Total Divas season 4 premiered to just 975,000 viewers, down from the 1.2 million the show did in the season 3 premiere.
E! switched days for Total Divas, this season airing on Tuesdays rather than on Sundays as it have been in the past. The show did benefit from a good lead in from the Kardashian show on Sunday nights. The season 3 finale did 1.28 million viewers.
The new season started with the Bella Twins forcing to choose whether to stay or not in the WWE and Eva Marie opting for a personal coach rather than the WWE Performance Center which creates a big rift among the Divas division. (Ratings credit: TV By The Numbers)
Adam Pearce, the 37 year old former NWA champion, has started working for WWE on a full-time basis as a WWE Performance Center coach.
Pearce has been in the wrestling business since 1996 and has worked for several indy promotions all over the world including Mexico and Japan, Ring of Honor, the NWA, PWG, and many others. He retired from active wrestling seven months ago.
During 2014 he did several guest coaching stints at the Performance Center and at NXT Takeover: R Evolution in December of last year he worked as a producer. While he signed a deal as a coach at the Performance Center in May, he only started full-time this week. He joins Billy Gunn, Norman Smiley, Robbie Brookside, Sara Amato, Steve Keirn, Terry Taylor, and head trainer Jason Albert on the coaching team.
The story of Brock Lesnar throwing the car door into the stands on Monday Night Raw was picked up by several news outlets including USA Today, New York Daily News, CBS Sports, Vice, Uproxx, and even CNN, where it made the front page news.
The New York Daily News reached out to WWE to get their take on the story and the company issued a small statement regarding the incident. “WWE immediately responded to the incident during last night’s show. The fan was unharmed and declined any medical attention,” the statement read.
Eye witness reports said that paramedics attended to the fan who was struck with the car door and he was transferred backstage and then allowed to leave and go back to take his seat after a few.
Cadillac was trending on Twitter yesterday in relation to the Brock story which probably isn’t the best advertising the company could have asked for.
“That’s right kids. I’m back and I’m BLONDE!” That was the first tweet that was sent out by Chelsea Green, the new Tough Enough competitor who replaced Dianna today after she quit the competition. She arrived at the location earlier today.
Diana Dahlgren left the competition after her friend – and one of her employees at the bar she owns back at home – was left partially paralyzed after an attack at the bar. Dianna broke the story to Tough Enough trainer Lita in a video chat that WWE posted on the TE website as a digital extra.
Green has already appeared on WWE television before, playing the role of Daniel Bryan’s physical therapist during his angle with The Authority. Back then Stephanie McMahon accused Bryan of having an affair with her. She is a trained wrestler and was trained by former ECW, WCW, and WWE Superstar Lance Storm.
You can follow Chelsea on her new Tough Enough Twitter account at @ToughChelseaG.
Telling fans that his “honor is not for sale,” WWE Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper said that the issue with Stone Cold Steve Austin will be “cleared up and gone” after he releases his next podcast.
Piper blamed Austin for kicking him out of the PodcastOne family while Austin said that according to PodcastOne President, Piper was the one who asked for his release during a meeting and that he had absolutely nothing to do with getting him booted off the network. Piper’s story was that Austin apparently got offended by Will Sasso’s impersonations of him while he was on Piper’s show and was so pissed off that he complained to PodcastOne and Piper’s show was off the air the same day. In reply, Austin said that at 50 years of age he has no time for this drama and he wasn’t the one who kicked Piper out.
Meanwhile, a report on PWInsider.com said that Ric Flair, who has another podcast on competitor Play.It, noted that Roddy Piper was dropped from the WWE Legends deal that he had due to the the problems he’s having with Steve Austin.
Monday Night Raw was up a bit in the ratings this week after delivering one of the worst numbers in over 18 years last week. The show did a total of 3,647,000 viewers, up around 220,000 viewers. Apart from last week it’s still the lowest number for the past month.
Hour one did 3,637,000 viewers, followed by 3,689,000 in the second hour, and 3,615,000 in the third and final hour. (Ratings credit: TV By The Numbers)
Tough Enough returns for it’s July 7th episode this week without the company of Alex Frekey and just as soon as the episode starts, so does the drama inside the barracks!
Our First Competitor Quits
It’s become increasingly obvious over the past two weeks that The Miz’s job as the host of Tough Talk is to stir the pot among the competitors. As the cast reentered the barracks after last week’s episode, tempers quickly flared over some of the comments made on stage.
While most of the group brushed the comments off, Princess Dianna really took it all to heart. After complaining how nobody in the barracks seemed to want her there and didn’t appreciate what she’d given up, she made the decision to quit the competition altogether. In the ultimate sign of disrespect, she doesn’t tell a single person in the house and had a car (presumably her fiance) pick her up in the middle of the night.
Hilariously, nobody even notices she’s even gone until after their morning workout when Billy Gunn makes mention of it. Shows how much the rest of the group really cared about her!
Rollins asks, “Who’s Got Personality?”
Seth Rollins makes the superstar cameo of the week and introduces the remaining competitors to our next challenge: the character challenge. In the challenge, each competitor blindly chooses a character description out of a hat and has to put together an outfit and an entrance according to the description.
While Rollins’ time with the group still felt short, it did seem like he had a lot more to offer the group in terms of feedback. He made it a point to talk to each competitor and guide them to what he thought they should be aiming for with their character.
While some of the competitors seemed to thrive with Seth’s suggestions, others still fell horribly flat on their face.
And On Their Way to the Ring… Wait, what?!
If there was ever a moment when you’d question how much wrestling some of this cast actually watched before applying for the show – this was it. Sara Lee, Daria, and ZZ looked like a complete joke in their entrance, botching arguably the easiest of the gimmick cards (mean bitch, fallen angel, and American hero). And Gabi decided that her ‘farmer’s daughter’ character would come out in fishnet stockings and act like a hooker.
The competition wasn’t a total loss, though, as Patrick, Josh and Mada made you seriously believe they have what it takes to become a real superstar – walking with purpose and confidence. And while Giorgia and Amanda lacked poise, they made up for it with just the right amount of sexiness in their routines. It was substantially classier that Gabi’s borderline striptease.
Ultimately, the judges awarded the competition to Patrick and Giorgia, making it the second challenge win in a row for the both of them.
But of course, a competition win can’t go without a bit of drama! Back in the barracks, Tanner and Patrick got into another argument over Patrick’s 2nd win and the two came to blows. The scuffle didn’t last long and was mostly a series of takedown-type moves, but the rivalry between the two is definitely becoming the best part of the show.
The Judges’ Ruling
To nobody’s surprise, the bottom three competitors were Sara Lee, Daria, and ZZ, based solely on their pitiful performance during the character challenge. In a final plea to save themselves, the judges gave each of them an opportunity to redo their entrances. While they all improved slightly, they all were still pretty terrible.
Once the vote was turned over to the fans, it was “The Jersey Devil” Daria who was sent packing. Daria immediately broke down in tears and promised she’d be back, something the judges seemed to agree with.
Assorted Musings
I was a bit disappointed to see Dianna quit. She was definitely a standout physically and dominated the other girls in any athletic challenge. However, if she couldn’t last 3 weeks away from her normal life – how could she expect to survive a career on the road?
Paige had the quote of the night (again) when she called Gabi to the stage to discuss her entrance, telling her that her ring name should’ve been ‘Hooker T’.
I really don’t think ZZ has what it takes to be a superstar. While he is definitely a genuinely nice guy, he really seems like he’s eons behind everyone else in grasping the business. Jericho said it best in the tryout special, that “he’s perfect for a TV show, just not this one.” I just fear that fans are keeping ZZ around because he’s silly and naive… not because they think he’ll eventually be headlining WrestleMania.
Speaking of ZZ, there was a lot of talk about the size of his ‘package,’ if you know what I mean. Perhaps a better character gimmick for him would’ve been a chubby Val Venis?
Tough Talk nearly brought us our second fight of the week, as Amanda and Daria got into it pretty heavily with Gabi, completely shitting on her as she tried to bad mouth the two. There was a moment Amanda got in Gabi’s face, but it was ultimately stopped. The more Gabi talks, the worse she looks.
The highlight of Tough Talk, though, was Paige going absolutely nuts on the cast after only Patrick raised his hand to say he watched the Tokyo event live. She went on a rant about how she traveled from Tokyo to Chicago to Orlando to be there in front of them and they couldn’t wake up to watch her match. Both Hogan and Paige said that if they could, they would end the competition today and award it to Patrick because he very clearly has the most passion about the business.
The only other notable moment from Tough Talk came when Tanner called out Patrick for having indy experience and downplaying it through the show. And while Patrick gave a very good argument as to why, I do think Tanner has a point. It really hasn’t been mentioned at all that Patrick has experience, but does make sense why he can bump so well and has nailed a lot of the wrestling-related challenges so well. Will it matter in the long run? No, I don’t think so. But I do think he has a bit of an upper hand on the rest of the group right now. But hey — whose fault is that?
So what do you think? Did the right people go home this week? Are you Team Tanner or Team Patrick? Do you disagree with me about ZZ’s drawing potential? Share your feedback in the comments or tweet them to @suggafnshane with the hashtag #WrestlingOnline!
WWE today announced that its WWE Network is now available in Italy for $9.99 per month, with all 12 annual WWE pay-per-view events live. New subscribers to WWE Network receive their first month of service for free.
WWE Network subscribers in Italy will have access to the U.S. English language version of WWE Network. “We are constantly working to enhance the experience for WWE fans around the world,” said Gerrit Meier, WWE Executive Vice President, International. “Our Italian fans are passionate and engaged, and we are thrilled to make WWE Network available to them.”
Sky Italia holds the rights for WWE television in Italy including Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Superstars and all the 12 live events on pay-per-view. Tough Enough airs on free television on Cielo. Italy is one of the big markets which did not have the WWE Network available to them due to the current television deal.
“Thank you Chicago. I mean that.” John Cena probably couldn’t believe his eyes and ears after his match against Cesaro on Raw last night as the always vocal Chicago crowd gave him a standing ovation and cheered for the United States champion.
After the show went off the air, Cena addressed the crowd and put over Chicago and thanked them for cheering him throughout his career. He then turned his attention to Cesaro and once again placed his stamp of approval for the Swiss super man. “What you can do in this ring is simply amazing,” Cena noted, as Cesaro watched from next to the wrecked car at the top of the entrance.
He said that even though The Beast destroyed the Cadillac, the word on everyone’s lips is Cesaro. He then invited Cesaro back in the ring as the fans chanted for him.
“I want you to take this with you because this is what keeps me going,” he said. “You are standing in hallowed ground among the rowdiest crowd in WWE Universe. Do you hear that? This is why we are here,” Cena added as the crowd roared.
Cena urged Cesaro to keep giving the fans what he gave them over the past two weeks because that’s what the fans love. After a handshake, Cena then moved to the side and let Cesaro take center ring as the crowd showed their approval.
Paramedics at the Allstate Arena attended to a WWE fan who got struck by the car door when Brock Lesnar threw it into the next post code during the segment with Seth Rollins.
Lesnar demolished the Cadillac with axes and then ripped off the back seat passenger door before throwing it away, not realizing that his own strength managed to land the door in the stands! A cell phone video which was shot from behind the fans in the first row got a good look at what happened and the kid got struck pretty hard. The two people next to him, instead of checking up on him, held up the piece of the door in excitement.
Despite not being seriously injured, WWE dispatched paramedics and the fan was brought backstage before being allowed to return to watch the show.
You can watch the video below. It might take a few replays to actually spot the kid getting nailed.
A couple of days ago, Rowdy Roddy Piper blamed Stone Cold Steve Austin for his removal from PodcastOne, the company which hosted his podcast. Piper had actor and wrestling fan Will Sasso on doing Austin impersonations and after the show aired it was soon removed from PodcastOne for good. Piper said that Austin complained to PodcastOne and had the show taken off the air.
However fellow WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin addressed these rumors on his show, which is one of the most popular on PodcastOne, and shot down Piper’s claims, saying that he has no time for any of this crap at 50 years of age.
Austin said that he called Kit Gray, the President of PodcastOne, to get the truth on the story and Gray told him that Piper requested a meeting with him and said that he no longer wanted to be part of the PodcastOne family so Piper left. Austin added that there are no hard feelings against Piper but the accusations he made were false.
Piper uploaded his latest podcast episode on Soundcloud.com.
Total Divas returns on E! tonight, moving from its Sunday time slot to Tuesday nights starting at 9PM EST immediately following the end of Tough Enough on USA Network. Tonight’s episode kicks off season 4 of the popular WWE reality show.
The main cast for this season includes Brie and Nikki Bella, Natalya, Eva Marie, Alicia Fox, Paige, and Naomi, who was dumped from the second half of season three. Cameron, Summer Rae and Rosa Mendes have all been relegated to guest spots and are not part of the season four cast.
The synopsis for the first episode of season four, which is titled Diva Divide, reads, “In the season premiere, The Bellas face the consequences of quitting the WWE. Meanwhile, news of Eva’s new role causes chaos in the Divas division and Nattie explores her dominatrix side.“
Season three started with 1.2 million viewers, outdoing the premiere of season two which had 1.07 million viewers. The first ever episode of Total Divas still ranks as the highest rated premiere with 1.34 million viewers.
Barbie Blank, the former WWE Divas champion better known as Kelly Kelly, has been cast in the new reality TV show from E! titled WAGS, Wives and Girlfriends of Sports Stars.
“As part of an elite, exclusive group, the WAGS are close friends who are bound together by a strict hierarchy, unspoken rules and plenty of drama – and those who have the coveted ring and a husband with a contract are the ones with all the power,” reads the press release announcing the show. The new series premieres on E! Tuesday, August 18th at 10:00PM EST.
Blank is engaged to Sheldon Souray of the Anaheim Ducks and the two are actively planning their January 2016 wedding in Cabo. She joins Sasha Gates, Autumn Ajirotutu, Nicole Williams, Ashley North, Natalie Halcro and Olivia Pierson on the show.
Barbie Blank, as Kelly Kelly, worked for WWE from 2006 till 2012, making her WWE debut at 19 years of age.
Once again, Raw is emanating from my favorite American city and the hometown of the 2015 Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago, Illinois. The biggest question surrounding Raw tonight is “how will the usual ‘super hot’ crowd react to the goings on in the WWE?”
Brock Lesnar is scheduled to be on Raw tonight, so what will he do in retaliation to the assault he received at the hands of the recently-reformed Authority? Does WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins already have a plan in motion for his Battleground challenger?
Lastly, of course, I presume there will a few chants of a man who no one speaks of anymore in WWE, but will the Chicago fans go along with the latest storylines? Read on to find out!
Monday Night Raw TV Report for July 6th, 2015 – “Provoked”
Introduction Segment: Video Promo
Recap of The Authority and Brock Lesnar’s interactions is shown.
Segment #2: Welcoming and Arena Promo
Michael Cole greets us from Chicago then Brock Lesnar and his advocate, Paul Heyman, make their return to Raw since Brock was beaten down by The Authority two weeks ago. Heyman warns WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins that Lesnar is a “god of violent retribution.” He tells us that he will affect Rollins and anyone that is with him. Paul E. recaps “The Beast Incarnate’s” domination of The Undertaker, John Cena, and Roman Reigns.
Heyman threatens that Chicago will become “Suplex City” and Lesnar will wait for Seth to have that showdown tonight!
Cole and J.B.L. inform us that Kane is away on vacation in Hawaii, taking Seth’s offer. Still-images are shown of Kane’s time off drinking a Mai Thai, dressed in Hawaiian shirts, standing in front of a volcano, and playing a ukulele. (Note: these are obviously badly photo-shopped!)
The Big Show makes his entrance and will face Intercontinental Champion Ryback, next!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single – The Big Show VS. Intercontinental Champion Ryback (Non-Title)
(Note: The Miz provides his own commentary, sitting at ringside with a microphone.) The two big dudes go back-and-forth while Miz cheers on both, who he will join in a triple threat match at Battleground for the IC Title.
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Show is back in control, tearing at Ryback’s leg with a lock. Miz distracts Big with his oratory, allowing Ryback to gain momentum. He hits Show with the Meathook Clothesline and splashes him on the canvas, but still only gets two! Ryback ups the ante by soaring from the top turnbuckle with a splash, but Show moves and chokeslams the I.C. Champ. Show follows to the second turnbuckle and dives win an elbow, but Miz interrupts and attacks both.
Winner: No Contest due to interference
Post-match, Miz continues to attack both, but they are too strong for him. He finds himself in the middle and tries to convince them to wait until Battleground, but Show and Ryback do not oblige. Ryback Shellshocks Miz and then Big Show chokeslams Miz. Ryback quickly Meathook clotheslines Big Show too, and Show then walks to the stage while Ryback poses in the ring with his title.
Later tonight, United States Champion John Cena will have another U.S. Open Challenge.
Commercials.
Kane’s travels in Hawaii continue to be depicted. As well, Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble are shown touring the city of Chicago with their new Cadillac.
Match #2: Single – Brie Bella (with Divas Champion and sister Nikki Bella, and Alicia Fox) VS. Paige
Brie quickly takes control after putting Paige to the outside. Back in the ring, she wears down the “Diva Of Tomorrow” with an armbar as Naomi and Tamina Snuka were shown watching on backstage. Fox interferes slightly, but Paige knees her and Nikki by accident after Brie moved. Paige makes a comeback with punches, knees, and a stiff-kick. Nikki and Alicia hop the apron, but Paige disposes of them; however she turns into a kick and sit-down facebuster by Brie for her to get the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: Brie Bella (with Divas Champion and sister Nikki Bella, and Alicia Fox)
Post-match, Fox stomps Paige down while Nikki plants her with the Rack Attack (Torture Rack drop).
After a video on the recent history between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt, Reigns makes his way through the fans and will wrestle Sheamus next!
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Match #3: Single – Roman Reigns VS. “Mr. Money In The Bank,” “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus
They lockup a couple times and struggle until Roman puts Sheamus to the mat with a running shoulder block. Sheamus kicks Reigns in the gut and clamps on a standing side headlock. He takes control and spins Roman around with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Sheamus drops a knee-to-the-face and hops on the turnbuckle. Reigns yanks Sheamus off the middle turnbuckle, scoop-slams him, then clotheslines Sheamus to the floor. He runs Sheamus into the corner barricade, but is quickly kneed by Sheamus back in the ring. Sheamus pounds on Roman and rams his head off the ring post, causing Roman to fall to the floor.
Commercials.
Sheamus is still in control, holding Roman in a rear chinlock. Sheamus stops to pose, allowing Roman to capitalize with a fireman’s carry flapjack. Reigns gears up with a few clotheslines and the running-front-dropkick on the apron. He drives Sheamus to the canvas with the Samoan Drop, then signals for the Superman Punch. Sheamus catches Roman off the run, but Reigns fends him off. He tries again but is caught again, and this time, driven with the Irish Curse Backbreaker.
Sheamus jumps off the turnbuckle right into a Superman Punch! Reigns goes for a Spear, but the lights go out and Bray Wyatt walks down the aisle. Roman runs at him, but pulls off a wig, as the real Bray appears on the Titantron. The lights go back on and Reigns is not in the ring. The referee signals for the bell, giving this one to Sheamus.
Winner via Count-Out: “Mr. Money In The Bank,” “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus
Post-match, as Sheamus is celebrating, Randy Orton returns and dismantles Sheamus with an RKO after a brief brawl!
Segment #3: Office Promo
COO Triple H is on his cell phone when WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and J & J walk in. He asks Noble and Mercury to leave as he wants to chat with Rollins. “The Game” wants to know what Seth’s plans are for Lesnar, and Rollins wants some advice. HHH tells him to not engage Lesnar at first, but then do “the unthinkable,” and take Heyman upon his warning to “never provoke ‘The Beast.’” Rollins realizes this means to “call out” Brock and let him know who is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
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Segment #4: Arena Promo
Summer Rae and Rusev are standing in the ring. Rusev has the microphone and apologies for the time he spent with Lana and sinking to Ziggler’s level. He puts himself over as “better looking and more passionate,” then Summer says we “should be showing this man the respect he deserves.” Rusev tells Rae not to “waste your precious words,” then kisses her hand.
Dolph Ziggler now interrupts with Lana. He credits her for helping Rusev get where he is in his WWE career. Ziggler tells Rusev “it’s gone and I found it,” then lip-locks with Lana. She and Summer remove their shoes, and Rusev blindside attacks Ziggler with his crutches. Rusev brutally beats Ziggler, taking off his cast and kicking him with the healed ankle. Summer chucks Lana to the floor and Rusev completes his attack by pushing Ziggler’s throat into the crutch.
Commercials.
Footage of Dolph being ridden away on a stretcher by Paramedics and Referees, with Lana by his side, is shown.
Match #4: Single – “The Inspirational” Bo Dallas VS. “The Lunatic Fringe” Dean Ambrose
Bo goes to shake hands, which Ambrose has none of and begins unloading a barrage of kicks and punches. Funnily, the crowd splits chants between “Let’s go Ambrose” and “We Bo-Lieve,” which seems to give Dallas momentum. He takes control for a bit, but Ambrose gears back up with a bulldog and second-turnbuckle diving elbow. He clotheslines Bo and plants him with the “Dirty Deeds” Underhook-DDT and gets the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Lunatic Fringe” Dean Ambrose
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Match #5: Single – King Barrett VS. “King What’s Up” R-Truth
Truth almost gets the duke with a quick victory-roll, but Barrett soon gains control. He rams Truth into the ring apron and whips him off the post. Back in the ring, he mount-punches R and works him over with a rear chinlock. Truth fights back with a slap and kick, but is booted by Barrett as he ran off the ropes.
Commercials.
Barrett drops a knee on Truth’s head and stomps on him, then stretches him out with a surfboard. The feed is lost for a few seconds, but comes back to see Truth hitting Barrett with punches and a jumping calf-kick! He clotheslines Barrett a couple times and hits the Scissors Kick! 1 – 2 – Barrett kicks out! Truth splashes Barrett in the corner. Barrett kicks back and winds up for the Bullhammer, but Truth ducks and rolls up for a close one! Truth dives off the middle rope, but Barrett counters with the Bullhammer for the finish!
Winner via Pinfall: King Barrett
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Segment #5: Arena Promo
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins walks out with a paddle in his hand, then signals for J & J to roll out in their Cadillac; they also become equipped with paddles. In the ring, Seth touts The Authority’s success in intimidating and assaulting Brock Lesnar. “I conquered the conqueror. I set fire to ‘Suplex City,’ and at Battleground, I am going to burn it to the ground.”
After footage of said attack, Rollins vows to still be WWE World Heavyweight Champion after Battleground. Seth moves on to enticing Lesnar to join them in the ring. “Are you ‘The Beast’ that everybody thinks you are? Or are you just Paul Heyman’s ‘bitch?’”
Lesnar and Heyman march out, with Lesnar staring the trio down from the aisle as they weld the paddles. Brock slowly backs away and signals for Heyman to give him something. Paul E. rolls over an equipment trunk containing fire extinguishers and a couple of axes. Lesnar smiles then swings the weapons at the shiny almost-all-red Cadillac, destroying the pretty vehicle!
J & J now run up the walkway, but Brock trashes them too. He breaks Noble’s arm with the Kamura Lock, then overhead-belly-to-belly suplexes Mercury onto the hood and windshield. Both he and Rollins take off their shirts and meet in the ring. Rollins exits quickly and high-tails it through the crowd. Lesnar gives chase to a point, then goes back to stand on the demolished car.
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Match #6: Tag-Team – The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) VS. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E.) (with New Day Tag-Team partner Xavier Woods)
Kofi and Sin start, with Cara flipping over and tossing Kingston across the ring. Kalisto is in and rolls Kofi up with a La Majistral Cradle, but is kneed down by Big E. Kalisto knees Big in return and hits him with a springboard tornado elbow. He puts both E. and Kofi to the outside, then The Dragons double-dropkick Woods who hopped the apron. Kalisto and Cara rocket of the top turnbuckle!
Commercials.
Kofi jawbreaks Cara but is turned around into an overhead suplex pin. Big E. breaks it up but is tossed out. Kofi is also thrown to the floor, and Cara and Kalisto dive onto The New Day, but Woods pushes Kingston out of the way, and Big E. catches Kalisto to overhead-belly-to-belly suplex him on the floor! In the ring, Kofi and Big hit their double-team finisher to take this one!
Winners via Pinfall: The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E.) (with New Day Tag-Team partner Xavier Woods)
Up next is John Cena’s U.S. Championship Challenge!
Commercials.
Match #7: Single for the United States Championship – John Cena (Champion) VS. ???
Cena is out first and gloats in the fact that Kevin Owens has lost his NXT Championship to Finn Balor this past weekend. Owens himself walks out and accepts the challenge. He does not want to wait for Battleground, and instead wants to take the U.S. Championship now to shut Cena up. However, another man has invested interest. Cesaro walks out and wants a rematch, since Owens intruded last week. “I was about to do what you were not able to do. You were not able to do it then, you are not going to be able to do it at Battleground; that is to beat John Cena for the United States Championship. So, if you don’t get out of this ring now, you won’t just have a problem with John Cena, you’ll have a problem with me.” Cesaro chucks the mike and Owens walks away, leaving this to Cesaro and Cena.
They lock up and Cesaro clamps on a standing side headlock. Cesaro hits a hard uppercut, sending Cena to the outside.
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Cena looks to be in control and goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle fistdrop, but Cesaro gets up and clotheslines John. He shows off by doing squats while holding Cena in a suplex position. On the outside, Cesaro double-stomps Cena on the floor from the apron, then clamps on a rear chinlock back in the ring. and works Cena over with a shoulder lock submission.
Commercials.
Cesaro is still in control with a backbreaker, but misses a running uppercut. He plants Cesaro with a couple spin-out backdrops, but is trapped in a crossface after Cesaro countered another Five Knuckle Shuffle attempt. Cena picks Cesaro up in an Attitude Adjustment position, but Cesaro wiggles out of it. Cena trips and locks Cesaro in the S.T.F., but Cesaro struggles to and reaches the bottom rope for the required break.
Cesaro holds Cena and tosses him with three consecutive gut-wrench suplexes. Cesaro then gives Cena repeated uppercuts in the corner, but can’t swing him around as Cena reverses into a DDT! After a near-fall, Cena ascends the top turnbuckle, but Cesaro counters with a dropkick. Cena is prone against the corner barricade, allowing Cesaro to run at him with an uppercut.
Cesaro climbs the top turnbuckle, but is caught! Cena attempts another AA but Cesaro lands on his feet. Cena dives off the top turnbuckle with a legdrop to the back of Cesaro’s neck! 1 – 2 – Cesaro raises his shoulder! Cesaro manages the flapjack uppercut but also only gets two! Cena hits the A.A. and covers! 1 – 2 – Cesaro still gets his shoulder up! Cena runs at Cesaro but is caught and swung around for a bit, then locked in The Sharpshooter! Cesaro quickly turns it into another crossface and holds onto it as Cena tried to roll through. Cena reverses it again and traps Cesaro in the S.T.F. again in the middle of the ring. Cesaro works his way out and uniquely suplexes him for a near-fall!
Cena springboards off the apron, but Cesaro pushes Cena off of the stunner. He drives Cena to the canvas with The Neutralizer but Cena kicks out! Cena goes for a Tornado DDT from the turnbuckle, but Cesaro reverses into a front-face slam and clutches on the crossface again! Cena works his way to the ropes for the break. Cesaro suplexes Cena from the apron into the ring and covers, only getting two!
Cena flips around over Cesaro and gives him a sit-down powerbomb, but also only gets two! Cena puts Cesaro on the turnbuckle and looks to go for an A.A., but Cesaro counters and attempts a top-rope Neutralizer! Cena works his way out of it and instead tosses Cesaro with the Attitude Adjustment. He covers and gets the hard-earned/fought victory!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL United States Champion: John Cena
Post-match, Kevin Owens tries to quickly attack Cena, but John plants him with the AA. Owens gets out of the ring and scurries up the ramp. Cena stands in the ring, getting an ovation for this match, and mouths “thank you Chicago, I mean that” to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
This was another great Raw with plenty of action start-to-finish, some good promos, and a lot of decent build towards Battleground. Add to that, the fans did not ruin the show with obscure chants (which I was afraid of, considering how rowdy Chicago can be), so I thoroughly enjoyed this edition. Onto the analysis:
Excellence: Lesnar/Heyman & Authority segments – all very well performed, sold the match, and not too much/over-the-top; this is the amount I like to see.
I think this is the first time I’m typing this, but I think all the matches were well-wrestled tonight! Well done, everyone!
Actually looking forward to the upcoming hard-hitting feud between Sheamus and Randy Orton.
Glad to see Cesaro still being used relevantly despite Tyson Kidd being injured. As much I started liking their tag-team, I think with mike work and in-ring performances like tonight, this is where Cesaro should be and keep on climbing,. I hope to see him get a significant push and stay in the U.S. Title picture over the summer.
Very nice for this Chicago crowd to give Cena a much-deserved applause following his fantastic bout with Cesaro!
Bogus: my only complaint this week is the feud with Rusev/Summer/Dolph/Lana. I’m liking Rusev and Summer’s side of things, but Dolph verbalizes the same stuff every week (yes, so does Rusev, but I find him more genuine and realistic), and Lana is not speaking much anymore, which is a shame because she is gold on the mike. I hope this either changes soon or just ends. As much as I loved Ziggler before, he’s had the “hot chick gimmick” too much and really doesn’t need a manager. All he should be doing is winning matches and boasting about that, eventually climbing back into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture.
In general, an awesome Raw! Next week is the go-home show, so as usual, the report will also feature my picks for Battleground. Until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
WWE Superstar and former WWE champion Randy Orton is about to embark on his second marriage after proposing to his girlfriend Kim Marie Kessler.
Kessler posted a photo on her Twitter and Instagram account of the ring and writing, “He asked and I said YES!”
Orton married his first wife Samantha in September 2007 and the two have a daughter together which was born a year later named Alanna Marie. The couple separated in 2012 and their divorce was made final in June 2013.
Fans of the MMA – rejoice. The next in the long line of exciting events is just around the corner, with some truly amazing fights pending. The event will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and will begin on July 11th, 2015. The interests of the events are already spiking thanks to the growing mobile culture, especially with the rise of fandom of MMA in South Africa.
There will be plenty of memorable and exciting moments to be had for sure, with the early prelims starting off at 7PM/4PM ETPT where Seery will face Smolka and Cedeno will trade blows with Pfister.
Moving on to the first prelims starting at 8PM / 5PM ETPT, the three matches will see Brown vs Means, Swick vs Garcia, Pendred vs Howard and Garbrandt vs Briones.
Finally, the main card will feature the most heated fights yet with the main event deciding the new UFC Featherweight Champion. It will be a clash between the second and third ranked MMA fighter for the UFC, Chad Mendes vs. Conor McGregor. The other matches will be no less interesting – UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler will face off against the contender Rory MacDonald. This fight is sure to get heated, if we take into account the split second win of Lawler from their last match at UFC 167. The rest of the fights Bermudez against Stephens, Nelson against Thatch and finally, Picket vs. Aleida.
The main event had already sparked some controversy, with current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo at first not being confirmed for the fight just days before the official announcement. On June the 23rd Aldo was reported to have suffered a rib fracture which would render him unable to fight. The next day however, representatives of UFC had confirmed that thanks to the medical evidence he had provided, the champion was eligible to fight since there was only a bruised bone on his rib and cartilage that he had earned while training.
Aldo seemed content with his current health condition and was primed to fight McGregor on the 11th. However, just days before the fight, he had to step down since the injury wasn’t so light after all. His replacement was already known and it is the USA representative Chad Mendes.
With their different styles and techniques, the featherweight title fight is sure to be one of watch – considering the defensive style and excellent takedown defense by McGregor as opposed to the slow paced yet unquestionably strong strike rate. To make things even more interesting, their fighting records are evenly matches (17-2-0) which makes this that much harder for bettors to pin point.
Still. the odds are already beginning to mount in Mendes’s and Lawler’s favor though we can expect things to shit significantly prior to the matches’ start. You can check more of the stats and information to the official UFC website as well as other betting portals similar to Fhats Casino.
The Kickstarter campaign to fund the Chyna documentary “The Reconstruction of Chyna” has surpassed its goal today with one day to go.
Originally filmmakers were looking for $10,000 in donations to fund the documentary and yesterday donations were still short by a couple of thousand dollars. Today over $11,000 were pledged from 138 backers. In return of donations, filmmakers offered several perks including place in the credits, messages on Twitter from Chyna, Blu-Ray copies before the release of the documentary, a Skype call from Chyna, and more. Chyna received a big push from a recent Mick Foley post on Facebook urging fans to help his friend.
Erik Angra will be directing the documentary which will follow Chyna across the country, as she chronicles her history, rediscovers herself with media, critics and fans and as she tries to begin her life again, navigating her celebrity and staying healthy.
If you are interested you can still donate to the Kickstarter campaign here.
WWE Studios today announced that 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown will be released in select theaters and on-demand on September 11 featuring Dean Ambrose.
The preview of the movie reads, “Ambrose plays Shaw, a detective that returns to active duty after the death of his partner. When he uncovers evidence linking his fellow officers to a murder, they frame him for a homicide he didn’t commit. Trapped in his own precinct, Shaw will do whatever it takes to expose the dirty cops and clear his name. With twelve rounds in the clip and one shot at redemption, nothing will stand in Shaw’s way in this action-packed thriller.”
This movie is in collaboration with Lionsgate. John Cena and Randy Orton played the leading role in the previous two installments of 12 Rounds.
2K released the official teaser trailer for the WWE 2K16 video game featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The awesome trailer has Austin in a large field digging up something from the ground with a shovel. As the camera gets in closer and lower from behind, Austin kneels down and removes the dirt off the Smoking Skull belt, the custom WWE Heavyweight title that he carried during the Attitude Era.
He then looks at it as the camera starts to pan up as he’s standing up, he puts it on his shoulder then turns around and gives the camera that Stone Cold look. The Austin theme song then kicks in as the WWE 2K16 logo transforms into WWE 2K3:16. Very cool looking teaser which you can see below.
In comments given to the Associated Press in relation to the cover Superstar reveal, Steve Austin said that he doesn’t see himself lacing up the boots one more time.
“I think I’ve left everything that I’ve got in the ring,” he said. “There’s no reason to go back in the ring and prove anything. I had to ride off into the sunset a little bit earlier than I’d have liked. But that final match I had at WrestleMania with The Rock was my last match.”
Austin last wrestled at WrestleMania 19, losing to The Rock for the first time at a WrestleMania. Their previous encounters – WrestleMania 15 and 17 – all ended up with Austin going over and twice Austin winning the WWE title from The Rock.
The Rattlesnake toyed with Paul Heyman about a WrestleMania match with Brock Lesnar after Heyman asked him the question during their podcast on the WWE Network last month. Austin then cut a promo on Lesnar saying that he would whoop his ass.
