There is an unconfirmed report being carried by ChristianToday.com that Dwayne Johnson and Hulk Hogan will be part of the cast of the upcoming Expendables 4 movie.
The movie features Sylvester Stallone who plays the character of Barney Ross, the leader of the mercenaries. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jason Statham will be reprising their respective roles while Pierce Brosnan is also rumored to have agreed to join the ever expanding cast.
Another rumor is that Steve Austin will be joining Rock while Hogan will be playing the main villain in the fourth installment. Hogan has repeatedly said on Twitter in the past that he’s trying to convince Stallone to let him join the cast.
The popular franchise has seen its fair share of actors and actresses playing different characters including Mel Gibson, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Liam Hemsworth, Chuck Norris, Randy Couture, Ronda Rousey, and others.
The last Raw of 2015 did 3,536,000 viewers on average, up 202,000 viewers from last week’s show which itself did 500,000 viewers less from the post-TLC show.
Hour one started strong with 3,695,000 viewers, followed by 3,488,000 in the second hour, and then slightly less to 3,425,000 in the third and final hour. The opening angle was a big hit with the audience with Vince McMahon kicking off the show. From hour one to hour three Raw lost 270,000 viewers.
Raw faced some stiff competition over at ESPN for Monday Night Football as the football game did 15.8 million viewers, a season high so far. (Ratings credit: ShowBuzzDaily.com)
The second NXT event added to Chicago on January 16 was gone in a blink of an eye, solidifying the enormous success that the NXT brand has become for WWE.
The original 7:30PM show at the Portage Theater sold out pretty fast when it went on sale earlier this month and giving in to fans’ feedback, WWE added a second show, starting at 1PM in the same venue. The Portage Theater seats around 2,000 people.
This is the sixth sellout for NXT as they tour Green Bay, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh during the month of January.
After getting “fed” Alberto Del Rio at his previous house show appearance, Brock Lesnar’s next opponent has been revealed to be Sheamus, another member of the League of Nations.
Lesnar will take on the former WWE champion on the January 8 non-televised live event in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center. A few days later he will appear on Raw in New Orleans, his first televised appearance for WWE and the only one leading up to the Royal Rumble. Lesnar is still not advertised for the Raw after the Rumble.
At the house shows that Lesnar has appeared in so far since his new WWE deal kicked in just before WrestleMania 31, he has wrestled Kofi Kingston, Big Show, and Alberto Del Rio. The first two were WWE Network special events, one from Tokyo and one from New York.
Sin Cara suffered a dislocated shoulder during Raw last night in his match against Big E.
The match was stopped for a bit while trainers attended to the man behind the mask and The New Day played the crowd to try and deviate the attention. The injury occurred when Big E scooped Sin Cara’s legs from the apron and the mask Superstar flew to the floor, landing horribly on his shoulder.
Even though he was injured, the match continued with the planned finish after the trainer popped in his shoulder back in its socket. “Not even a dislocated shoulder could’ve stop from performing in this great city,” he wrote in an Instagram post afterward, also thanking the WWE fans for their support. The message was accompanied by a photo of his shoulder all wrapped up.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has promised that there is a “big and history making night planned” for WrestleMania 32, hours after he announced that he would be returning to WWE for possibly to biggest attended wrestling event in the United States ever.
It’s still not known if the People’s Champ will be wrestling or just making an appearance. He will be filming Baywatch during the months of March and April and considering he got injured during his last match against Cena which pushed the filming of Hercules back, losing millions in the process, it will be interesting to see what approach is taken. The insurance company which covered the movie Hercules at the time obviously wasn’t happy so it’s not just a matter of The Rock saying yes to a wrestling match.
Triple H noted on Twitter that Dallas will be “electric.” The original plan was The Rock and Ronda Rousey vs Triple H and Stephanie McMahon and then it turned to just The Rock vs Triple H when it was apparent that Rousey’s chances of wrestling were very, very slim and close to zero.
While The Rock and Triple H wrestled a million times against each other one on one, the two never had a WrestleMania match together. The only time they were in the ring together at WrestleMania was during the fatal four way match at WrestleMania 2000.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will be leaving his mark on the first Raw of 2016 as after he got arrested on last night’s Raw, the boss returned with a vengeance at the end of the show to announce the main event for next week.
The WWE World Heavyweight title will be on the line as Roman Reigns will be defending his title against Sheamus, again, however this time Mr McMahon will be serving as the special guest referee, something he has not done in quite a few years.
The first Raw of 2016 takes place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
WWE paid tribute to the legendary Motörhead singer Lemmy Kilmister on Raw after he passed away at the age of 70 following a short bout with cancer.
Michael Cole called Lemmy a longtime member of the WWE family and was an important person to everything they did from an entertainment standpoint over a number of years.
Motörhead played an instrumental part in WWE music-wise, recording popular theme songs The Game and King of Kings for Triple H as well as Line In The Sand for Evolution. Lemmy was a big friend of Triple H and some of his songs were also used as theme songs for several WWE pay-per-views and special events, including the latest NXT Takeover: London which used the ‘Ace of Spades’ song. The group also performed at WrestleMania 21.
“One life, lived your way, from the beginning, till the end. See you down the road my friend… Thank you for the gift of your sound,” tweeted Triple H.
You can see the short but classy tribute to Lemmy from Raw below.
Chicago fans will get a double dose of NXT on January 16 as Triple H announced yesterday that a second show has been added to the NXT tour.
The show, which will also take place at the Portage Theater, will kick off at 1PM while the second show which has already sold out will start at 7:30PM. Tickets for the 1PM show will go on sale at 12PM CST tomorrow. Ticket prices will range from $25 to $80.
The January NXT tour kicks off on January 14 for three days visiting Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Chicago, and then picks up again on January 29 and 30 with NXT going to Detroit and Pittsburgh. All shows are sold out.
Monday Night Raw TV Report for December 28th, 2015
Introduction Segment: Welcoming
The regular Raw video starts off, as does the pyro blasts and greetings from Michael Cole and Byron Saxton. They go over the announced match of Del Rio VS. Cena, but do not say if the championship is up for grabs.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
“No Chance In Hell” blares the speakers and ring announcer Tony Chimmel asks the fans to welcome “The Chairman Of The Board,” Mr. McMahon! The boss struts to the ring and tells us he wanted to deal with a certain person last week, but he was out of action for medical reasons. This time, he is ready though and demands WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns join him.
The champion obliges, and as he walks through the crowd replays of last week’s Raw involving him are shown. Vince warns Roman that Triple H will decimate him when he comes back for the attack he was given by Reigns; he also reminds Roman of his actions against both himself and Stephanie. Mr. McMahon tells Reigns “I own you,” but Roman calls him a “rich snob.” In the line of the night, so far, Vince retorts “I’m not a ‘rich snob,’ I’m a freakin’ billionaire okay; there’s a big difference; big, big difference!” Reigns tells Vince he doesn’t own “this,” referring to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but that the fans do.
McMahon wonders how long Roman thinks he will be champion, but as Roman speculates on what Vince will do, the crowd disrespectfully yells out “Daniel Bryan,” and “C.M. Punk;” Vince yells out “shut-up!” (Thank you!) The boss goes on about Roman’s lineage; he talks about how he used both Wild Samoans – Afa and Sika (his Uncle and Father, respectively) – for a decade and took their money. Reigns pushes Vince to the canvas, and Vince starts to complain about his neck and wants help.
Stephanie walks out with “officers” and orders them to arrest Roman for shoving her “defenseless, 70-year-old, geriatric, father!” (Her line, not mine!) The police refuse, and turn the situation around, telling both McMahons they will be the ones in handcuffs if they don’t stop. Vince grabs the speaking officer, which leads to the rest holding him and arresting Vince! Stephanie begs them not to, but they haul him through the fans with Steph in tow. Roman holds his WWE Championship high back in the ring.
Commercials.
Segment #3: Video Promo
Replays of Mr. McMahon being taken away by the cops is shown, as is him being driven in a car backstage with Stephanie continuing to protest. The announcers tell us there have been no charges made public yet.
Match #1: Single – Kevin Owens VS. Adrian Neville
Prior to the contest, highlights of Neville’s abilities air, showing why he was “Breakout Superstar Of The Year.” Owens begins to lunge at “The Breakout Star,” but Neville moves and goes to the top immediately. Kevin trips him up and goes for his Pop-Up Powerbomb, but is quickly reversed as Neville victory-rolls him for the sudden victory!
Winner via Pinfall: Neville
Post-match, Owens is angry and assaults “The Man That Gravity Forgot” until referees break him apart.
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Neville is still being helped by referees when Owens continues his attack. He screams “you think you’re the ‘Breakout Star?’ You think you’re the ‘Breakout Star?’ I’m going to break your damn neck!” He sets up Neville for the Pop-Up Powerbomb against the ring apron, but Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose’s music plays and he charges out for the save. He fights with Owens for a bit until Kevin hightails it through the crowd.
Commercials.
It is announced by Michael Cole that The Rock made an announcement with his Instagram that he will be at WrestleMania XXXII!
Segment #4: Backstage Promo
Jojo interviews Becky Lynch about her upcoming match with Sasha Banks. She asks Lynch if there is an animosity between her and Divas Champion Charlotte, especially since Charlotte will not be in attendance to give Becky the chance to succeed, and if it is a drawback, since Naomi and Tamina will be in at ringside with Sasha. Lynch denies Jojo’s theories and says that she is all about fighting it through, and is happy to be in Brooklyn.
Team Beautiful And Dangerous make their way to the ring; Sasha and Naomi cut a quick promo ripping on both Brooklyn and Becky. To get extra heat, Banks and Tamina put on the NFL’s New England Patriots headwear. Becky enters and the bout is next!
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Match #2: Single – Sasha Banks (with Team B.A.D. members Naomi and Tamina) VS. Becky Lynch
They lockup and Sasha rolls Becky through. She goes to the outside for a break and “unity” with Team B.A.D. another elbow-collar tie-up, then Sasha is whipped into the ropes, but gives Lynch a shoulder-block. They roll around again, and then Becky gives Sasha a couple of armdrags. She clasps on a hammerlock, which Banks works out of, but Becky turns it around into a wristlock. Sasha reverses that into another shoulder-block, amid “NXT” chants from the fans. She covers, but Lynch pushes up with a bridge, and front-dropkicks Banks.
Becky waistlocks Sasha, then armdrags and wristlocks her again. Banks runs up the ropes and arm-whips Lynch, but is caught with a dragon-screw leg-spin, but is also turned into a pin combo for a quick count by Sasha! “The Boss” is quickly swept up and turned over into a reverse-Figure-4! Naomi hops the apron to distract the referee while Tamina gets Sasha to t ropes. Banks whips Lynch off the ropes, but “The Lass-Kicker” kicks back, and gives Naomi a baseball-slide dropkick too! She puts Sasha to the floor, then ascends the turnbuckle and soars off the top with a crossbody on all three members of Team B.A.D.!
Commercials.
Lynch reverses a whip in the corner and kicks Sasha, then puts her to the canvas with an armlock. She whips Sasha into the opposite corner, but Sasha tosses her over. Becky lands on the apron and both climb the turnbuckle, but Banks gets the better and delivers double-knees to Becky’s back as she was laying over the top ropes.
Sasha chokes Becky against the middle rope with her knee, then knees her in the head. She gives her multiple kicks in the corner to her gut, then chokes her with her foot. Banks knees Lynch in the stomach and slams her face against the mat, then stretches her with a stand up-surfboard. Sasha turns it into another version of the surfboard with her foot, and continues to dominate. Becky starts to make a comeback with a couple of clotheslines and a jumping-calf-kick, then whips Sasha into the ropes and catches her, but Banks drives her into the middle rope. Sasha follows with a drive through, but Lynch moved and Sasha landed on her partners!
Lynch follows up with slugs, but Banks turns one around into the Backstabber and almost locks on her Bank Statement; she can’t quite get it but does punish Lynch with another submission around her head. Becky gets out of it and necklock-suplexes her into the corner! This time, Tamina hops the apron and distracts both Lynch and the referee, allowing Naomi to kick Lynch. Sasha takes advantage with one more Backstabber and her Bank Statement, but Becky rolls into a pin, then her Disarmer! Banks quickly reveres into a roll-up and clutches Lynch’s tights for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Sasha Banks (with Team B.A.D. members Naomi and Tamina)
Segment #5: Arena and Location Promo
Cole tells us that Vince been officially booked in a Brooklyn jail, and goes to Rene Young outside the building. She tells us that accusations against Mr. McMahon may include “assaulting an officer” and “resisting arrest.” Young also informs everyone that Stephanie and their attorney, Jerry McDevitt, have shown up.
Tag-Team Champions The New Day are out and Kofi will be in action, next!
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Before this next match, the trio cut a promo about winning the Tag-Team Championship at SummerSlam in Brooklyn, then want to sing a song. They deny us the pleasure though, as we did not vote for them for “O.M.G. Moment Of The Year.” They make fun of The Usos and Lucha Dragaons, as well as the category itself.
Match #3: Single – Tag-Team Champion/New Day member Kofi Kingston (with Tag-Team Champion/New Day members Big E. and Xavier Woods) VS. Kalisto (with Lucha Dragons partner Sin Cara)
Kofi goes to measure him, but Kalisto turns a waistlock into a wristlock. Kingston flips out of it into wristlock himself, but Kalisto gets out of it and they trade flips and kicks! Kalisto slaps Kofi on the chest a couple times, then springboard-armdrags Kingston from the middle turnbuckle! He clamps on a headlock, but Kofi gets to the ropes for a break. He boots Kalisto down then pounds away on his chest.
Kofi leaps off the middle turnbuckle over Kalisto, then runs at him in the corner, but The Lucha Dragon kicks back and turns him around with a headscissors! He hits a tornado-crossbody from the middle rope, and a grounding-hurricanrana! Woods distracts on the apron, but Big E. drags him off to avoid the disqualification and/or being thrown out. Sin Cara flies off the steps on to both, and Kalisto traps Kofi in a hurricanrana pin combo to take this!
Winner via Pinfall: Kalisto (with Lucha Dragons partner Sin Cara)
Post-match, Xavier is not pleased with Cara’s actions, and challenges him to a match, but swerves him and puts Big E. against The Dragon!
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – Tag-Team Champion/New Day member Big E. (with Tag-Team Champion/New Day members Kofi Kingston. and Xavier Woods) VS. Kalisto (with Lucha Dragons partner Kalisto)
Big E. is governing when we comeback, but Cara soon catches him off guard with an armdrag and a couple of dropkicks. He runs and flips over the ropes, but Langston grabs and sweeps him off the apron. He shoves him into the apron, and Cara signals that his shoulder is injured. Big mocks this, but the trainer/medical doctor checks on him. A replay off the possible injury is shown, which occurred when Cara landed on the floor. He is okay enough to continue, but is still directed for a while by the Tag-Team Champ.
Big E. stretches Cara with an abdominal stretch and punches him in the gut at the same time. He places Sin atop the turnbuckle backwards and hangs him upside down, then runs, but Cara sits up and Langston his the ring post. Cara capitalizes with a diving tornado senton, then hits a springboard tornado crossbody! He ducks a clothesline then springboards again off the middle rope with a moonsault, and somehow gives Big a rolling fireman’s-carry from the middle turnbuckle rope! He also takes out Big’s partners, but turns around and is planted and finished with Langston’s Big Ending!
Winner via Pinfall: Tag-Team Champion/New Day member Big E. (with Tag-Team Champions/New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)
Up next, The Miz will be out and give us his “Year In Review.”
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Segment #6: Arena Promo
The Miz is already in the ring, but does not get past January 1 and his own “New Year’s Resolution,” as Ryback interrupts! He does not want to hear any more of Miz’s rants or MizTV, saying “the WWE Universe doesn’t care about the past; they care about the future.” He declares that 2016 will “be the year of ‘The Big Guy.’”
Goldust now joins and inquires if Miz will win any awards. New York’s own Zack Ryder also parades out, to a decent pop, and says the upcoming year will be a better one for him. Someone we have not seen on Raw in a while, Heath Slater, also is a part of this. The fans love “The One Man Band,” until he is cut short by a larger man, the also-returning Big Show! The 7-footer enters the ring, but Slater tries to put him down and himself over. Show doesn’t have any of it, knocking Heath down with a punch and takes almost everyone else but Truth and Ryback out. Instead, R punches his own face and tries to play possum, but gets a Chokeslam anyway! It is down to The Big Show and “The Big Guy;” Show wins this battle, somewhat easily throwing Ryback over the ropes.
Big is now on the microphone, and the call out “please retire.” Show gives it a quick though, but instead enters himself number one in the Royal Rumble match, proclaiming he will win it and then the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXXII!
Commercials.
Match #5: Single – The Big Show VS. Ryback
(Note: This was made during the break, as “The Big Guy” challenged Show.)
Both punch at each other, then Ryback gets the better with kicks in the corner. He climbs the turnbuckle and dives off with a double-axe-handle! He goes again, but Show counters with a chop and takes over. He kicks away at Ryback’s front, then whips him hard into the turnbuckle. show walks over Ryback’s chest, and slaps it in the corner. He runs at him, but Ryback boots back and hits him with a missile dropkick from the middle turnbuckle!
Ryback gears up for the Meathook Clothesline, but Show rolls to the floor. Show walks away, saving his body; the referee counts to ten.
Winner via Count-Out: Ryback
Up next is the Six-Man Tag!
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Match #6: Six-Man Tag-Team – Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) VS. The League of Nations (Sheamus, King Barrett, and Rusev)
Preceding, Sheamus berates the people for taking joy in Vince’s apprehension; he dedicates “the greatest beatdown on The Usos and Dean Ambrose” to the boss.
Jimmy and Sheamus begin, with Sheamus elbowing out of a waistlock. He takes The Uso down with a side-headlock, but is hit with a kick, and clotheslined over the other side! Jimmy tags in Jey, and they both dropkick him from the apron to the floor. They also give Rusev a double atomic drop, then switch with Ambrose, who missile-dropkicks “The Bulgarian Brute!” The League converses on the outside, then Dean goes for Sheamus. He puts him in the ring and kicks him numerous times in the corner.
Jey is back in and chops away at Sheamus, then gives him a resounding-smacking uppercut! Rusev is tagged in and takes over. He looses momentum a little against Jimmy, but chucks him into the turnbuckle and focuses on Jimmy’s left leg.
Commercials.
The League are still in control, separating Jimmy from his team. Rusev works him over with a half-crab, but misses an elbow drop. Rusev slaps hands with Sheamus, and the Irishman kicks at Jimmy. The Twin counters and kicks Sheamus in the head, then gets the hot-tag to Dean!
Ambrose and Rusev go at it, with the Dean getting the better. He gives Rusev a bulldog, then dives through the ropes on him! Sheamus tries to pull Dean fro the apron, but Ambrose kicks off and holds the top rope down, which allows Jey to rocket over with a plancha! In the ring, Dean flies off the top turnbuckle with standing elbow drop and almost takes this! Barrett gets Ambrose’s attention, giving Rusev the chance to hit him with a big kick!
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Rusev is leading again, and actually gets the fans to do “The Wave!” He should concentrate on the match though, as he misses a splash from the second turnbuckle! Dean tags in Jey, as Rusev tags in Sheamus! Uso gets the better, but Rusev pushes Jey off a pin after a Rear-Splash in the corner. He throws Jey into the ring post, shoulder-first, then puts his brother back to the floor. Ambrose takes Rusev Out, and Sheamus misses The Brogue Kick on Jey!
Uso superkicks Sheamus and climbs the turnbuckle, but Wade diverts Jey. He still gets to the top, but Sheamus raises his knees as he flies; Sheamus follows with The Brogue Kick and a final cover!
Winners via Pinfall: The League of Nations
Post-match, Kevin Owens runs in and hurls Dean into the steel steps! He chucks monitors off the announce table, then sets up the steps beside it. Owens drags Ambrose to them and cocks his head, then powerbombs Dean through the table! Kevin looks up and seems satisfied, smiling maniacally and walking away. Referees and a trainer/doctor help Ambrose up and literately drag him to the back.
Both the main-event of Cena and Del Rio, and Rene Young keeping us posted about Vince’s situation is up next!
Commercials.
Segment #7: Video and Location Promo
Recap of how Vince landed in the slammer is shown, then we go to the confinement. Rene says that Vince has made bail; Stephanie and Vince hurry out into their awaiting SUV, ignoring all questions.
Segment #8: Arena Promo
John Cena arrives and insinuates that he wants the United States Championship, because it was a good time, for the most part, when he was the champ himself and produced the U.S. Championship Open Challenge. However, Cena tells us that isn’t going to be, as Del Rio will not do it.
Alberto answers, along with League of Nations partners Rusev, Sheamus, and King Barrett. Del Rio claims only deserving opponents wrestle him for the championship and he chooses when that happens. Cena eggs him on, but Del Rio doesn’t give in; he even predicts that Alberto will have it his way and get his cohorts to help him. Alberto eventually concedes and gives Cena his chance!
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Segment #8: In Memoriam
Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister of the British rock band Motorhead passed away today. Michael and J.B.L. talk about his musical contributions to WWE, which were Triple H’s themes “The Game” and “King Of Kings,” as well as Evolution’s them “Line In The Sand.” A picture tribute with messages from Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Jericho, and Triple H himself are shown. God rest your soul.
Match #7: Single for the United States Championship – John Cena (Challenger) VS. Alberto Del Rio (Champion)
Del Rio starts with a harsh kick to Cena’s left leg and takes over quickly. He gives John punches in the corner and snapmares him to the mat. Alberto runs and kicks Cena in the head, measures, and kicks again. On the outside, he slams John’s head into the ring post, then puts him back in the ring and dives off the top turnbuckle with a modified axe handle. He tears at Cena’s head with a chinlock and sets him up against the middle rope. He runs, but Cena moves, and Alberto lands on the floor awkwardly, maybe hurting his left knee.
Commercials.
Del Rio and Cena are in the ring, and Del Rio tries a suplex, but John reveres into one of his own. He goes for a flying tackle, but Alberto ducks and gives him an enziguri! 1 – 2 – Cena gets his shoulder up! Del Rio goes to the top again, but John counters with a dropkick! Cena runs with a couple of shoulder-tackles, then drops him with a spin-out backdrop!
The challenger is fired up and hits his Five-Knuckle Shuffle, and places Del Rio on his shoulders for the Attitude Adjustment, but Del Rio elbows out and hits the Backstabber! John reverses a running-punch and clamps onto Alberto’s leg and attempts the S.T.F. The U.S. Champ gets to the ropes for a break, then gives Cena a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near-fall! Alberto winds up for the Cross Armbreaker, but Cena turns it around and spins Del Rio around with a Tornado DDT out of the corner! 1 – 2 – Alberto lifts his shoulder!
John tries the Attitude again, but Del Rio reverses into the Cross Armbreaker! He holds on for a bit, but Cena lifts him up and tosses him! Cena picks up Alberto for the Adjustment again, but Del Rio holds onto the ropes and, as he is pulled back, hits the referee. Cena gets the S.T.F. locked on and Alberto gives up, but it doesn’t count!
The League now runs out, and Rusev kicks Cena! He drags Alberto over Cena and the referee counts, 1 – 2 – no, Cena elevates his shoulder! Rusev holds Cena as Sheamus goes for the Brogue, but Cena moves! Sheamus hits Rusev and then is driven to the mat with the Attitude Adjustment! Del Rio hits another Backstabber and kick-to-the-head, but John still kicks out! He attempts the Cross-Armbreaker again, but Cena gets out of it and Adjusts the champ! He covers, but The League interfere, causing the dq!
Winner via Disqualification: John Cena (Alberto Del Rio remains United States Champion)
Post-match, Rusev and Sheamus continue to beat down John until The Usos sprint out! They try, but are quickly taken out. Sheamus collects a chair, but a big cheer means that Roman Reigns is here! He delivers a HUGE spear to Rusev and Superman Punches Del Rio! He does the same to Sheamus as he tried to swing with the chair. Before the WWE World Heavyweight Champion can go further, Mr. McMahon’s music hits and he walks to the stage.
Vince informs Reigns that he will be defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus, and there will be a Special Guest Referee – himself! This will take place on Raw next week/year, and McMahon sarcastically wishes everyone a “Happy New Year” to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings
For respect to Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, as I have done when anyone associated with WWE dies, I will not give Raw a title tonight or my usual review. Instead, as always, I will write my thoughts about him.
Unfortunately, I was never a fan of Motorhead outside of WWE, so I don’t have any recollections of stories or concerts beyond his performances in WWE. I will say that his themes/music are cool and definitely fit in with Triple H’s character.
Thank you for your contributions to WWE and rock n’ roll Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister; you will be missed. May God rest your soul.
The Rock announced on his Instagram today that he will be participating at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, Texas, although he did not specify in what role.
“IT’S OFFICIAL: People’s Champ is coming home to do 3 things with the PEOPLE: Set an ALL-TIME attendance record, ELECTRIFY Dallas like never before & make all time #WRESTLEMANIA history. And we have FUN. Ok that’s four things but you know what the hell The Rock’s sayin’. THANK YOU #WWEUniverse,” Rocky wrote, adding that it’s always an honor “coming home.”
Johnson will be busy filming his feature film Baywatch during March and April so depending on what he will be doing at WrestleMania, the build up has to revolve around film days. The Rock promised today’s surprise announcement last week when he thanked the fans for the Slammy Award he received with Ronda Rousey for their WrestleMania 31 appearance.
A couple of nude photos of NXT Diva Dana Brooke were leaked online over the course of the day, personal photos that obviously were not for public consumption.
The 27 year old has a rather unique sparrow-like tattoo on her butt, a tattoo which was visible during her fitness competition days which pretty much gave out who she was in some photos where her face was not visible. One photo, a selfie in a bathroom shows her face and part of the tattoo as well. The same iPhone cover used in one nude photo also matches a regular photo she took in front of a mirror.
Brooke, real name Ashley Sebera, is rumored to be dating Dolph Ziggler. Just earlier today, Rusev on Twitter told both of them to “use text message” rather than keep flirting online, a tweet which was met with timely responses from the two. “I usually just slide into DM’s, like with….Ahhhh nevermind,” tweeted Ziggler, while Brooke said she doesn’t like texting, it’s too exclusive and it’s not her thing.
It’s not clear when these photos were taken. We are not linking to these photos but a simple Google search will point you to the correct locations!
WWE is running a split crew tonight, which is rather unusual for a Monday night as usually all hands are on deck at Raw.
Running head to head with Raw is a live event in Allentown, Pennsylvania at the PPL Center. Those advertised to appear on that show are Kane, Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family, Tyler Breeze, Dolph Ziggler, The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer, Charlotte, Paige and others.
Raw will be live from Brooklyn, New York, at the Barclays Center and will feature Vince McMahon, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose and others.
With half the roster on the other tour it will be interesting to see how the three hours are filled.
Addressing the recent reports on her status about her injury, Nikki Bella said that it’s true that she will only know her destiny at the end of January. “Till then…All I can do is…STAY FEARLESS,” she wrote on Twitter.
The former Divas champion has been advised to undergo more physical therapy until another MRI is done to determine if she has to go under the knife the fix her bulging discs in her neck. The two months therapy so far have not done anything good and it’s looking likely that Nikki will have to undergo surgery.
Undergoing surgery will mean that Nikki will be out of action for a longer time. She has not wrestled since Hell In A Cell. Doctors have blamed her constant use of the finishing move Rack Attack as the source of the problem.
Former WWE World Heavyweight champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posted one of his famous “feel good” stories on his Instagram yesterday, explaining how he gifted a new Ford truck to his uncle and former WWE and WCW Superstar Haku.
Johnson wrote that when WWE called him to go to a tryout match, it was his uncle – real name Tonga Fifita – who gave him the shiny purple trunks as he was broke and did not have any wrestling gear. “When I picked the trunks up from him I’ll never forget the monster hug he gave me, look me in the eyes and said, ‘I’m so proud of you. Go get ’em nephew,’” Johnson wrote.
So this Christmas, Johnson decided to surprise uncle Tonga. “So we walk outside and I said ‘Uncle how do you like my truck?’ He said, ‘Whoooaaa nephew it’s beautiful… I love it!’ I said ‘Good ’cause it’s yours.’”
Johnson said that his uncle was left speechless as tears came down. “I’ll never forget what he did for me when I had nothing,” he finished.
The returning John Cena headlined Madison Square Garden yesterday night and faced off Alberto Del Rio in his first match in two months.
Cena won the match via disqualification after Del Rio hit the low blow on Cena. Rusev, another member of the League of Nations, interfered during the match when the referee was knocked out. After the match Cena beat up on both Del Rio and Rusev to send the crowd home happy.
WWE returns to The Garden on Friday, March 25, another non-televised live event as part of the Road to WrestleMania Tour.
Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet.com is reporting that Nikki Bella is months away from getting back in the ring after her bulging discs in her neck haven’t gone down as hoped.
On Tuesday, fresh off her Slammy Award win on Raw, Nikki visited an neurologist and she has been instructed to undergo 7 more weeks of therapy before having another MRI. If the results stay the same, surgery seems to be the only option to repair the problem, a problem which doctors have blamed on the repeated use of her finishing move she calls the Rack Attack. If or when she returns to the ring, the use of the Rack Attack will likely be struck off her arsenal list to avoid further complications.
Nikki has already been out of action for two months with her neck injury.
WWE wants to close the year 2015 with a bang as it was announced that Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will be appearing on Monday Night Raw on the final show of the year.
Two weeks ago, McMahon made his return and tried to interfere in the WWE World Heavyweight title match between Sheamus and Roman Reigns however he got Superman Punched by Reigns who eventually went on to win the title.
Vince was pretty much absent from WWE television the whole year and only showed for his first televised appearance two weeks ago.
The New York Times has a story online looking at past and present WWE stars who made their mark in Hollywood, mentioning the likes of Dwayne Johnson, John Cena, Edge, Dave Bautista, and others.
Cena gave the NY Times comments via phone for the story and shot down the idea of packing his bags and moving to Hollywood full time. “I have a very good mutual understanding with my boss that I don’t ever want to leave; I really like it in the ring,” Cena said. “I try to pick opportunities that don’t take me away from WWE for too long. I try to do opportunities that can really help expand our audience and bring new eyes to our product.”
Tina Fey, the star and producers of the movie Sisters which Cena has a small part in praised the former WWE champion and said that he could be on the same path as Dwayne Johnson if he wants to. Fey called him “fantastically funny improviser,” and recounted how Cena in the movie just ad-libbed a whole sequence.
A prank on a little boy who was “bad all year” involving a WWE-related Christmas gift went viral after it was caught on video.
The video shows the boy opening up his Christmas gift but instead of finding the new WWE video game WWE 2K16, he received WWE 2K15. The boy immediately showed his frustration, first questioning why he got the previous version and then blurting out “what the …..?” The person shooting the video can be heard saying “It was out of stock,” and then the video stopped.
Twitter user Maya Duarte posted the video and said that the prank was due to her brother being on bad behavior all year long. She then said that he got “whooped” for reacting that way. The WWE 2K Twitter account then reached out to help and hopefully give him the new version!
