Former WWE Diva Eve Torres will be back on national television from next week as she has a recurring role on the upcoming new TV series titled Matador on the new El Rey Network.
The show centers around a soccer player for the fictional L.A. Riot team who is also a CIA secret agent. The former WWE Women’s champion will play the role of Reyna Flores, a sideline journalist reporting on the career of the lead role, Tony “Matador” Bravo, played by Gabriel Luna.
The series will premiere on July 15, 2014, with a 13-episode first season.
PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE is working on releasing an autobiography of Daniel Bryan with the work title so far being, “YES! My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania.”
Daniel Bryan will be writing the book along with WWE staff writer Craig Tello, whose only other book so far is the short Shawn Michaels one which is titled, “Diary of a Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels’ Journey into the WWE Hall of Fame,” and published by Simon and Schuster.
A second season of TNA’s British Boot Camp show has been announced and will be airing on Challenge TV, the home of TNA in the United Kingdom.
The new series will search for TNA’s next UK Superstar in an eight-part series which starts this Autumn. TNA will be inviting wrestlers to try out for the show in televised trials, which will take place in Glasgow, Manchester and London in August 2014.
The winner will receive a contract from TNA a become a full-time member of its roster with three runners up winning a spot on TNA’s Maximum Impact UK tour in January 2015.
“The first series of TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp was so successful that the winner has gone on to be a major star in America’s TNA IMPACT WRESTLING,” says Stephen Ladlow, Director of Challenge. “As Challenge is the UK home for TNA, it’s only fitting that we commission a series that invests in a new UK talent and inspires passionate TNA fans and Challenge viewers alike to the high pressure world of professional wrestling.”
The announcement was supposed to be officially done today at the London Film and Comic Con 2014 at Earls Court 2 however Challenge TV jumped the gun and unveiled the series yesterday, prompting TNA to let the cat out the bag earlier than expected.
One of Japan’s most exciting and most popular wrestlers, Kenta, was unveiled as the newest WWE Superstar at a non-televised live event in Osaka, Japan, today.
A signing ceremony took place inside the ring with Kenta, Hulk Hogan, and Jimmy Hart all present.
“Kenta is an incredible performer who brings the crowd to its feet when he steps into the ring,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Executive Vice President, Talent, Creative and Live Events, WWE. “WWE’s signing of Kenta reflects our continued dedication to creating a diverse roster that appeals to our global fan base.”
Kenta will first start at NXT before working his way up to the main roster. He will be relocating to Orlando, Florida, to train at the WWE Performance Center.
“I am humbled to join WWE’s NXT division and look forward to honing my craft with the global leader in sports-entertainment,” said Kenta.
You can see the video of Kenta, Hogan, and Hart in the ring at the Osaka show below.
WWE Studios and Lionsgate will host a panel to highlight and share secrets from the set of their soon-to-be-released Leprechaun: Origins and See No Evil 2 at the upcoming Comic-Con International in San Diego.
The panel will feature See No Evil 2 directors Jen and Sylvia Soska, who will be joined by Kane and “scream queen” Danielle Harris. Also in attendance will be the director of Leprechaun: Origins, Zach Lipovsky, along with Hornswoggle.
During the panel, WWE Studios president Michael Luisi will unveil the reimagined looks of the new Leprechaun and Jacob Goodnight to fans.
The panel, hosted by Carrie Keagan, will take place in room #7AB at 7PM PST on Thursday, July 24. Fans will also have the opportunity to meet the stars at an autograph signing on the convention floor just prior to the panel, from 5:30PM to 6:30PM PST at the Lionsgate booth (#4045). Cast and crew will be signing a convention exclusive two-sided poster featuring art from both films.
Hulk Hogan will be at the WWE press conference tomorrow in Osaka, Japan, for the unveiling of KENTA as the newest WWE Superstar.
The angle being played is that KENTA will be the first person “signed” by Hulk Hogan for WWE and his arrival to the company is bringing a lot of hype.
Hogan recorded a short video for WWE’s Instagram account where he announced the news of his involvement at the press conference and to tell the world about the “first Japanese Superstar to be signed by Hulk Hogan to the WWE.”
The WWE Hall of Famer appeared at the show in Tokyo last night and cut a promo in the ring putting over Japan. He will also be at today’s show in Osaka.
WWE today announced that it will report its 2014 second quarter results on Thursday, July 31, 2014, before the opening of the market.
Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George Barrios will host the conference call beginning at 11:00AM EST to discuss the results.
These results will include financial data from WrestleMania XXX and its related activities so it will be interesting to see how they compare with last year’s Mania and also how they compare to the prior year quarter when taking out WrestleMania-generated income.
WWE will also announce the updated number of subscribers for their WWE Network, a number which many believe will be less than the 667,000 that it was announced back in April.
Two time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has been written into story lines for Monday’s RAW in Richmond and Smackdown the next day in Fayetteville and he is expected to resume his WWE on-screen duties full time after that.
Flair will be part of the Madison Square Garden show that WWE will have on Saturday, July 12, and will lead a team of 10 lumberjacks in John Cena’s corner when he takes on Bray Wyatt with 10 other lumberjacks on his side headed by Triple H.
Flair last appeared on WWE television when he sided with The Shield during their storyline with Evolution. He recently underwent a battery of medical tests to certify him fit to return to WWE full time.
The Hollywood Reporter has a story about former WWE champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson being in discussion to star as the leading role in Universal’s upcoming movie titled The Janson Directive, based on a Robert Ludlum novel.
While no writer or director has been chosen yet as the project is still in its very early stages, Universal is hoping to turn this into a potential franchise with The Rock leading the charge.
The story is about an ex-Navy Seal and covert ops specialist who now works as as security consultant and when a rescue operation goes down the drain, he is targeted for termination and must go on the run to clear his name.
Johnson’s next movie out in theatres will be Hercules which comes out on July 25. He has Fast & Furious 7 and San Andreas also lined up for next year as well as two new TV shows, a reality show for TNT, and a dramedy titled Ballin for HBO.
It looks like Kurt Angle’s time in TNA is coming to a close as the former TNA champion revealed to Jim Ross on his Ross Report podcast that he has turned down a new offer from TNA.
Angle’s current contract expires towards the end of September and Angle said that as an active wrestler he can only see himself accepting one more deal before hanging up his boots for good.
The TNA Hall of Famer has made it no secret that he would love one final run in WWE before he retires although if that actually happens is another story. Angle’s addiction problems got him fired from WWE in 2005 and those problems continued while working for TNA Wrestling as well.
Monday Night RAW this week drew 4,381,000 viewers, up slightly by 50,000 viewers from last week’s show.
Hour one of the show had 4,183,000 viewers, followed by 4,514,000 in the second hour, and then down to 4,447,000 in the third and final hour. (Ratings credit: PWInsider.com)
WWE Superstars and Divas are currently on the way (or probably already arrived) in the Land of the Rising Sun for a three day tour in the country.
The company will be holding three shows – two at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and one at the Maishima Arena in Osaka, for the yearly tour of Japan.
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan is also making the trip and will be appearing at the July 11 and 12 shows. Hogan noted on his Twitter how excited he is to go back to Japan and how he used to spend 22 to 24 weeks in the country in the late 70s.
WWE is also expected to officially announce the arrival of Japanese wrestler KENTA to their roster during the tour.
The Business Insider has covered WWE’s latest attempt to get more WWE Network subscribers by offering another free week trial with no credit card required for sign up.
The Insider says that things are “looking grim” for the company and its “money-losing streaming video service,” is far off from the 1,400,000 subscribers it need to make the Network profitable.
The story also looks at how WWE is cutting costs across to board to make up for the projected $35 million to $45 million the company is projected to lose this year from lost PPV revenue.
The piece is not really good advertising and showcases WWE’s struggle to make their Network work financially. WWE will be rolling out the service to select countries worldwide at the end of this year.
Two tweets from former WCW champion Sting has sent the Internet wrestling community on a frenzy even though there’s nothing wrestling related on them.
Sting changed his profile photo to a very dark image with his face paint faded, barely visible and then afterward tweeted, “07.14.14.”
While it could be totally non-wrestling related, it could also be something related to the WWE 2K15 video game, a project that Sting is rumored to be involved with a similar deal that 2K reached with the Ultimate Warrior last year.
WWE and 2K shot several footage with Sting lookalikes a month or so ago after putting out a casting call.
Sting has been in negotiations with WWE seemingly forever and remains the only big name Superstar to have never worked for WWE so far.
Tonight, Raw is my home-country of Canada, which usually means a great show! More particularly, it is Montreal, probably one of the top 3 most-famous cities for wrestling, ever since November 9th, 1997; and we all know why! Will there be some controversy in the partly French-speaking province?
With Roman Reigns interfering in Smackdown’s main-event, will he still be included in the Fatal-4-Way at Battleground for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? Or does The Authority finagle his title shot away from him?
Paige lost her Divas Championship to a returning A.J. Lee last week, and after Smackdown, seems to be still “friendly” with her. Is this mind-games, or does she just want to “pony-up” for a rematch? Either way, it should be a hot feud!
Speaking of hot feuds, I’m really digging the new one between Jack Swagger/Zeb Colter and Rusev/Lana. Who is going to get the upperhand tonight, especially in Canada, where they could both be considered neutral?
Finally, the surprise of the week was Chris Jericho’s big return, and subsequent rivalry with The Wyatt Family! This will be an amazing one, and I look forward to the continuation of it tonight!
All this and much more, so read on!
Monday Night Raw TV Report for July 7th, 2014 – “Underlying Hostility”
Introduction Segment: Recap
A video montage of last week’s Raw ending airs, bringing us up-to-date on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
Roman Reigns makes his entrance through the crowd as Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and John “Bradshaw” Layfield welcome us. They announce that The Authority, Stephanie and Triple H, will not be in attendance tonight.
Reigns talks about the Battleground main-event, and runs down the competitors in the match. He determines they have no chance against him. “I understand I’m a wanted man around here, but I got a hair trigger.” The crowd chants “Cena sucks,” to which Roman replies that is true when he’s in the building. “Me, no, I’m not a pawn. I’m just the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Believe that!”
Pyro explodes on the stage and Kane walks out. “The Big Red Machine” glares at Reigns from the top of the ramp, but Reigns wonders why he’s there, saying nothing. Roman insinuates that Kane just does the dirty work of The Authority and Randy Orton.
Kane begins the march and the inevitable brawl ensues! They beat each other around the arena, through the fans and the ring. Kane runs Reigns’ face into the ring post and stomps away in the ring, until referees and agents (former wrestlers) run down and try to break it up. Both Kane and Roman fend off the backstage crew, but are broken up again and stare each other down.
Lawler and Cole go over the rest of the card, which includes Chris Jericho taking on The Miz, and “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins facing WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Plus, Bret “The Hitman” Hart will make an appearance!
Commercials.
Match #1: Tag-Team – The Wyatt Family (Erik Rowan and Luke Harper) VS. Tag-Team Champions The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) (Non-Title)
Luke and Jey begin, slugging away at each other. Jey leaps off the ropes with a forearm, then both Uso boys take The Wyatts to the floor. Jimmy switches with Jey, but Luke controls him. He gives Jimmy a stiff uppercut and chokes him with a boot on the canvas.
Rowan now in and rips away at Jimmy’s chin. He misses a sit-down splash, and Jey front-dropkicks him to the mat. Rowan kicks out at two, the slings Jey chest-first into the turnbuckle. Harper back in and snags Jey by the nose, and Erik gives him a splash.
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Rowan is still dominating, pressing his fists into the head of Jey. Both Wyatts miss corner-splashes, allowing Jey to make the hot-tag to his brother. Jimmy is all over both, taking Luke down with a top-rope corkscrew senton! Jey comes back and soars over the ropes on to Rowan to the floor, while Jimmy nails a superkick on Luke! 1 – 2 – kickout! Harper drops Jey with a sit-down powerbomb, but Jimmy breaks the cover in time! They both take Luke to the outside again, but Rowan yanks out Jimmy while Luke viciously clotheslines Jey to get the hard-earned victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper and Erik Rowan)
Post-match, Jimmy comes in and argues with the referee that he was the legal man, and the pinfall should not have counted.
The commentators plug a free week of WWE Network (as I am doing right now!). Also tonight, Dean Ambrose will go against Randy Orton in a Smackdown! rematch.
Segment #3: Office Promo
“The Viper” is conversing with “The Big Red Machine.” Both Orton and Kane agree that the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be back in the possession of The Authority. Seth Rollins walks in and warns them about his Money In The Bank contract.
Commercials.
Match #2: Single – Alicia Fox VS. Nikki Bella
(Note: The Authority has declared that both Divas will have one hand tied behind their back.) The referee ties Nikki’s first, then Alicia gets squirrely and attacks Nikki anyway. She takes a couple cans of liquid and sprays it all over Nikki. She then stomps away on the steel steps. Fox continues to mock Brie, Nikki’s twin sister.
Winner: None due to No Official Match Start
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Match #3: Single – “The Super Athlete” Rusev (with “The Ravishing Russian” Lana) VS. Rob Van Dam)
Prior to the contest, Lana now asks for Canada to comply with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Of course, she receives resounding boos. Van Dam interrupts before she can go further, and takes it to Rusev right away with kicks and a slingshot DDT! 1 – 2 – Rusev kicks out.
“The Super Athlete” nails R.V.D in the back of the head and takes control. He clamps on a rear chinlock, which Van Dam gets out but runs into a stiff elbow. Rusev hits R.V.D. with kicks in the corner and catches him in a fall-away slam position. Van Dam uses his momentum and then gives Rusev more kicks, including a top-rope thrust boot! Rusev counters a run with a big kick of his own, then forces Van Dam to tap out to The Accolade!
(Note; During the bout, a video message from Zeb Colter played, challenging Rusev to face Swagger at Battleground)
Winner via Submission: “The Super Athlete” Rusev (with “The Ravishing Russian” Lana)
Up next, Orton takes on Ambrose!
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – “The Viper” Randy Orton VS. Dean Ambrose
Ambrose eggs on Orton to punch him in the chin first, then the two lock-up. Orton goes to the outside for a break. Ambrose brings Orton down with an armlock, which Randy elbows out of. Dean hits Orton in the corner, but “The Viper” trips him up and gives Ambrose punches in the corner. Ambrose turns it around with rapid fists and rakes Orton’s face on the ropes. Randy regains control, stomping away on Dean in the corner. He comes back, sweeping Orton and hurling wild punches again. Orton ends up on the floor for another break.
Ads.
During the break, Orton ripped at Dean’s shoulder bandage, then chucked him into the steel steps. Orton continues to dominate, wearing Ambrose down by focussing on his left arm/shoulder. Dean counters a kick and DDT’s a bent-over Orton. He manages to clamp on a figure-4 leglock, but Orton wiggles to the ropes. Ambrose goes to the top, but Randy counters with a dropkick for two! Ambrose comes back with a clothesline, then pulls the ropes down, sending Randy back to the outside. He puts Randy into the barricade, then throws a bunch of chairs into the squared circle.
Orton pushes Dean into the ring post, then chucks him over the barricade. Charles Robinson, the referee, begins the 10-count, but Ambrose slides in just prior to the finish! Orton sets him up for the slingshot-DDT, but Ambrose reverses into a roll-up and a backslide, both for a near-fall! He goes for a clothesline, but Orton counters into the R.K.O. and the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Viper” Randy Orton
Segment #4: Backstage Promo
Rene Young interviews John Cena about his match with Set Rollins. He calls himself a huge target, because of the gold around his neck. However, Cena declares that gold is proof that he “takes care of business,” and proclaims he will do the same at Battleground. Roman Reigns walks in and threatens John that he will be the one.
Commercials.
Match #5: Single for the #1 Contendership to the United States Championship – Alberto Del Rio VS. “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler
(Note: Fandango is on commentary.) Elbow/collar tie-up and Del Rio gives Ziggler a shoulder-block. Dolph counters with a neckbreaker and sends Alberto to the outside. He goes for a baseball slide, but Alberto pulls the ring skirt, which traps Ziggler, and gives him a running Enziguri, using the ring apron! Del Rio takes control with a rear chinlock, but Dolph comes back with a crossbody off the ropes! He leaps onto Alberto in the corner, but Del Rio slides out and gives Dolph a reverse-suplex off the second rope! 1 – 2 – Ziggler kicks out!
They go back and forth, with Dolph DDT-ing Del Rio for two! Alberto goes for another running Enziguri, but Ziggler ducks and plants Del Rio with the Fameasser! 1 – 2 – Del Rio kicks out!
Fandango’s music plays and he dances on the announce table, which distracts Dolph. Del Rio nails Ziggler with a stiff kick-to-the-head, and finishes this one off!
Winner and #1 Contender for the United States Championship: Alberto Del Rio
Segment #5: Backstage Promo
Stardust is talking to Goldust’s wig, wondering what his celestial sign is. Goldust says it is “written in the stars.”
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Segment #6: Backstage Promo
Fandango is walking through the hallways when Layla comes up and asks him if he still had feelings for Summer Rae. Fandango denies this in his unique way and hugs Layla while Rae looks on from a doorway.
Segment #7: Arena Promo
Jerry “The King” Lawler is in the ring and gives Montreal props for saving his life, when he was last in the city, he had his near-fatal heart-attack. Lawler now brings out Bret “The Hitman” Hart, to give a celebration that was supposed to happen 10 months ago. He walks out to praise from the fans and takes the microphone alone in the ring.
Despite his history in wrestling in Montreal, Bret still loves to be in the city; and if he could wrestle one more time, it would be here. Hart is getting elated at this feeling, but is interrupted by another version of himself – Damien Sand”hart.” Damien is attired in Bret’s old ring gear, complete with wig. He takes a shot at the Montreal Screwjob, Canada being a third-world country, and Bret’s lack of speaking skills. The real Hart just punches back, sending Damien tumbling to the floor.
Bret takes in the crowd’s adoration again, and United States Champion Sheamus comes out. He gives a fist-pump to Bret and preps for his match with Sand”hart.”
Commercials.
Match #6: Single – Damien Sand”hart” VS. United States Champion Sheamus (Non-Title)
Sand”hart” tries a few of Bret’s signature moves, but Sheamus works his way out of the Sharpshooter. He hits the Brogue Kick to complete this bout quickly!
Winner via Pinfall: United States Champion Sheamus
Segment #8: Backstage Promo
Rene Young is with The Miz. He reads a letter from a fan, wanting Miz to put Chris Jericho in his place for interjecting in Miz’s great return last week. Miz promises to do that for Little Johnny Russo, holding up his fist.
Ads.
Match #7: Single – Chris Jericho VS. The Miz
Lockup and standing side headlock by The Miz, with stomps to take control. He punches away, but Jericho chops back, then fake-punches and clotheslines Miz to the floor. He gives him a springboard-dropkick to put Miz back on the floor! Back in the ring, Jericho kicks Miz in the gut and drives him with a face-first bulldog, but is shoved over the ropes when he tried the springboard moonsault.
Miz pushes Jericho body-first into the ring apron, then kicks him hard in the head back in the ring. Jericho comes back again with chops and clotheslines, then soars off the top rope with a double-axe-handle smash! “Y2J” goes for the Walls Of Jericho, but Miz turns him around and kicks him hard in the head again. Miz misses again, allowing Jericho to hit a running Enziguri for two!
Miz counters again with a mini-flatliner, but misses another kick and almost gets rolled up for the loss! Jericho gets locked in the Figure-4 by Miz, but stretches to the ropes for a break! Jericho hits Miz in the face and traps him in the Walls Of Jericho! Miz gives up!
Winner via Submission: Chris Jericho
Post-match, the lights go out and Bray Wyatt is rocking in his chair in the aisle. He says everyone is waiting for him to “come save us.” He inquires how Jericho will save us all. Bray declares “I will hold your every word against you. And I will never, e-e-ever let you forget it.” He says that Jericho’s fans now “sing to a different tune,” following him instead. Jericho interrupts and yells at him to “shut the hell up!” Jericho agrees with Wyatt’s proclamation that “actions speak louder than words.” He starts the approach to Bray when the lights go out again and Harper and Rowan appear behind Bray.
Commercials.
Match #8: Tag-Team – The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) VS. Paige and Divas Champion A.J. Lee (Non-Title)
(Prior to the bout, Paige steals the mike from Justin Roberts and announces A.J. herself. They shake hands, ta-boot!) Naomi and Paige begin, with Naomi bringing her down with a double-knee drop. Naomi reaches for the tag, but Cameron refuses. This allows Paige to take control, rolling Naomi up then stomping on her in the corner. She switches with A.J.
The Divas Champ kicks Naomi down and gives her a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. A.J. locks on a sleeper, but Cameron again ignores the tag, instead doing her nails. She finally gets the tag, but Paige drops her with the Paige-Turner and the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pinfall: Paige and Divas Champion A.J. Lee
Post-match, Paige and A.J. leave while The Funkadactyls get into the predictable cat fight.
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Segment #9: Arena Promo
Paul Heyman and Cesaro are in the ring. Heyman puts over himself and Brock Lesnar as usual, then Cesaro interrupts. He claims that Montreal does not speak English, or “real” French. They speak Quebecois, and the rest of Canada can’t stand them!
Match #9: Single – Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) VS. Kofi Kingston
Kingston is all over Cesaro right off the bat, but is quickly pushed off the turnbuckle. Cesaro dives off the apron with a double-axe-handle, and tosses him back into the ring with a gutwrench suplex! He catches a flying Kofi again with another gutwrench, but Kofi counters a few moves. Kingston eventually manages to pin Cesaro and the surprise victory, 2-in-a-row!
Winner via Pinfall: Kofi Kingston
Post-match, Cesaro assaults Kingston again until Big E. runs out and makes the save.
Segment #10: Locker Room Promo
John Cena is preparing when Seth Rollins walks in. He teases the WWE World Heavyweight Champion about when he will cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase. Cena gives him compliments on what he has accomplished, and warns him “you’re in the for the fight of your life.”
Commercials.
It is announced that Roman Reigns will face Rusev this week on Smackdown!
Match #10: El Torito (with Diego) VS. “The Inspirational” Bo Dallas
Dallas evens he odds, getting his knees and offering a free shot. Torito uses his size and quickness for a short advantage, but Bo gets frustrated. He shoves Diego, on the outside, into the steel steps, then elbows Torito hard. He finishes him off with the Bo-Dog and takes this one!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Inspirational” Bo Dallas
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Match #11: Single – WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena VS. “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins (Non-Title)
They jaw at each other to begin, then lockup. Seth whips Cena off the ropes, who leapfrogs and hip-tosse Seth. Cena is punched down and Rollins gains advantage for a break.
Commercials.
Rollins has an armlock applied, but Cena powers out, backdropping Rollins to the mat. Seth recovers and dominates some more. He kicks away at Cena, but John catches his legs. Rollins kicks off, but Cena powerbombs him down for two! He ascends the top rope, but is collapsed with a flip-kick by Rollins! 1 – 2 – Cena kicks out!
The WWE World Heavyweight Champion makes a comeback, eventually trapping Rollins in the STF. Kane’s pyro blows again and out walks “The Big Red Monster!” as Cena stares at him, Randy Orton attacks from behind, causing the DQ!
Winner via Disqualification: WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena
Post-match, Kane and Orton pound away on Cena until Roman Reigns makes the save! He Superman Punches Kane, then takes out Orton! Rollins smashes Reigns from behind with the briefcase, then does the same to Cena. He signals to cash in, so referee Charles Robinson runs down!
Before he can go further, Dean Ambrose spears Seth and they fight to the back. In the ring, Orton slides in but gets an Attitude Adjustment. Kane is back and tries for a chokeslam, but Roman Spears him! Reigns smirks at Cena, then holds up his hand. Both smile at each other to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
This was a decent Raw, but it felt average. Usually international shows are a bit more amped up, and I thought there was something big missing from the show. Onto the usual critiques:
Excellence: the start of Raw; really got the energy going with the brawl and excited the fans in the arena, as well myself, for the potential of being a “hot” show. Great matches between Wyatts/Usos, Van Dam/Rusev, Ambrose/Orton, Miz/Jericho, Cameron/Naomi and Paige/A.J.
Still loving the feud between Rusev/Lana and Swagger/Colter; and can’t wait to see Reigns/Rusev collide on Smackdown!
Liking the way Paige and A.J. are interacting; even though I said Paige’s loss last week would’ve been much more meaningful if she was built stronger during her Divas Championship reign, I think they can redeem her with the way she is portraying her feelings for A.J. and the “mind-games” she is potentially playing. I also did like the cat fight between Naomi and Cameron, as it was a lot more fierce/wrestling than just the usual hair-pulling and slap-around.
Also still loving the new persona of Stardust, but would like to see him and Goldust in the ring again soon, such as this week on Smackdown or next week’s Raw, at the latest! Bo Dallas is wonderful, but he needs to engage in a long-term feud soon. I see it being Daniel Bryan when he returns, which would be good both in the ring and on the mike, but perhaps Dallas should also win the I.C. Title to elevate his character even more (much like when he was the NXT Champion.)
Jericho/Wyatt feud is going to be awesome, and enjoyed the mind-games Bray used against Chris.
Bogus: Totally not into Alicia Fox and thought her bout with Nikki was pointless. Same with Layla/Fandango/Summer triangle – it’s a shame this is getting more airtime/significance than Paige did with her Divas Championship reign. Hopefully A.J. being back will change this, and her and Paige will get featured A LOT more!
Again, loving Rusev/Lana/Swagger/Colter, but was disappointed that Swagger/Colter weren’t live. It would’ve been a real good face-off in Canada, because none of these people are Canadian, so who would’ve the fans’ sided with? (Although, Lana got the necessary heat because of Putin and slagging Canada, so kudos to her on that.)
I think that Ambrose should’ve gotten the victory over Orton; it wouldn’t have hurt “The Viper,” since he’s already in the main-event at Battleground, and would’ve added more fuel to Dean’s fire and his feud with The Authority.
I wasn’t “feeling” Dolph/Del Rio as much tonight; thought it was a bit short of a match and because we have seen them go at it so much over the last year and a bit.
Bret Hart was a letdown. He really should’ve been a lot more than putting over Sandow (who did do a great job in his gimmick), mainly because of the history that Hart has with this city. I can’t think right now of something, but overall, I was disappointed, and felt it was more of a throw-away.
Liked that Kofi got a win and was back to “angry Kofi,” but he really should’ve learned from last week and got out of dodge before Cesaro attacked him again. This made Kingston look weak/like an afterthought again, and put over Big E. more for the save.
Right now, I’m sitting on the fence with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship situation. I’m liking the new face of Roman Reigns being in the picture, but am definitely tired of Cena/Orton always going at it/being involved. It is definitely a shame that Daniel Bryan has his neck injury problems, because it seemed like he was going to be a “breath of fresh-air” to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and carry it on with new feuds for the summer. Now it looks like we’re going to get same-old/same-old for a while (Cena/Orton), with Reigns in for a small twist. However, he is not going to win it just yet, because I see them doing to him what they did to Daniel Bryan around this time last year; keep him down for a long time, and then have him “rise above hate” (sorry, but had to use that!) and finally capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. The real question is, can he keep his momentum and be the next Bryan, or do the fans fizzle out on him in 6 months time, well before ‘Mania and plans change?
All-in-all, an OK Raw, but hope they have a better “go-home” show next week prior to Battleground. Until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
Saturday Night’s Main Event shows has started showing up on the WWE Network in time for the free week trial for new potential customers.
So far 13 episodes have been uploaded from 1985, 1986, and 1987, with the first episode dating back from May 11, 1985.
The series had a run from May 1985 to November 1992 and then came back in March 2006 till March 2008 with episodes running on NBC.
Friday night prime time specials, known as The Main Event, also came around thanks to the success of SNME and in February 1988 there was a WrestleMania III rematch between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant which drew 33 million viewers and a 15.2 rating, the highest rated pro wrestling show in American professional wrestling history.
All Saturday Night’s Main Event shows on the WWE Network are available in the Vault section.
WWE today announced that television executive Laureen Ong has been elected to its Board of Directors. Ong is a 30-year veteran of the cable industry with extensive experience in sales, marketing, programming and management.
Most recently, Ong spent three years as President of the Travel Channel, where she was responsible for building brand strategy, developing programming and creating new business opportunities for the network. Prior to the Travel Channel, Ong was Chief Operating Officer of Hong Kong-based STAR Group Limited, where she oversaw STAR’s media and entertainment operations spanning 55 countries.
“We are pleased to elect Laureen to WWE’s Board of Directors,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. “Laureen brings more than 30 years of global media experience that will be very beneficial to the future growth of our company.”
WWE is running yet another free week trial to the WWE Network which could be somewhat of an “alarming” news according to many observers.
The company kicked off a free trial through July 14 with no credit card requirements this time around. Previously a credit card was required to enjoy the free preview and you had to cancel the subscription yourself or else you would have been billed automatically.
WWE had around 667,000 subscribers by April 7 but the belief is that when the next quarter earnings announcement comes around, the subscriber count might actually be less due to people cancelling credit cards or PayPal accounts to avoid the six month commitment.
While the WWE Network is only available to U.S. subscribers, there are different ways to get it if you are not living in the United States. A tutorial is available at http://w-o.it/1k4w3Yu.
The WWE Network is available on Apple TV, iOS devices, Roku streaming devices, Sony PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox One and 360, Android devices, Amazon Kindle and Fire, as well as through your web browser.
WWE Superstar Santino Marella announced his retirement from in-ring competition during last night’s non-televised live event in his hometown of Toronto, Canada.
He attributed his retirement due to recurring neck injuries that he has accumulated over the past several years in professional wrestling and is hanging up his boots to avoid any permanent damages.
Marella made his WWE debut in April 2007 during a RAW broadcast from Milan, Italy, where he was the unknown opponent of the-then Intercontinental champion Umaga. Marella, who was billed from Italy, won the IC title that night thanks to the assistance of Bobby Lashley.
Eventually his character turned into a comedic one and managed to get some serious laughs from the WWE audience thanks to his over-the-top antics. During his time in the WWE, he won the Intercontinental twice, Tag Team titles once with Vladimir Kozlov, the U.S. title, and also the Miss WrestleMania crown!
Marella now runs a pro wrestling and mixed martial arts school in Toronto called Battle Arts Academy.
You can see the video of Marella announcing his retirement below.
Prior to beating her challenger, Alexis Davis, in sixteen seconds last night, UFC champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey spoke about maybe one day appearing at a WWE event.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Rousey said that if the opportunity comes to be a “guest host or whatever,” it would be pretty cool and she’d be up to it although she doesn’t know if she’d wrestle for the company.
Rousey is a huge WWE fan and is often seen performing wrestling moves on her Instagram with her other “Four Horsewomen” training partners.
The undefeated champion said that WWE is just like stunt work and she tries to borrow from them when she’s involved in acting.
When she was then asked about CM Punk leaving the company, she said she understood the decision and she went through the same thing with judo.
“So if he wants to come back and find some passion again, I would love to see that,” she said. “But if it’s time for him to move on in his life, then he has 100% of my support in that as well.”
