The Hulkster made a quick trip to the ER yesterday after his boat radiator exploded in his hand. Hogan posted some gross photos of his injury on Twitter showing his hand and fingers all bubbled-up as a result of the fire.
Doctors at the Tampa General Hospital cut and skinned his hand to remove the big bubbles and he was then sent packing home. I guess he won’t be using his left hand for a while!
If you’re into looking at some injury photos, they’re all up at his Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/HulkHogan.
Former TNA and WCW wrestler Hector Garza passed away yesterday from lung cancer, just eight months after he was diagnosed with the illness.
Garza made one appearance for the then WWF, wrestling in the 1997 Royal Rumble before going to WCW. Unfortunately his run in WCW wasn’t a very successful one and mostly he appeared on the B-shows with probably his best accomplishment in the company being part of the Latino World Order.
In 2004 he moved to TNA as part of the agreement the company did with AAA and was part of Team Mexico, winning the America’s X Cup. When the agreement between TNA and AAA was done, Garza returned to TNA at the Victory Road pay-per-view that same year and won a 20 man X Division Gauntlet match and eventually had a match against Jeff Jarrett for the NWA title. The next year, he was supposed to wrestle Scott Hall at Final Resoultion but he was arrested in Houston, Texas, after he tried to cross the border with illegal substances that were legal in Mexico but illegal in the United States.
Garza was deported and his TNA career was over. He retired in October 2012 when the news came out that he was diagnosed with cancer.
Fast and Furious 6 with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sped to the top of the box office chart with a weekend of $98.5 million in box office receipts in addition to $177 million in worldwide box office for a total of $275.5 million.
The latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise had the best opening weekend in the history of the franchise, beating out its predecessor by almost $12 million according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
This is The Rock’s third number one movie in the first five months of 2013 out of his four movies. G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Pain & Gain both made their debut in the first place while Snitch opened in second.
According to WWE’s latest numbers, WrestleMania 29 is up to 1,048,000 buys worldwide as of April 30. It is not the final figure as WWE is still compiling data from all their distribution partners but it’s very highly unlikely that the show will surpass last year’s buy rate.
WrestleMania 28 did 1,253,000 buys worldwide last year, an increase of just over 200,000 from what WrestleMania 27 did which was 1,059,000 buys. WrestleMania 26 did 885,000 buys and WrestleMania 25 did almost 100,000 more than that with a final figure of 975,000.
This year’s WrestleMania was headlined by The Rock and John Cena as well as The Undertaker vs CM Punk and Triple H vs Brock Lesnar.
While The Score in Canada will air the Bret Hart Appreciation Night post-show celebrations for Canadian fans, other fans not in Canada can still watch all the off air stuff live as it happens.
WWE announced that tribute to Bret “Hit Man” Hart will be airing exclusively on the WWE App as soon as the broadcast on USA Network goes off the air.
Taking place in his home town of Calgary, Alberta, the May 27 Memorial Day edition of Monday Night RAW will certainly be a special one for the WWE Hall of Famer.
The WWE app can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store or Google Play for free.
TNA today announced the launch of the TNA Always Evolve fitness app for iOS and Android devices, available for $4.99 on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
TNA Wrestling teamed up with Always Evolve to create one of the most revolutionary fitness applications on the market with Jeff Hardy as your workout partner. The Hardy avatar will lead you through the four-week Always Evolve workout regimen, which activates all types of muscle fibers, slow, intermediate, and fast-twitch muscle groups.
The app also features different programs for beginner, intermediate and advanced users, along with goal-setting and nutritional guidance from a certified nutritionist. Future modules of the app will feature additional TNA Superstars including Chavo Guerrero, Rob Terry, and Miss Tessmacher, giving fans the chance to alternate workout partners.
Two of the “Paul Heyman guys” went at it on Twitter today after CM Punk corrected a grammar mistake of a tweet posted by Curtis Axel.
“Life is good when your a #PaulHeymanGuy!!!,” tweeted Axel followed with a photo of Lesnar, himself, CM Punk, and Paul Heyman.
CM Punk was quick to correct his team mate – if you can call him like that – retweeting the same message but at the end he added a simple correction. “You’re,” Punk wrote, pointing out the mistake of the tweet.
The son of the late Mr Perfect was also quick to fire back at the former WWE champion.
“Love the grammar geeks! Just think, how impressive would it be to correct grammar with one eye after I bust YOUR orbital bone? #nerds,” he wrote.
PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE Vice President of Television Production, “Big” John Gaburick, is leaving the company. Gaburick is best known for having an on-screen role during the Tough Enough seasons which aired on MTV over a decade ago.
He is a longtime WWE employee and has been working there since the 90s and was a big part of WWE’s television production especially with the running of WWE’s reality TV show. Gaburick, despite not appearing on the last Tough Enough that aired on USA Network, was the one one who got Bill DeMott his job back as a trainer on the reality show in 2011.
Impact begins with Hulk Hogan making his way to the ring in his home town of Tampa Florida. The crowd is really into Hogan tonight, but I won’t hold that against them.
Hogan claimed to be drinking beers with Shark Boy earlier at his beach. Hogan also says he wants to call out his friend, Sting.
Sting comes out and Hogan tells him he doesn’t have to agree to Bully Ray’s stipulation that Sting can never wrestle for the TNA title again if he loses. Hogan is the GM and he can remove that stipulation. Sting appreciates the offer, but he wants it to stay as it is. Sting feels responsible for getting Hogan to trust Bully Ray and he doesn’t think he deserves another title shot if he loses.
Brooke Hogan comes out to take responsibility for the Aces and Eights situation and tells Sting and Hogan they should stop blaming themselves. Bully Ray comes out and says none of them are to blame for Aces and Eights because Bully Ray himself is to responsible, and he’s proud.
He also says he is still in love with his wife, Brooke Hogan, and will never take off his wedding ring because of that fact.
Commercial
Match #1: Joey Ryan versus Petey Williams, versus Suicide.
Suicide hits Ryan with a dropkick. Petey dropkicks Suicide to the floor. Ryan baseballs slides underneath Petey and then sends him out to the floor with a pump handle throw. Suicide hits Petey with a hurricanrana and then puts Joey in a leg lock and Petey in an abdominal stretch. Petey escapes and tries to hit Ryan with the Canadian Destroyer but gets hit with a kick from Suicide instead.
Ryan goes out to the floor and Petey hits him with a suicide dive. Suicide dives out of the ring (not a suicide dive) onto Ryan and Williams. Petey hits Joey with a facebuster; Suicide shoves Petey out of the ring and rolls up Joey for 2. Suicide misses a senton and Petey sets him up for the Canadian Destroyer, but Ryan breaks it up with a kick. Suicide hits Joey with a neckbreaker and then a gut buster for the win.
Commercial
Match #2: Sam Shaw versus Alex Silva.
Both men are former Gut Check winners, and the winner of this match will get 1 step closer to competing in the Bound for Glory Series. Sam Shaw comes out first, and then Aces and Eights come out instead of Alex Silva.
Wes Brisco announces that they’ve already taken out Alex Silva in the back and look ready to take out Sam Shaw next. Brisco is mad he didn’t get a chance to compete for the BFG series and they start beating on Shaw. Magnus comes out to the rescue and saves Sam Shaw.
Shaw is apparently a friend of Magnus’ and trained with him at Harley Race’s wrestling school. Magus thinks Brisco does not deserve a shot at the BFG series; Magnus thinks Briscoe deserves to get his ass kicked.
Match #3: Magnus versus Wes Brisco.
Magnus lands a punch, flying knee, and a gut wrench suplex to Brisco. Magnus mounts and pounds Brisco; Brisco escapes and retreats to the floor.
Commercial
Wes lands a kick and slams Magnus into the corner. Brisco lands a punch, a clothesline, and then puts Magnus in a chin lock. Brisco hits Magnus with an elbow, a knee lift, and a clothesline. Brisco puts Magnus in a chin lock but Magnus escapes and the two men exchange strikes.
Magnus hits Wes with a pair of clotheslines, Wes responds with a kick. Magnus hits Wes with another clothesline and Brisco retaliates with a big boot to the face. Brisco climbs to the top rope and leaps, but Magnus catches him and suplexes him. Magnus climbs to the top rope but Brisco cuts him off.
Magnus throws Wes back to the mat but is then himself knocked off the top by the other members of Aces and Eights at ringside. Aces and Eights start to beat Magnus down, but Magnus is saved by Samoa Joe. Former tag partners and champions Joe and Magnus stand tall in the ring.
Commercial
When we return, we see footage of Sting being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame last year at Slammiversary. Someone else will be inducted this year, but we still don’t know who.
In the Aces and Eights clubhouse, Bully Ray assures the club that AJ Styles will be joining their ranks tonight. Bully seems way to confident, but he guarantees AJ will not disappoint them, like some people have (stares angrily at D Lo.)
Kurt Angle continues his crusade to save Olympic wrestling. ngle argues that something is very wrong when a dying sport like the pentathlon remains and a popular sport like wrestling gets cut. He makes a good point, but I think it’s even more amazing that synchronized swimming, a sport that exists ONLY to be mocked, is protected and wrestling could be eliminated.
Mockery is the only purposes synchronized swimming serves. I’ve never had a conversation about synchronized swimming that did not result in it being mocked, and I’d be willing to bet none of you have either. I’m getting off my soap box now.
Commercial
Match #4: Ken Anderson versus Kurt Angle.
It’s hard to take notes on matches featuring two men with the same initials, but luckily for you I was up to the challenge. These two men had one of the best matches in TNA history a couple years ago in a steel cage.
Angle takes Anderson down and puts him in a headlock. Anderson escapes and hits Angle with a shoulder block. Anderson hits Angle with a kick and several punches; Angle responds with a back elbow, a punch and a kick. Angle stomps Anderson in the corner and then suplexes him.
Angle beats on Anderson some more in the corner. Angle charges at Anderson in the corner but misses and hits the steel post. Anderson steps on Angle and then starts to work on his arm. Anderson hits Angle with a long series of strikes and then twists his arm some more. Angle escapes and hits Anderson with a missile dropkick. Angle hits Anderson with a pair of clotheslines and a belly to belly suplex.
Anderson hits Angle with a fireman’s carry slam; Angle retaliates with 3 German Suplexes. Anderson recovers from the suplexes and hits Angle with the Mic Check, but gets only 2. Anderson climbs to the top rope, but Angle runs up the ropes and throws Anderson across the ring. AJ Styles walks to the ring and is hugged by Taz.
The ref notices AJ at ringside and gets distracted; Anderson takes advantage of the distraction and hits Angle in the nuts for the win. Anderson looks very happy, AJ leaves.
Commercial
When we return, Gail Kim is being interviewed about Slammiversary. Gail is mad Mickie James has a title shot. Gail feels she is more deserving because she has taken out so many wrestlers lately, like Taryn Tyrrell.
At that moment, Taryn attacks Gail and violently pummels her. Gail runs away screaming that Taryn is crazy. James Storm walks to the ring to announce who his tag team partner will be at Slammiversary.
Bobby Roode and Austin Aries come out. Roode claims the worst years of his life were the years he spent as Storm’s tag team partner. Roode also says one of the best days of his life was the day he smashed a beer bottle over James Storm’s head and became TNA champion. Aries and Roode will be one of the teams Storm will be facing at the PPV.
Bad Influence (Kaz and Daniels) come out next; they also will be part of the tag team title match at the next PPV. Daniels says they are better than the other tag teams and Kaz says Storm is a dumb dummy for not teaming up with Bad Influence. Storm has still not announced his partner when Shark Boy comes out.
Shark Boy appears to be recovered from drinking with Hogan earlier and gets the crowd to give him a “Shell yeah!!” Robbie E comes out next. Robbie claims he carried Rob Terry when they were partners, and he could probably carry Storm to. Robbie says they could call themselves “Beer Bro” or “America’s Most Bro” or possibly “two bros and a baby, we just need another bro!”
Shark Boy and Robbie start to argue when they interrupted by the returning Gunner! Gunner beats up Shark Boy and Robbie and then turns to Storm. Storm shakes his hand and says he’ll see him at Slammiversary.
Commercial
In the back, Sting is talking to Joe Park. Sting wants Joe to get his brother Abyss to help with the fight against Aces and Eights. Joe doesn’t think he can do it, and Sting seems surprised that Park is still “Kayfabing” him.
Match #5: Mickie James versus Velvet Sky for the Knockouts title.
Before the match, Mickie offered to have the match postponed due to Velvet’s knee injury. Velvet appreciates that, but says she still wants to compete. They profess love for each other. Whenever someone professes love in TNA, a horrible betrayal usually follows.
Velvet starts the match off twisting Mickie’s arm. Mickie escapes and takes Velvet down with an arm drag. Mickie puts Velvet in a wrist lock but Velvet escapes and takes Mickie down. Mickie hits Velvet with a snapmare and Velvet responds with a drop toe hold.
Velvet hits Mickie with a low drop kick. The two knockouts exchange forearm shots until Mickie catches Velvet in a full nelson. Mickie slams Velvet down on her ass while keeping her trapped in the full nelson.
Commercial
Mickie takes Velvet down with a snapmare and then pins her arms behind her head. Velvet escapes and hits Mickie with a forearm. Velvet hits Mickie with a pair of elbows and a pair of clotheslines. Velvet momentarily halts her offense because her knee appears to be in pain. Velvet lands a couple chops and a kick. Velvet goes for a hurricanrana but Mickie blocks it.
Velvet hits Mickie with a Side Russian Leg sweep and gets a 2 count. Mickie whips Velvet into the corner and hits her with a kick and a chop; Velvet responds with a pair of kicks. Velvet hits Mickie with a spinning hurricanrana, but appears to further injure her knee in the process.
While Velvet clutches at her knee, Mickie clips her bad knee from behind. Mickie plants Velvet’s head into the mat with a DDT for the win. Mickie James is the new TNA Knockouts champ! Mickie walks out of the ring celebrating while Velvet is still screaming in pain and clutching her knee. I think we just had our inevitable post “love declaration” betrayal.
In the Aces and Eights clubhouse, Bully Ray addresses his evil biker gang. Bully wants to know if D Lo got the ice for the beer and if he washed the bikes yet. D Lo replies that he did. D Lo is the red headed step child of Aces and Eights.
Commercial
When we return, Bully Ray leads the rest of Aces and Eights to the ring. Bully Ray congratulates Anderson for beating Angle earlier tonight; another dig at D Lo, who lost to Angle in an “I quit” match recently.
Bully Ray calls AJ Styles out to the ring to officially induct him into Aces and Eights. AJ comes out, silent as he always is these days. Bully says everyone has been trying to recruit AJ, Hogan and the rest of TNA, even Fourtune, but AJ has made the right choice. Bully pulls out a couple beers and offers one to AJ.
Bully says he knows AJ doesn’t drink, but he wants them to share a beer know, as a sign of their new relationship. Bully says he can give his hear to Jesus, but his soul belongs to Aces and Eights. Kurt Angle comes out and he’s pissed off. Angle says he knew this day would come, but he is clearly unhappy about it.
Angle says that by joining Aces and Eights, AJ is flushing his entire legacy with TNA down the toilet. AJ puts the vest on and hugs Bully Ray and the rest of Aces and Eights. Kurt Angle gets jumped by Aces and Eights and dragged into ring. Bully offers AJ a hammer and invites him to attack Angle; AJ smashes Angle’s knee with the hammer to the delight of the rest of the gang.
Everyone in Aces and Eights is thrilled and they all look out at the crowd and celebrate. While they are all looking at the crowd, AJ is still eyeing the hammer like he isn’t done with it. AJ hits Doc in the face with the hammer and then starts swinging at the rest of the gang.
Tenay observes that Styles really does walk alone now. AJ walks to the back showing the “AJ” symbol on his gloves as Impact goes off the air.
The NXT developmental group welcomed two new Divas-in-training to their facility last month as the WWE has signed female fitness models and bodybuilders Alexis Kaufman and Christina Vargas.
The 21 year old blond Kaufman is from Columbus, Ohio, and participated in several fitness/bodybuilding competitions where she also won the 2011 IFBB Arnold Amateur.
Christina Vargas is 28 years old from Las Vegas, Nevada, and just like Kaufman has appeared in a lot of competitions. She qualified for the 2012 Bikini Olympics and won the Houston Pro Bikini in 2011.
You can see photos (careful: they’re hot!) of both Kaufman and Vargas below.
Former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas who now works for WWE’s Canadian broadcaster The Score revealed on his Twitter that the Bret Hart Appreciation Night set for the May 27 RAW in Calgary will air exclusively on The Score after RAW wraps up filming.
WWE has marketed this special edition of RAW as a Bret Hart night on television so the WWE Hall of Famer will be appearing on the broadcast however the extra good stuff that is planned will only be done after the show goes off the air.
“Scheduled to be a part of the festivities are Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels & I’m sure a Hart or 2 will be there as well,” Korderas wrote.
While John Cena was not part of the Monday Night RAW television broadcast to sell the aftermath of his match against Ryback at Extreme Rules, the WWE champion did appear in front of the live crowd.
After the show was over and Triple H was escorted out of the arena, John Cena and Alberto Del Rio teamed up to take on Jack Swagger and Ryback in a tag team match. The faces won after Cena pinned Swagger.
WWE has tried to move a copyright lawsuit from the state of Texas to their home state of Connecticut however the judge has laid the smackdown on the company and shot down the request.
Composer James D. “Papa” Berg of Irving, Texas, sued WWE in federal court in Dallas last July after he claimed the company was making use of his music without authorization.
Berg’s lawsuit says that he composed several entrance songs for WWE Superstars and Divas and WWE registered his work under the company instead of him so he doesn’t get any royalties.
WWE tried to move the lawsuit but U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle disagreed, saying in her May 15 order that WWE failed to show good reason why the case would be better tried in Connecticut.
The judge added that since WWE is available in Texas and their products are also available for sale in Texas, the state “has a definite interest in insuring that one of its citizens be able to prosecute his claims at home.”
Monday Night RAW this week drew 4,227,000 viewers overall with a 2.96 rating, up from last week’s 4,047,000 number.
Hour one did 4,078,000 viewers, followed by 4,295,000 in the second hour, and 4,307,000 in the third. It’s the first time since the August 13 episode of RAW that the show saw an increase of viewers in every hour. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
FOX Sports is carrying an article about a possible partnership between WWE and NFL which would see the cut NFL players trying out for WWE.
Jim Ross, who was in charge of WWE’s talent for several years, is meeting with the NFL Players Association officials today in Washington, D.C., to pitch the idea.
“Everybody doesn’t make the 53-man roster,” Ross told co-host Jim Miller and me Tuesday night on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Some guys are going to be looking for work, and we’ve got some job openings. Maybe we can put the synergies of those two entities together and create something wonderful some day.”
WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is finally out of prison after serving four months for violating a restraining order according to TMZ.COM.
Sunny was arrested six times in a span of four months and charged with disorderly conduct, assault, 3rd degree burglary and violating the restraining order.
TMZ also adds that Sunny contracted HPV (Human papillomavirus) before going into prison which then developed into cervical cancer. She says she underwent a hysterectomy at an area hospital a couple of weeks ago and is now cancer-free.
Sunny will be on conditional discharge for the next two years assuming she stays out of trouble. She’s planning to relocate and start fresh in New Mexico.
Many questions arise for tonight’s Raw, as it is just under twenty-four hours removed from the end of Extreme Rules. Who walked out the Last Man Standing and WWE Champion – John Cena, the champion, or Ryback, the challenger? Was it Jack Swagger or Alberto Del Rio that made the other say “I Quit?” Is “The Shield” still dominate, adding the Tag-Team and United States Championships to their repertoire?
Who went to the “extreme” in the Steel Cage to put an end to their bitter rivalry, Triple H or Brock Lesnar? And, were there any surprises coming out of the Pay-Per-View? Only one way to find out, and that is to read on!
Monday Night Raw TV Report for May 20th, 2013 – “Changing Of The Guard(s)”
Introduction Segment: Arena Promo
An ambulance is shown, sirens and lights on, and it drives into the arena. Out pops Ryback, sans WWE Championship. He is atop the vehicle and tells us that it was a “no-decision” in his match with WWE Champion John Cena, so Cena retained the title.
Footage follows of Cena being stretchered out of the arena after Extreme Rules. Of course, this leads to Ryback asking for what he wants – a rematch at the next Pay-Per-View, “Payback.” He takes some shots at the fans, calling them stupid, fat, pathetic, and weak. He informs them they have no idea what it’s like to work hard for a living and then threatens to take John Cena and the fans to the morgue at Payback.
Later tonight, Paul Heyman will reveal his “newest client,” and up next, The Miz and Chris Jericho will face Fandango and Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett.
Commercials.
Match #1: Tag-Team – Fandango (with Summer Rae) and Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett VS. The Miz and Chris Jericho (Non-Title)
Jericho and Barrett start out, with the I.C. Champion knocking Jericho down with a shoulder block. “Y2J” comes back with a dropkick and chops against the ropes. Wade elbows back and tags in Fandango. He mount punches Jericho on the mat and punches again in the corner. Chris tries a comeback but Fandango delivers a double-boot out of the corner and switches with Barrett.
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Back live, The Miz is now taking it to Wade, kneeing him in the gut and kicking him in the head. He goes for the Figure-4, but Fandango distracts them by announcing his name then dancing on the outside with Summer. Barrett yells at his partner, then turns around into a couple shoulderblocks by Jericho.
He follows that with an axe-handle, bulldog, Lionsault, and Codebreaker. He tags in The Miz who locks in the Figure-4 and forces Barrett to tap out for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Miz and Chris Jericho
Post-match, Jericho and Miz surround Fandango, but he hightails it through the crowd, leaving Rae behind. She offers Jericho to dance, and she does, getting face-to-face with her. Jericho then breaks it off quickly, insulting Summer.
Later, we will find out the results from the carnage of Brock Lesnar and Triple H’s Steel Cage match.
Commercials.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
Supervising Manager Vickie Guerrero announces that fans can vote on the WWE App on who faces Jack Swagger: The Great Khali, R-Truth, or Randy Orton. (Gee, I wonder!?)
Segment #3: Locker Room Promo
A frustrated Daniel Bryan finally realizes that he and Kane are no longer the Tag-Team Champions. (“The Shield” did win all of their Championship matches last night.) Kane makes a slight joke, but that is because he says he is confident. They still argue, but Kofi Kingston interjects and settles them down to get ready for their 6-Man with “The Shield” later tonight.
Ads.
Match #2: Single – Sheamus VS. “The Big Deal” Titus O’Neil (with “Primetime Players” partner Darren Young)
(Sheamus made his entrance prior to the break.) The two lockup and Sheamus gets the better with a shoulder block. O’Neil comes back with the same, but gets switched around and tossed out to the apron. Sheamus pounds away against the ropes with repeated clubs, then tosses Young into the barricade after kicking him. This allows Titus to get back in control, who chucks him overhead with a fall-away slam.
Titus clamps on a grounding arm and facelock, dominating with stomps and elbow drops. He goes back to the submission, which Sheamus headbutts his way out of and throws Titus with a headlock takedown. He tries White Noise, but O’Neil falls out of it.
Young helps out by tripping up Sheamus, but that only renders two. Sheamus soon gets his momentum back with the White Noise and Brogue Kick for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Sheamus
Up next, Paul Heyman will bring out his latest protege.
Commercials.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
Paul Heyman is out now and he does not look happy! He orders the crowd to boo him, since he is always the one who gets the heat when his guys take out their heroes. He does announce that his client, “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar did defeat Triple H! (Wow, I’m surprised on that one!) Heyman calls “The Game” a “loser,” and says that he had to “tuck his sledgehammer between his legs and go back home to mommy.”
Heyman informs us that since Lesnar has fulfilled his WWE obligations, it is time for a new chapter. History will be made as he brings out his new “Paul Heyman Guy…”
Curt Axel. (Otherwise known previously as Michael McGillicutty and also known by his real name, Joe Hennig, the late-great Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig’s son, and Larry “The Axe” Hennig’s grandson.)
Paul E. compares the reaction (there wasn’t much of one, for real.) to when he brought in Lesnar in 2002, or introducing WWE to C.M. Punk in 2006. Heyman touts Axel’s heritage and cites what I did above about where he came from. He tries to get a response from the crowd about his new man, but instead they are more excited for Triple H, who interrupts!
The C.O.O. of the WWE walks to ring and immediately buries Axel, calling him “junior” and saying that the adults are having a conversation, referring to him and Heyman. Triple H says that he is not embarrassed about his loss, because he went to war and even though Lesnar won, he still limped away.
“The Cerebral Assassin” wants nothing more than to beat up Heyman, but first he has to go through Axel. He gets in HHH”s face then promptly is slapped. Triple H says he changed is mind, first he will have a match with Curtis, then get to Heyman.
Up next, new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship Alberto Del Rio will take on Big E. Langston.
Ads.
Match #3: Single – Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) VS. Big E. Langston (with A.J. Lee)
They lockup and Alberto shoves Langston into the corner and kicks away. Soon, he quickly clamps on the Cross Armbreaker, but Big E. powers his way out and reaches the ropes. Del Rio grapples it again, but Langston just tosses him into the ring post.
Langston dominates with a huge backbreaker, but Del Rio comes back with a Tornado DDT, clotheslines and the backstabber. He tries the Cross Armbreaker again, but Langston chucks him outside again!
Alberto counters and smacks him with the enziguri, but A.J. distracts him by throwing Ricardo’s bucket across the ring. Langston pokes Del Rio in the eye, then drops Alberto with the Big Ending front slam to finish this one!
Winner via Pinfall: Big E. Langston (with A.J. Lee)
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – A.J. Lee VS. Layla
A.J. is all over Layla with clotheslines and a couple neckbreakers. She knocks Layla down again and skips around, but Layla does the same. A.J comes out of the corner and swings around Layla, locking on the Black Widow octopus-hold submission to force Layla to give up!
Winner via Pinfall: A.J. Lee
Ads.
Match #5: Single – “Long Island Iced-Z” Zack Ryder VS Cody Rhodes
This bout just starts coming out of the break, and Rhodes is all over Ryder. He front-suplexes Zack and clamps on a grounding armlock. Ryder comes back with a faceplant off the ropes and a missile dropkick from the second turnbuckle! He hits the Broski Boot in the corner for a near fall, but quickly gets taken down with the Disaster Kick by Cody for his win!
Winner via Pinfall: Cody Rhodes
Post-match, Ryback hauls to the ring and Rhodes leaves Ryder alone. He runs over Zack with a Meathook Clothesline, then puts him down with a devastating powerbomb and the Shellshock Marching Samoan Drop. Ryback hurls him over the ropes and carries him to inside the ambulance.
Up next is the 6-Man Tag!
Commercials.
Match #6: 6-Man Tag-Team – “The Shield (United States Champion Dean Ambrose, and Tag-Team Champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) VS. “Team Hell No” (Kane and Daniel Bryan) and Kofi Kingston
Prior to the bout, Dean Ambrose cuts a promo on how they brought back power to the Championships. He lists the fans’ “heroes” who have gone down by the “swift arm of justice.” The Rock, The Undertaker, Ryback, and John Cena because they didn’t “believe.”
Rollins tells us we can see “what a cohesive unit looks like. You can see the meaning of unbreakable right before you. You can see the future.” Reigns says that they put all down who go in front of them. “The ‘hounds of justice’ run this yard, and we carry the collars to back it up,” declares Reigns. Ambrose says that the “fire of justice is burning bright and we are the flames. Believe in ‘The Shield!'”
Kane and Bryan are out next, then Kofi after the break.
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Kofi and Ambrose begin, locking up and trading hammer locks. They also trade pin combinations for near falls and Kofi hits a monkey flip and armdrag. He tags Bryan in, who delivers some uppercuts to Dean in the corner then hits a running knee-to-the-gut. He drops another knee on Ambrose’s face, and drop toeholds Rollins who was tagged in by Dean.
Daniel clamps on a modified surfboard stretch and kicks away at Rollins’ stomach in the corner. He slaps hands with his partner Kane, who comes in and nails Seth with a low-running front dropkick for two! He stomps away in the corner, then elbows him down. Kane switches with Kofi, who delivers a forearm and pushes Rollins face-first to the mat with a hammerlock.
Kingston leapfrogs Rollins a couple of times then elbows him down, but Seth runs him into “The Shield’s” corner and tags in Roman. The big man dominates with a shoulder block and uses the ropes to jump on him with his foot.
He grips on a face submission to torture Kofi, then catches him out of a baseball slide into a waistlock slam! Ambrose is back in and pulls at Kingston’s nose and neck, while tying up his legs.
He runs at him against the ropes with a front dropkick, then tags Rollins back in. Seth stomps and chokes Kofi in the corner and runs his head into the second turnbuckle. Rollins sits on top of him in a Camel Clutch position, then scoop slams Kofi to the mat.
After seeking approval from his partners, Rollins turns around into a flying headscissors from Kofi, and this allows him to get the hot tag to Daniel Bryan.
Bryan is on fire, punching away on Rollins and hitting a fierce running clothesline. He does the same with a dropkick in the corner, then repeatedly and viciously kicks Seth. 1 – 2 – kickout by Rollins!
Bryan ascends the ropes and attempts a move, but is cut off by Rollins. Daniel manages to shove off Ambrose before he can do anything, then hits him with a diving front dropkick. He attempts the No Lock Crossface, but Dean makes it to the ropes, forcing the break. Kane and Kofi come in and help clean house of “The Shield!”
Commercials.
Back live, Kane tags in Kofi, who jumps off the top with an axe-handle, but is quickly taken down by Reigns and Ambrose. He reverses an Irish Whip and leaps on Ambrose in the corner, hammering away! Kofi switches again with Bryan, who hangs Ambrose upside down and kicks away, then runs at him with a harsh low-running baseball slide dropkick! 1 – 2 – Dean kicks out! Rollins hits Daniel in the back off a whip, then powerbombs him into the corner turnbuckle for two!
He pounds away on Bryan on the canvas, then tags in Reigns, who hits a vicious clothesline! Bryan fights his way out of a side headlock, but soon gets taken down again with elbows and a high knee. Ambrose is in again and sadistically stomps at Bryan’s stomach, then works over his hands and fingers.
“The Shield” completely dominate and wear down Bryan. Ambrose taunts him by yelling “weakling” in his face, but Daniel fights him off with a big kick, and a double-one to Reigns. He jumps in for the tag and Kane comes in, dominating over all of “The Shield.”
He hits a tilt-a-whirl slam, clotheslines, and sidewalk slam on Roman, while both Bryan and Kofi take out Rollins and Ambrose with simultaneous suicide dives!
In the ring, Kane plants Roman with a running DDT for a near fall! He measure him for Chokeslam, but Seth comes flying in with a jumping knee and Reigns runs at Kane with a spear for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: “The Shield” (United States Champion Dean Ambrose, and Tag-Team Champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns)
Segment #6: Locker Room Promo
Triple H is taping up for his match, when an agent comes in. He tells “The Game” that the doctor has not cleared HHH for competition, but “The Cerebral Assassin” ignores the advice and implies that he will be fired.
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Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Divas Champion Kaitlyn and Natalya are still debating on Kaitlyn’s secret admirer. Cody Rhodes walks by and Kaitlyn takes his phone to check, but it’s not him.
Match #7: Single – “The Real American” Jack Swagger VS. “The Viper” Randy Orton
Orton received about 72% of the vote by the supposed 150,000 that put their opinion in. This contest will happen next!
Commercials.
They start off with an elbow/collar tie-up and engage in a mutual wristlock. They both rise up from the mat and Orton hits a high dropkick. He backdrops Swagger on the barricade and clotheslines him. In the ring, he punches Jack in the corner and hits a snap suplex.
Swagger comes back and runs over Randy with a shoulder block then knees him in the corner. Orton fires back with a Lou Thesz press off the ropes and stomps on his hands. Swagger counters with a chop block to the knee, then works it over with a twisting submission hold.
Orton punches his way out and chucks Jack to the outside, but the “Real American” shoves back into the barricade. Swagger goes back to the step-over-toehold, but Orton fires back again until he gets knocked off the top rope!
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Back live, Jack is back on that submission, but Orton again fights out of it. He slams Swagger’s head against the turnbuckle, then brings him down with a superplex off the top rope! 1 – 2 – Swagger kicks out! He goes for the Swaggerbomb out of the corner, but Orton gets up and kicks Jack in the gut!
He clotheslines him but cannot capitalize on a Slingshot DDT try. Jack locks on the “Patriot Lock” Ankelock, but Orton battles out of both tries. He eventually plants Swagger with the R-K-O for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Viper” Randy Orton
Up next, Triple H is back n action!
Commercials.
Match #8: Single “The Game” Triple H VS. Curtis Axel (with Paul Heyman)
The bell rings and the two square off. Axel is geared up, but HHH takes to him right away with a harsh clothesline. He taunts Heyman and this awakens Curtis, who repeatedly kicks HHH in the corner. “The Cerebral Assassin” does he same, but Curtis takes control again with a dropkick and elbows-to-the-jaw.
He wears down Triple H with a side headlock, but HHH rams him with shoulders in the corner. He puts Axel down with a knee-facebuster and spinebuster, then clotheslines him out of the ring. He rams his head and puts him in the ring, but HHH does not follow, as he begins to look faint. He asks for water, which he splashes over his body.
This does not help, as goes to sit back down at the timekeeper’s booth. Doctors check on him, and he struggles to make it back in the ring to suddenly close the show.
Winner: No Contest due to Official Stoppage
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
This was another great follow up to another Pay-Per-View. The show flowed smoothly again, and potentially booked June’s PPV main-event already. As with most recent Raws, more positives than negatives, so the “trend” (pardon the overused pun these days!) is continuing. Onto the analysis.
Excellence: As is the theme in the last few weeks, the #1 is the WRESTLING! Fantastic bouts with the 6-Man and Orton/Swagger. Wonderful storytelling (domination by Ambrose/Rollins/Reigns, but the fast, hard-hitting action from Kane/Bryan/Kofi) and division of time to get everyone’s moves/spots in for “The Shield”/”Team Hell No” and Kofi Kingston. And of course, love all “The Shield” members having championships now. Their promo was beautiful too, and another category they do no wrong in. Also, even though they were shorter Rhodes/Ryder and Sheamus/O’Neil was good WRESTLING too.
I like the setup and match choice for the WWE Championship between John Cena and Ryback. Haven’t seen one of those in a while. Glad they had Jericho win at Extreme Rules and continue the feud with Fandango. It’s an entertaining one. Love A.J.’s new finisher – unique and something that hasn’t been seen often.
Paul Heyman’s promo and buildup of Curtis Axel. The man really can sell anybody, because I was truly surprised by this pick for his “new client.” I thought they would go with someone already established/returning, and just heel him/her up even more (like they did with C.M. Punk), but it is good they want to try and repackage/build a new star. Really happy they acknowledge Curtis’ lineage and background as well, paying tribute to his late, great father and his grandfather.
I actually did like the ending to Raw – it did leave suspense in the air, for at least a week. We need this every now and then.
Bogus: I’m on the fence with two wrestlers – Ryback and Curtis Axel. Ryback because I like his new “cocky” persona, but I’m starting to feel the complaining too much. I do agree with Jimmy Korderas, former WWE Referee and “Aftermath” analysist, that Ryback needs to not talk all the time, and just “silently destroy.” A little mystique is better. Curtis Axel – again, always love the new prospects and/or (in this case), remaking of a previous character, but I’m wondering how far he will go. He barely got a reaction. Hopefully Paul E. will help change this. I also think that Lesnar should’ve been on the show tonight, just to gloat that he got Triple H best out of three, and then “pass the torch” to Axel. Having it only be HHH that came out and wrestled, really made it look like he was the winner after all.
Still not digging and can do away with the “Kaitlyn admirer” storyline. Wade Barrett – the Intercontinental Champion should NOT be eating the pinfall/submission in a tag-team match, especially now that he has new music – usually that means a decent little push. They are just demolishing his reign again and the value of the championship overall!
To conclude, this date marks the second anniversary of the death of Randall Poffo, a.k.a “Macho Man” Randy Savage. He was a true pioneer in professional wrestling, with a standout colourful person, both literately with his choices of attire, and figuratively in his charisma/personality.
When he passed away, I wrote my recollections and opinions on him during that Monday’s Raw Report (05.23.11), so I urge those who read this report to search it on this fine website, as I feel I cannot repeat or put into more words who Randy Savage was than I did that night. All I can say is that he is greatly missed, and a had a deserving Hall Of Fame career and is a deserving Hall Of Fame man. Thank you.
May Randall Poffo, a.k.a “Macho Man” Randy Savage continue to Rest In Peace with God in Heaven and be remembered for years to come by his family, friends, and fans.
Until next week, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans.
The BlackburnNews.com website is reporting that the cities of Windsor and Detroit have teamed up to submit a bid to host WrestleMania 31 and/or 32.
Detroit Sports Commission Executive Director Dave Beachnau said an emphasis on the international appeal of hosting the event at Ford Field gives them an edge.
“It’s appealing because a lot of these international organizations draw from not just the United States or Canada but from around the world so there’s a certain appeal I think with a border that separates us that they can visit two nations in essentially one destination,” Beachnau said.
According to the article, the winning cities that will host WrestleMania 31 and 32 will be announced on August 1. The bid has WrestleMania being hosted at Ford Field in Detroit while the rest of the other events during the week would be held in Winsor.
WWE last held WrestleMania in Detroit in 2007 where WrestleMania 23 took place at the Ford Field. The show was headlined by John Cena vs Shawn Michaels and also had the hair vs hair match with Donald Trump and Vince McMahon in the corner of Bobby Lashley and the late Umaga respectively.
TNA and Georgia Lottery have teamed up to create the IMPACT Wrestling instant game with TNA becoming the first wrestling company to be featured on a Georgia Lottery ticket.
“Our partnership with the Georgia Lottery is a uniquely exciting one for both our Impact Wrestling brand and our superstar talent,” said TNA President Dixie Carter.
With IMPACT Wrestling, players can win prizes up to $25,000 and players also can enter non-winning tickets for a second chance to win tickets to a live IMPACT Wrestling event.
“We are pleased to partner with Impact Wrestling to offer a fresh, new game to our players and wrestling enthusiasts,” said Georgia Lottery Corporation President and CEO Debbie D. Alford. “Every dollar raised by this game will benefit HOPE and Pre-K students.”
The (re)debut of Curtis Axel as the third Paul Heyman guy got a lot of positive and encouraging tweets from fellow WWE Superstars who were excited that the man behind the character is finally getting his push.
“Genuinely proud of @WWEMcGillicutty. Go get em, kid!” wrote the current World Heavyweight champion Dolph Ziggler.
Chris Jericho said he was proud and excited to see Hennig in the spotlight. “He’s been waitin for this his whole life. Somewhere Mr Perfect is smiling his mischievous grin,” Jericho wrote.
“Everything Paul touches turns to gold…. We see money in Curt Axel,” said the account of the Bella Twins, followed by two kisses.
Paul Heyman, who is now managing the 33 year old, said that he always wanted to manage Mr Perfect. “A better-than-Perfect debut tonight,” Heyman wrote, adding a photo of a younger Heyman resting his head on the chest of a smiling Mr Perfect.
