissatisfaction from Punk backstage according to the rumor mill anyway. He seems like he’s always got some level of dissatisfaction but it never occurred to me that he would walk away. I’m 70 percent sure this is not a work, that he has really walked away. Which isn’t to say he can’t be brought back but there is a chance that this some sort of high level story telling that they’re trying. Presuming it’s real I kind of understand it. His body’s all banged up, he’s looking at the same creative we are and probably feeling a very similar sense of dissatisfaction. I can understand walking away. It makes sense to me. It also makes sense to me though like I can articulate a story where in which this is a work and we get him together with Hunter and we can all sort of telescope that this is a work version of the story out and if that’s the case I just feel like this is the 2nd time we’ve gone to this well with this character so it doesn’t make sense to me that you would tell that story again which is one of the reasons why i think the preponderance of the evidence is that he’s actually walked away and I can feel it cause just as a fan I’m going to walk away for a little while.”
On Daniel Bryan: “You look at the way Bryan’s been booked since Summer Slam. An argument you see a lot is that Daniel Bryan’s PPVs didn’t increase numbers and neither did his RAW segments well you gave him sh**** booking that involves belittling him every single week. This is something went with Rey (Mysterio). We had Mark kill him and the Great Khali killing him. We were burying our champion every single week. Of course that’s going to turn people off when you don’t give them what they want. Telescoping forward, I have the feeling that this is all going to come to a head and that they will put the title on Bryan in a big of a way as they feel is right and Vince is going to start booking him like Rey. Here’s a guy whose job is to get his ass kicked, and slip over every now and then. I think it’s terrible storytelling, it’s not what the people want and when people bitch about Bryan’s ratings and say well that’s the reason they’re not going with him they gave him a shot already. I don’t think they gave him a legitimate shot. I think they gave him a story that undercut him at the knees from the moment he walked out of the curtain.”
On the Royal Rumble and Bryan not being part of it: “WWE seems to want to fight against the crowd just doesn’t make any sense to me. Why aren’t you taking advantage of the lighting and that’s one of the things that frustrated me so much about the Rumble is I don’t think you can get that moment of triumphing over adversity in that way and there’s so many stories it opens up like did Kane help him get in? So many things you can do. Even if they change plans and give him (Bryan) a big WrestleMania moment I feel like the lightning in the bottle has been lost because now it’s all repairing shit they broke. It’s silly if they didn’t have some idea of what would happen before the world title match started. If you get to the end of that world title match and you don’t call the audible to get Bryan into the match, hell even having Batista eliminating him and having them be the final 2 I think would have sent people home a lot happier. But that you don’t even call that audible just to me indicates the calcified my way or the highway thinking that makes wrestling not very fun.”
Check out the complete interview at MoreLikeRadio.com.
– Stephanie McMahon took part in a fitness shoot with celebrity trainer Larysa DiDio and Prevention Magazine this past weekend.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland will be appearing on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight this Wednesday night in Canada. The following is the official preview for the show:
“Going by the name Edge, Adam Copeland used to be a boss in professional wrestling, winning 31 titles in all with the WWE. But as those titles added up and so did the injuries: torn knee ligaments, a broken jaw and a broken neck. Adam was forced to retire to a new career… acting. You can see him in the TV series Haven, based loosely on a novel by Stephen King. The Montreal Canadiens also make an appearance on this episode. As do Patrick McKenna, Brendan McKeigan and Anna Gustafson, who tackle mental health on The Panel.”
The following is an excerpt from a new Mick Foley Facebook blog:
“Thanks, everyone for the great feedback on my CM Punk video. This is the first video of this type that I have done in a long time, and from what I’ve read, you’s like to see them more often. I’ve been asked by WWE to do a weekly RAW wrap-up show for the WWE website, but it’s important to me that they understand that if I am going to do a show for them that it be my own perspective, and that it be honest. It’s not in my nature to just go around bashing everything I see – which is why that tweet after the Rumble resonated so deeply with so many of you. So, if I do a show for them, it will likely be a lrgely positive show, but I won’t hesitate to point out problems where I think they exist. If I end up doing the show on my own YouTube channel, you will know that we couldn’t agree on either content, philosophy or money.”
Check out the complete blog at Facebook.com/RealMickFoley.
– Cody Rhodes’ wife Brandi Rhodes is currently using the name “Eden” in WWE NXT. Rhodes has been handling a lot of the ring announcing at recent NXT live events. When Rhodes was signed to WWE a couple of years back, she was using the name Eden Stiles.
– For those wondering, Bray Wyatt reportedly writes his own promos. The process features Bray writing his own material, but then clearing with the WWE creative team who then add their own edits and then approve it.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
F4WOnline.com recently confirmed rumors that Paul Bearer is considered a lock for a spot in this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame class. Other names that are rumored to be inducted this year include Scott Hall and Cyndi Lauper.
Additionally, Stephanie McMahon is reportedly working on trying to lock in another big name for a spot in this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame class. As of right now, there is no definite word as to who Stephanie is working on.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com & PWInsider.com)
According to reports, the word going on within WWE right now is that CM Punk has failed to respond to phone calls and text messages sent to him by WWE executives.
The feeling is Punk is keeping to himself, short of a few people in his inner circle, and the belief is those who are in contact with Punk won’t be talking about the situation publicly.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
As noted, there have been a number of creative meetings in the past week regarding booking the card for WrestleMania XXX. At this point, the only match that is considered a lock is John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt.
According to one source, there is a lot of back-and-forth discussion regarding Brock Lesnar’s match on the show. The original plan was for Lesnar to face The Undertaker, however some are of the belief that there is something to the tease between Lesnar and Batista on RAW recently.
Additionally, there is a lot of talk about how to use Daniel Bryan on the show. Originally, Bryan was to work with Sheamus at WrestleMania. After the crowd hijacking at the Royal Rumble, there continues to be talk of featuring Bryan in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
Ryback competed in a chicken wing eating contest during halftime of Sunday’s Super Bowl:
As previously reported, John Cena did not work his scheduled appearance at the WWE live event on Sunday due to what was reported as an eye injury. According to one source, Cena was willing to work the show despite the eye issue, but WWE opted to pull him from the event.
Additionally, it appears that Cena’s eye injury may have come at the hands of Randy Orton, as Cena was reportedly poked in the eye during his match with Orton on Saturday night. After he was poked, the match was stopped briefly while WWE trainers checked on Cena.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
TNA star Kurt Angle was scheduled to undergo surgery in late January, however with Jeff Hardy and Sting not going on the company’s U.K. tour, Angle’s surgery was pushed back so that he could fill-in on the tour.
During the television taping in Glasgow, Scotland this past week, an angle was shot that saw Angle get beat down with steel chairs, which was seemingly the company’s way of writing him out of the storylines. The following day in Manchester, Angle was told by the TNA creative team that he was scheduled to do a run-in segment. Angle reportedly flipped out as a result, as he had already been written out of storylines and because he had been working despite doctor’s orders not to.
John Gaburick was said to be the one that Angle flipped out to, and in the end, Angle did not work the taping that night in Manchester.
Angle did his Hall Of Fame induction the next day in London, and set up a probable Lockdown match against Ethan Carter III. As a result, it appears that TNA is expecting Angle to work the pay-per-view without having the surgery he needs.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
– The official WWE website ran a poll recently asking fans who is the bigger success story to come out of the Evolution faction, Batista or Randy Orton. At last check, Orton was in the lead with well over 50 percent of the vote.
– Kid Rock’s song “Celebrate” will be used one of the themes for Wrestlemania XXX.
– The Wrestlemania XXX DVD and Blu-Ray sets will be released on 5/13, according to Amazon.com.
– UFC President Dana White was not happy about Allistair Overeem calling out Brock Lesnar at Saturday night’s post-show press conference. Dana White appeared on FOX Sports last night and said:
“It was a crappy performance by Alistair. Then, he calls out someone who doesn’t even fight in the UFC. It was not a great night for Overeem.”
According to F4WOnline.com, there are a number of people behind-the-scenes in WWE right now that are said to be “not unhappy” that CM Punk is gone. Apparently there has been a lot of negativity towards Punk from many people in the company.
As noted previously, Vince McMahon is personally handling the Punk situation. McMahon reportedly wants Punk to stay because he feels like there aren’t many top Superstars in the company right now.
Regarding WrestleMania XXX, the feeling is that Punk knew the company was aware that his contract expires in July, and that he wasn’t expected to re-sign, meaning he felt like he knew what direction his match against Triple H would head as a result.