Here are the results from last night’s Payback pay-per-view which took place at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
R-Truth defeated Stardust and The Ascension defeated Macho Mandow and Curtis Axel in the Kickoff matches; Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler; The New Day defeated Tyson Kidd and Cesaro in a two out of three falls match to retain the Tag Team titles; Bray Wyatt defeated Ryback; John Cena defeated Rusev in an I Quit match to retain the United States title; Naomi and Tamina defeated The Bella Twins; Neville defeated King Barrett via count-out; Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Randy Orton in a fatal 4 way match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight title.
The Steve Austin podcast is returning to the WWE Network after a few months on hiatus as it seems all the disagreements between the two parties have been ironed out. Austin’s last podcast on the Network was with Triple H.
The announcement was made last night during the Payback pay-per-view and Austin’s show returns live after the June 1 Monday Night Raw with perhaps one of the biggest guests you can get, Paul Heyman.
With friendship dating back a couple of decades and the two of them renowned for not holding anything back, this could be the most explosive podcast on the Network to date.
With the WWE Network free for the past two months for new subscribers, this will be a good way to try and convert those free trials into paid subscriptions, at least for a month.
Odds for tonight’s Payback pay-per-view have Seth Rollins the clear favorite to retain the WWE World Heavyweight title at 1/7, with Reigns, Orton, and then Ambrose in that order having odds of 8/1, 10/1, and 12/1.
John Cena is also the favorite to retain the United States title at 1/8 and a win for Rusev is at 9/2. Other favorites to win their respective matches tonight are Axel and Sandow, Sheamus, Neville, Naomi and Tamina, Bray Wyatt, and The New Day.
Odds usually tend to change much closer to the start time of the event when the so-called “smart money” come in.
WWE Superstar Rusev had his Russian Federation star stolen during the non-televised live event in State College, Pennsylvania.
“Big thanks to the Americans at #WWEStateCollege for stealing my star of the Russian federation. Hope eBay is gud to you,” Rusev wrote.
A fan by the username Harveybeardman on Instagram posted a selfie wearing the star around his neck. “Hey #rusev, you dropped something,” he wrote, adding the hashtag #score afterward.
Rusev posted a screenshot of the image on his Twitter account, calling him a thief. “A #RealAmerican who is not scared to show his true colors and profession,” Rusev wrote.
Live tonight from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, WWE presents Payback on pay-per-view and on the WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose vs Randy Orton in a fatal 4 way for the WWE World Heavyweight title; John Cena vs Rusev in an I Quit match for the United States title; The New Day vs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the Tag Team titles; King Barrett vs Neville; Dolph Ziggler vs Sheamus; Ryback vs Bray Wyatt; Naomi and Tamina vs The Bella Twins; and Curtis Axel and Macho Mandow vs The Ascension in the Kickoff match.
Reddit user FalconArrow, who over the past few days correctly reported the return of the Elimination Chamber, and the involvement of Rhyno and Tommy Dreamer at NXT in Philly, is now reporting that Samoa Joe has signed a deal with WWE and will be making his debut this Wednesday on NXT.
The anonymous user has been verified by the r/SquaredCircle administrators by providing proof of his real identity.
FalconArrow adds that the current plan is to have Samoa Joe make an appearance at the end of Wednesday’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable WWE Network special. He said that plans can obviously change but as of yesterday that was locked in.
WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil has been named Celebrity Dad of the Year by Everythingfordads.com thanks to the WWE social media machine.
The second annual MEGA Dad Awards 2015 are being presented by Every Thing For Dads to honor the amazing work we see dads carry out that often goes unacknowledged. These awards are given to dads who are determined to change the landscape of fatherhood for the better and for the good of all.
O’Neil was up against actors Stephen Amell, Ashton Kutcher and Vin Diesel, and soccer stars David Beckham and Kaka.
The awards ceremony will take place June 13 in Winter Park, Florida, at the Winter Park Community Center.
Former WWE Divas champion Paige returned to the ring last night during a non-televised live event in State College, Pennsylvania.
Paige came out to defend the current champ Nikki Bella after Brie got “injured” during the tag team match against Naomi and Tamina. The newest heel Divas double teamed on Nikki after she won the match and then Paige came out for the save.
The young British Diva has been off WWE television since the Raw in London back in April when she was taken out by Naomi following her Divas Battle Royal win to become the number one contender for the Divas title. Naomi ended up taking her place on the pay-per-view. Paige was out since she was filming the WWE Studios movie Santa’s Little Helper with The Miz.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said that Chicago might see a WrestleMania in the future.
When asked why Chicago hasn’t gotten a WrestleMania lately, McMahon didn’t give a specific answer, but he didn’t shut down the door for a return.
“I wouldn’t say Chicago is out of the running,” said McMahon. “We can do colder environments. We went to (MetLife) Stadium (in New Jersey). People wear coats to football. Why won’t they were jackets and so forth to WrestleMania? They will. Chicago will definitely be in the running in the future.”
The last WrestleMania held in Chicago was in 2006 when the Allstate Arena hosted WrestleMania 22. That was the last time since then that WrestleMania was held inside an arena and all WrestleManias that followed that were held in big stadiums.
Chicago had 3 WrestleManias in total including part of WrestleMania II in 1986, WrestleMania 13 in 1997, and 22.
The ECW Original mystery opponent for Baron Corbin at last night’s NXT event in Philadelphia ended up being Mr ECW himself, Tommy Dreamer.
Dreamer was “recruited” by Joey Styles after Corbin issued an open challenge to any ECW Original to fight him yesterday after the first NXT event in Philly on Thursday. He beat Rhyno on the first show. Bully Ray dropped big hints that he was going to be the one during the day on Twitter but that wasn’t the case. Corbin defeated Dreamer with his End of Days.
TNA is moving away from the Friday night television slot as Destination America announced that Impact will be moving permanently to Wednesday nights at 9PM EST starting June 3.
Impact moved to Destination America in January of this year and was given the Friday night slot which many in the television industry consider as the death slot since it’s one of the least watched nights on television.
The show aired on Wednesdays during the final few months on Spike TV after moving from Thursdays, the show’s old time slot.
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (or WWE) has been the iconic image of professional wrestling since 1980 but has become repetitive and subpar compared to its beginnings. Fans are looking for something different. In October of 2014, Lucha Underground was launched and has since found significant success. It has aimed to bring lucha libre, the Mexican style of pro wrestling, to a new audience.
Although the basic rules of lucha libre are fairly similar to American professional wrestling, lucha libre is definitely capturing fans’ attention with its emphasis on high flying, fast reversals, and smooth transitions. The acting and storylines are exceptional as well, with concise and satisfying stories and relationships. This is unlike the WWE, which tends to drag its plotlines out past their expiration date. But what really sets Lucha Underground away from the WWE is the enlightened attitude towards gender. Rather than being reduced to mere sex objects, luchadoras are able to compete against men in and prove that they are just as capable in the ring week after week. Notable examples are Sexy Star and Ivelisse.
The famous male counterparts include the current Lucha Underground champion Prince Puma and the dominant “rudo” (or villain) is Pentagon Jr. Although Prince Puma was born in America, he takes lucha libre to a whole new level with his agility and invincibility. This comes as no surprise as his manager is lucha legend, Konnan. Pentagon Jr. is a second-generation star, known for his tremendous acting. His bearing and movements exude pure malice and every time he steps into the ring, the crowd goes wild. He is one of the biggest reasons why Lucha Underground makes such an entertaining and unique show.
Lucha libre is rich with culture and tradition that dates back nearly a century. In the 1930’s, the first Mexican wrestling promotion, Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (now known as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre or simply CMLL) was founded by Salvador Lutteroth. He had seen American pro wrestling in Texas and was convinced it would be just as successful south of the border. And he was right. The sport grew in popularity throughout the 1950’s, and many of its top stars began to wear masks in the ring to avoid being mobbed in their private lives. The mask became the iconic symbol of lucha libre, with stars like El Santo and the Blue Demon having film careers while never even showing their face.
In recent years, a handful of luchadores have found popularity in the United States and increasingly so. Thanks to the El Rey Network which hosts Lucha Underground (check here for listings), old and new fans will be able to watch their favorite masked wrestlers every Wednesday. Those fluent in Spanish can tune in as well on UniMás on Saturdays. However, no matter what language you speak or where you are from, any wrestling fan will be able to enjoy the culture that is lucha libre.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brandon Engel is a Midwestern blogger with a keen interest in wrestling, boxing, horror movies, and classic Russian literature. Follow him on Twitter: @BrandonEngel2.
WWE Superstars and Divas appeared at the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Upfront yesterday which were held at the Jacob Davits Center in New York.
WWE Superstars Hulk Hogan, Chris Jericho, Titus O’Neil, and Roman Reigns, were joined by Natalya, The Bella Twins, and Eva Marie to promote Raw, Smackdown, Total Divas, and Tough Enough.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were also present. You can see photos of the Superstars and Divas all glammed up below.
Next Friday’s TNA Impact on Destination America will be pre-empted and no new episode will air during Memorial Day weekend.
Instead, Destination America will be airing the Slammiversary 2014 pay-per-view in full. TNA was supposed to air the Destination X themed episode of Impact on May 22 but will now air at a later date.
It’s not known why the episode was pulled from next Friday’s schedule but the fact that it is a holiday weekend it might explain the reason why.
Deadline.com is reporting that WWE Studios has closed a deal for a revolving credit facility worth $35 million with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The cash infusion will allow WWE Studios to extend and grow a partnership base that already includes Warner Bros., Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox.
“This new relationship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch gives us the opportunity to be involved in higher profile films and expand talent relationships,” said WWE Studios president Michael Luisi. “Our audience craves larger-than-life stories, and we’re looking forward to using this new facility to bring even more of those stories to the big screen.”
Randy Hua, SVP of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said that WWE Studios is “an amazing brand with a history of creating content with fascinating characters and storylines.” He said that the new cash injection will enable WWE Studios to build on the momentum from the last several years by producing and acquiring more branded and genre films.
During last night’s NXT live event in Philadelphia, Baron Corbin challenged any ECW Original for tonight’s second live event after he defeated Rhyno during the show.
Joey Styles accepted the challenge on behalf of whoever will be and “shopped” around on Twitter looking for volunteers. He said he will officially be a manager for the first time ever in his wrestling career as he will accompany his ECW Original to take on Corbin.
Styles joked that he asked Taz but he’s retired and he could not afford him anyway and when a fan asked him about Cactus Jack, Styles said Foley is retired as well and needs someone who still wrestles.
Bully Ray, who appeared at the Rumble in Philly in January, replied to Styles’ tweet saying “Is that so…” Ray dropped a hint a few days ago saying it’s not about who’s next, but it’s where’s NXT. This tweet was sent after he appeared on Impact as the guest referee. In a separate tweet to Corbin, Ray told him to “be careful what you wish for.”
The NXT non-televised live event yesterday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a special one for two particular NXT stars as for the first time it was two Divas who headlined the show.
While the NXT champion Kevin Owens was in attendance and wrestled, his match did not close the show, but Sasha Banks and Charlotte did.
The two Divas stole the show as Sasha Banks defended her NXT Women’s title against the daughter of the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Both Banks and Charlotte were given a standing ovation after the match from the Philly fans.
Former World Heavyweight champion Dolph Ziggler went from performing in the ring to performing on stage with none other than Britney Spears during his visit at Las Vegas.
Ziggler is a big fan of Spears, who performs at the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino, and recently the hotel asked Ziggler if he would like to be brought on stage according to a story on WWE.COM.
“I got to the concert, they told me they weren’t sure if I’d go on stage, and then they just grabbed me,” Ziggler said. “They knew where I was sitting and then just told me to play along and have fun.”
Ziggler said that while on stage during the show he told Spears that “she looked like a total babe” and she autographed his LMFAO shirt and kicked him “off the stage.”
TNA will be recording four days of Impact Wrestling next month as the company returns to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
The free tapings start on June 26 and continue on June 29, June 30, and July 1 with doors opening at 6PM and show kicking off at 7PM. On June 28 TNA will present Slammiversary live on pay-per-view and since it’s held inside Universal Studios, admission is free as well.
WWE Superstars and Divas will be on hand at the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Upfront event today which will be held at the Jacob Davits Center in New York.
The star-studded event will feature talent from across the NBCUniversal cable family including celebrities from USA Network, E!, Bravo, Syfy, Esquire, Sprout, and Oxygen.
WWE Superstars Hulk Hogan, Chris Jericho, Titus O’Neil, and Roman Reigns, will be joined by Natalya, The Bella Twins, and Eva Marie to promote Raw, Smackdown, Total Divas, and Tough Enough.
