More names have been added to the Intercontinental title battle royal which will take place at the Battleground pay-per-view later this month.
The current list of WWE Superstars – in alphabetical order – who are so far in the match are Alberto Del Rio, Big E, Bo Dallas, Cesaro, Curtis Axel, Damien Sandow, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Rob Van Dam, Ryback, and The Great Khali.
Stone Cold Steve Austin returns on national television tonight with CMT’s newest competition series titled Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge.
The 10-episode series pits elite athletes against everyday men and women in the ultimate test of strength, stamina and wit. Each episode features eight contestants in head-to-head battles until the last man or woman standing earns the right to take on the toughest obstacle course in America created by Austin himself, the “Skullbuster,” for a chance to win cash.
In tonight’s first episode, there is no shortage of adrenaline as eight men battle for the win in Trench Warfare, The Pulverizer and The Junkyard. If they lose, they leave. Austin’s rules are fair, and competitors are quick to learn that even those with the most physical power may not be a match against pure determination. In the end, only one athlete will make it to the Skullbuster and even then, there are no guarantees he will complete it.
Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge kicks off at 8PM EST.
The much-anticipated WWE Network series titled ‘The Monday Night War’ makes its debut on July 7 at 11PM EST following Monday Night RAW on USA Network.
The synopsis of the show on the WWE Network website reads, “Media mogul Ted Turner launches WCW Monday Nitro in direct competition against Vince McMahon and WWE,” and it is listed as a sneak peek episode.
It is not yet known what day and time episodes of the series will run on the Network but due to Monday’s launch there will be no RAW backstage post-show.
John Cena has been pulled from the upcoming WWE tour of Australia and has been replaced by former Shield member Roman Reigns.
The addition of Chris Jericho and Ric Flair to the roster making the trip Down Under was to compensate for the current WWE World Heavyweight champion not making the trip. The new main event features Reigns taking on Kane in a street fight with Ric Flair as the special guest referee.
It’s not known why Cena was taken off the tour.
WWE Superstar Santino Marella appeared at Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York City on Wednesday along with Juicy Drop’s Señor Sour for the Bazooka Candy Brand’s Juicy Drop event to promote anti-bullying with Champions Against Bullying.
Santino hosted the “Dare to Test Your Limits” party with kids having the opportunity to spin the wheel and take on fun and crazy dares with Santino and Señor Sour for the chance to win candy prizes and more. The afternoon culminated at the Anti-Bullying Champion Station where kids pledged to “dare” to stop bullying.
For each person who attended the event, Bazooka Candy Brands donated $1 to Champions Against Bullying. You can see a few photos from the event below.
Renee Young’s stock in the WWE continues to rise as the Canadian broadcaster has just been given another assignment to her already-growing list of WWE duties – commentator.
Young is replacing Byron Saxton on the WWE Superstars television show on the WWE Network, teaming up with Tom Phillips to handle all the weekly play-by-play. Phillips has been the lead commentator on the show since October 2013, taking over from Josh Mathews. Young is his third commentary partner, having previously worked with Alex Riley and Saxton.
Renee Young has been doing TV work for WWE since October 2012 and has performed several duties including doing backstage interviews, WWE App exclusives, handling pre-shows at pay-per-views and live televised events as well as working with NXT.
Triple H was full of praise for Young when interviewed by WWE.COM about the promotion. “It has nothing to do with her being a female or not, it has to do with her being the right person for the job. She’s got a great voice that cuts through the clutter,” he said.
“She is very knowledgeable about WWE, about its history, about the talent and she is really willing to step up and do her homework. I think you’re going to see her grow. You’re going to see her jump on this challenge to become a regular fixture and a regular voice and, hopefully, maybe one day the voice of WWE,” HHH added.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson paid tribute to the Fast & Furious 7 film crew with a touching post on his Instagram account. Johnson – like most involved in the crew – had to be recalled to film additional scenes following the death of one of the lead actors, Paul Walker.
“I’m truly touched by the farewell love my film crew has shown me. It’s been an honour to work with such an incredibly hard working and brilliant crew. (A crew who’s had to practice great restraint daily on this production),” Johnson wrote. “They may not be household names, but they’ll Always be stars in my book. With great love and respect to all of you… see ya down the yellow brick road. Another place. Another time. #ThankUForAllYourWork – Rock.”
The movie was scheduled to open this year but has now been moved to open on April 3, 2015, as the script had to be changed and a lot of work on visual effects had to be carried out to wrap up Paul Walker’s scenes, using his brothers as body doubles.
The Rock will reprise the role of Luke Hobbs, a Diplomatic Security agent which was introduced to the franchise in the fifth installment.
The TNA website has announced today that the Television title has been retired on the order of TNA’s new Executive Director Kurt Angle.
“The TV Title was left dormant by the Dixie Carter and MVP administrations for over a year. Taking over as Executive Director has required me to fix issues they left behind. Championships are the reward of competition inside the ring between wrestlers striving to be the best. As of now, the TV Title is inactive,” Angle said.
The TV title started as the Legends title back in October 2008 and was then renamed to the Global title exactly a year later before changing to Television title in July 2010.
Abyss was the last one to hold the title, winning it at Slammiversary XI in June 2013 from Devon.
The WWE Australia Twitter account yesterday revealed that two huge WWE Superstars will be joining the Australia tour in August.
Two time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and Chris Jericho have been added to the three-day tour Down Under, appearing at the August 7, 8, and 9 shows in Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth, respectively. Apparently a lot of fans were skeptical about the announcement but the social media team behind the @WWEAustralia account quickly solved those skeptics.
“If we tweet it, it’s legit folks. We don’t get that blue tick for nothing,” a tweet read which also had a winking smiley at the end.
The recently returned Chris Jericho said on his latest podcast that he expressed his wish to work with Bray Wyatt for WrestleMania but plans were already locked for Wyatt to be in a program with John Cena, leaving Jericho out of the biggest event of the year.
Y2J said that while talks for a return started around a month ago, everything was set up in “five minutes” with Triple H this past Friday. The whole return came up when someone from WWE creative called him to see if he was still interested in working with the Wyatt Family.
WWE took steps to keep Jericho’s return as much of a surprise as it can be, hiding Jericho in a bus for a few hours after he was instructed to drive down to the show after all fans made their way inside for the live broadcast. Jericho said that he did meet for a bit with The Miz and the Wyatts before they hit the ring to discuss what they were going to do for the segment.
It’s not yet known how long Jericho will be working for WWE this time around with some saying he will be with the company till the end of the year before leaving again to resume his work with his band Fozzy.
The Stamford Advocate reported yesterday that police were called to the WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, after an unknown white power was located inside a suspicious package.
WWE spokeswoman Tara Carraro said that they contacted local law enforcement to investigate and all WWE personnel were safe and business was being conducted as usual.
The newspaper tried to get more information from the police but they did not get a response.
WWE Diva Emma was fired yesterday due to her arrest and was then quickly rehired in the same day.
A message on WWE.COM read, “WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Diva Emma as of today, July 2, 2014. WWE wishes Emma the best in all her future endeavors.”
On Monday, Emma was arrested in Hartford, Connecticut, after getting caught shoplifting an iPod at Wal-Mart. She was released around an hour later and was not used on the broadcast.
A lot of Superstars and Divas got arrested before and not many of them got fired, especially for doing something small. Her release came across a bit excessive which is why WWE probably did a U-turn and hired her back.
WWE.COM then posted a message later in the day with the headline saying that the company has reinstated her. “Upon further evaluation, WWE has reinstated Tenille Dashwood (WWE Diva Emma) but will take appropriate punitive action for her violation of the law,” the statement read.
WWE Diva Emma got herself arrested yesterday in Hartford, Connecticut, the site of Monday Night RAW, and charged with sixth degree larceny, a Class C Misdemeanor which involves theft of $250 or less.
Police picked up Emma from Walmart at around 1PM and was booked under her real name of Tenille Dashwood with her address in Winter Park, Florida. She was released around an hour and fifteen minutes later from custody according to an arrest log on Hartford.gov.
She went straight to work afterward but did not appear on television.
The rumor going around is that she stole an iPod from Walmart and got busted. If convicted, she faces up to 3 months in jail and fines up to $500.
Meanwhile, WWE released a statement to PWInsider.com regarding the arrest which reads, “WWE is aware that Tenille Dashwood (WWE Diva Emma) was arrested for shoplifting. Ms. Dashwood is ultimately responsible for her personal actions.”
The winner of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania, Cesaro, suffered an eye injury on RAW last night during his match against Kofi Kingston.
According to WWE physician Dr. Chris Amann, Cesaro has a scratch on the right side of the eye, which is called the sclera and not on the cornea, which is the clear part of the eye. “We’re going to keep his eye patched for the next 24-48 hours, use some artificial tears and re-evaluate him tomorrow prior to his match.”
Cesaro is scheduled to face Dolph Ziggler on the WWE Network’s Main Event but obviously will be pulled if he is not cleared for in-ring action.
WWE unveiled the new cover for their upcoming video game WWE 2K15 which features the current WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena and the new WWE logo.
This is obviously not the first time that Cena is gracing a cover of the popular WWE video game but his first since WWE moved to 2K Sports. Last year The Rock graced the cover of the game and while Cena’s choice for the cover shouldn’t come as a major surprise, many thought that someone else would be on the cover, namely Sting, who is said to have come to an agreement with 2K. WWE and 2K already filmed several spots and promos with Sting lookalikes last month.
Just like every year, the WWE video game will have special or limited edition covers featuring other WWE Superstars.
“It is truly an honor and privilege to serve as the WWE 2K15 cover Superstar,” said Cena. “2K has a tremendous history of sports simulation games and cover athletes, including Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and of course, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. I look forward to carrying the flag for WWE 2K15 and introducing the incredible next-generation of WWE gaming to the WWE Universe.”
Developed by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, and published by 2K Sports, WWE 2K15 will be released in North America on October 28, 2014 and in Europe on October 31, 2014, and will be available for Playstation 3 and 4, and Xbox 360 and One.
The cover of the game can be seen below.
Chris Jericho was not the only former champion to return on RAW last night as AJ Lee also came back from hiatus and won the WWE Divas title.
AJ left WWE the day after WrestleMania for some personal time, dropping the title to newcomer Paige in a hot segment on the post-Mania RAW. She got married to CM Punk last month in a small and private ceremony.
Her return to RAW yesterday was sealed with a win and regaining the WWE Divas title. Lee interrupted Paige and basically did what Paige did to her on RAW following WrestleMania – talk her into a match for the title. The roles were reversed as a cocky Paige basically turned heel while the returning AJ was the face. AJ won the title in a very quick match, leaving the British-born Diva crying.
AJ currently holds the record of the longest Divas champion with 295 consecutive days with the belt.
Break the walls down, cause Chris Jericho is back! The former WWE champion made his return to Monday Night RAW yesterday interrupting The Miz who was also back after a few months out to film another installment of the movie The Marine for WWE Studios.
It has been almost a year since Jericho appeared on WWE television and was last seen getting attacked by Ryback during an episode of Smackdown to write him off television. During his time away from WWE, Jericho was busy with his band Fozzy, touring the world and participating in several festivals.
Jericho’s happy return was however short-lived as Y2J was attacked by the Wyatt Family to set up his first feud of his latest WWE run.
I am truly excited for tonight’s Raw, as once again, I have managed to avoid all results from Money In The Bank so I could be truly surprised. (Hopefully, depending on who won!)
With at least one new champion (WWE World Heavyweight), who else managed to capture new titles last night? Or did the champions themselves retain?
What did Daniel Bryan have to say on the Pre-Show, regarding his future?
Even though Vickie Guerrero has now left WWE, will Stephanie McMahon still retaliate for getting dumped in a mud-pit last week?
And, what feuds will be unveiled for the next few months, as we roll into summer?
All this and much more, so read on!
Monday Night Raw TV Report for June 30th, 2014 – “Battle Lines Drawn”
Introduction Segment: Video Recap
A montage of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match begins, which also showed The Authority looking on at ringside. Reigns completely dominated until Kane chokeslammed him off the ladder. It looked as if Orton was going to get it, but John Cena gave both Kane and Randy an A.A., then ascended the ladder and collected the titles.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
The Authority kicks off Raw, seemingly happy. Stephanie takes the microphone first, and celebrates the Money In The Bank Pay-Per-View. She lets us know that Daniel Bryan’s recovery will be longer than expect, but also that Seth Rollins is now “Mr. Money In The Bank,” and has the opportunity to cash in anytime over the next year for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship title shot.
Triple H talks about the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match and brings out the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena. The Champ is back and right away, he tells Daniel Bryan that he will get his deserved title match when he returns.
Stephanie then reveals that Cena will be the poster-boy for the new WWE 2K15 video game. Cena seems that he doesn’t know what to make of this, and is inquiring why The Authority is all of a sudden being so nice. He displays a picture from M.I.T.B. on the Titan Tron of Stephanie & Triple H displeased with his big win. Stephanie proclaims that look is their concern for Randy Orton, but Cena is not buying it. He and Triple H get into a verbal debate, then Cena goes against The Authority and wants to do things the hard way. Triple H is actually happy John chose this, because he now books a Fatal-4-Way for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, with Cena defending against Kane, Randy Orton, and Roman Reigns at the next Pay-Per-View! Later tonight, Cena will tag with Roman to face Randy Orton and Kane! Cena takes a couple of verbal jousts at Stephanie’s mud-pit misfortunes and walks away, until Triple H announces “there’s always a ‘Plan B’” if he gets through Battleground. Seth Rollins walks out behind Cena to continue the intimidation.
Also later tonight, United States Champion Sheamus and Tag-Team Champions The Usos will take on the entire Wyatt Family in a Six-Man Tag, and Seth Rollins will be wrestling following the break!
Commercials.
Match #1: “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins VS. Rob Van Dam
Seth gets Rob in a side headlock, but is monkey-flipped over off the ropes. Rollins goes to the outside for a break while R.V.D measures. Van Dam slugs away but is tripped up, however kicks Rollins to the outside again. Rollins tries to catch Van Dam by the leg, but Rob counters with an Enziguri, then rams his shoulders into Rollins’ back in the corner.
Van Dam hooks on an Abdominal Stretch and turns it into a roll-up for two, before Rollins breaks it using the ropes. On the outside, Rollins rips at Van Dam’s nose going into the break.
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Seth still dominating, sending Van Dam off the ropes and rolls through into a Single-Leg Boston Crab! Van Dam crawls to the ropes for a break, but Seth drags him to the middle, until R.V.D. twists him around with his legs. Van Dam almost takes this with a leg-scissors roll-up, then nails for Rolling Thunder! 1 – 2 – Seth kicks out! He sets up Rollins facedown in the corner, then comes down on him with a split-legged moonsault off the top rope! 1 – 2 – Seth still kicks out!
Rollins starts to make a comeback, going for a turnbuckle powerbomb, but Van Dam reverses into a Hurricanrana! Van Dam ascends the top rope again and signals for the Five-Star Frogsplash! Rollins avoids it to the outside, but Van Dam turns around and soars off with a body-splash! Back in the ring, Rollins hooks Rob’s leg through the ropes and twists around. This sets up the Curb Stomp, which Seth hits and gets the hard-fought victory!
Winner via Pinfall: “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins
Post-match, Rene Young is in the ring, and Seth berates her for not announcing him correctly. He takes a (maybe not-so) subtle cheap-shot at Dolph Ziggler, saying “it’s not arrogance if you can back it up.” Before he can continue further, Dean Ambrose appears on the Titan Tron. He informs Rollins that he really has the upper-hand, as every time Rollins goes to deposit it, Dean will be right there and waiting.
Commercials.
Segment #3: Arena Promo
“The Ravishing Russian” Lana and “The Superior Athlete” Alexander Rusev are out. She calls Big E., who he faced at M.IT.B., a “failure.” She calls America liars, because they teach their children “it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about participating.” Lana praises the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. The then challenges a new person to wrestle Rusev, and of course, fail! Rusev talks in his language, then says in English, “Rusev crush!”
Suddenly, Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter walk down the aisle, getting in the ring. Colter is not happy with Lana and Rusev ripping America. He threatens that “The Real American,” Jack Swagger will be the one to finish Rusev. Lana gets in between and backs Alexander off. He just about leaves, then charges but Swagger catches him with a couple armdrags. (Impressively helped by Rusev flipping himself). Rusev exits and is furious at being shown-up.
Up next is the Six-Man Tag!
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Match #2: Six-Man Tag-Team – United States Champion Sheamus and Tag-Team Champions The Usos (Jey an Jimmy) VS. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan) (Non-Title)
Rowan and Jey begin, with Jey punching and slapping Rowan. Both Usos double-kick and clothesline Erick to the floor!
Commercials.
Rowan is now in control over Jimmy with a grounding headlock. He tags in Bray, who runs and splashes Jimmy the corner. Harper now in and slaps Jimmy’s chest hard. Jimmy manages to boot Luke a couple times, then take him down with a top-rope twirling dive. He gets the hot-tag to Sheamus, who is all over Rowan and knocks Harper off the apron! He delivers “10 Beats Of The Bowron” to Rowan, then flies off the top rope to both Harper and Rowan with a double-clothesline! Bray manages to get Sheamus’ attention, allowing Rowan to clothesline Sheamus over the ropes. Luke is tagged in and delivers a hard-boot to Sheamus’ head!
Harper switches with Bray who senton-splashes Sheamus on the canvas, then he pounds away with fists on the back of Sheamus’ head. Erick is back in and splashes the United States Champion for a two-count. The Wyatts are in firm domination over Sheamus, knocking Sheamus to the floor. Bray leads the fans in a song of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands,” then Harper continues to control the Irishman.
Sheamus manages the second hot-tag to Jey, who flies all over Luke! He hits a spin-kick, then a stiff superkick, but Rowan breaks up the cover. Sheamus nails the Brogue Kick to Rowan, as an Uso rockets over the ropes! Bray takes out Sheamus, and Harper hits a vicious clothesline on Jey for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pinfall: The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erik Rowan)
Segment #4: Backstage Promo
Nikki Bella is interviewed by announcer Tom, who wonders her thoughts on Brie being escorted out of the arena at M.I.T.B. Stephanie interjects and taunts Nikki a bit while booking her in a 2-On-1 match, versus The Funkadactyls.
Commercials.
Segment #5: Arena Promo
Justin Roberts announces “The Inspirational” Bo Dallas. He comes out and asks us to give a minute of silence for Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan, who cannot wrestle right now due to injury. After what seemed to be more than sixty-seconds, Bo gets up from bended knee and calls himself “the inspiration for Daniel Bryan.” A video of his promo with Daniel Bryan from the M.IT.B. pre-show airs, and he tells us to “Bo-lieve!”
Match #3: 2-On-1 – Nikki Bella VS. The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron)
Nikki and Cameron start out, with Nikki dominating for the first bit. Cameron tags in Naomi, who gives Nikki a high-kick and top-rope crossbody! Naomi plants Nikki easily with a split-legged clothesline to take this!
Winners via Pinfall: The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron)
Post-match, Naomi and Cameron have a disagreement and Cameron exits without Naomi.
Up next, the severity of Bad News Barrett’s shoulder injury and the Intercontinental Championship will be revealed.
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Footage of I.C. Champion Wade Barrett’s separated shoulder injury from Smackdown is shown, then it is announced he will be out of action for months, so the Intercontinental Championship is vacant until Battleground, where a new champion will be determined in a Battle Royal.
Segment #6: Arena Promo
Paul Heyman is out on the stage and proud of his client, “The King Of Swing” Cesaro, who he declares will be the next Intercontinental Champion at Battleground. He walks out and prepares for his next bout.
Match #4: Single – “The King Of Swing” Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) VS. Kofi Kingston
Both trade traditional wrestling rolls around the ring until Cesaro capitalizes with a gutwrench suplex. Kofi comes back a bit later with a plancha over the ropes, but Cesaro catches the next one and turns it into a gut-breaker! Cesaro punches Kingston swiftly in the corner, and flips him over with a Butterfly Suplex. Kofi tries to punch is way back, but Cesaro scoop-slams him, then clenches his legs. He signals for the Cesaro Swing, but doesn’t pander to the fans after all. Cesaro grapples Kofi with a grounding rear chinlock, but Kofi fights back and almost gets this bout with a Hurricanrana pin combo! Cesaro delivers a stiff uppercut for the break.
Commercials.
All of a sudden, Kofi’s music is playing and apparently, he has won!
Winner via Pinfall: Kofi Kingston,
Post-match, Cesaro completely destroys Kingston on the outside. He hurls him into the steel steps and over the announce table. Cesaro takes Kingston into the Timekeeper’s area, then brings him back to the ring, where rams his chest repeatedly against the ring post. Referees finally break up the melee. It is shown that Kofi reversed a Neutralizer into a sunset-flip roll-up to defeat Cesaro.
Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Santino is wondering why no one, not even Emma, came to his party. (An outside picnic area is setup.) Of course, this brings in Adam Rose, who along with his Posse, brings the new Twisted Ice Tea for the cheap-product-placement-plug.
Commercials.
Segment #8: Arena Promo
The Boss is back! Maybe! While Mr. McMahon’s music plays, it is not him that walks out, but Damien Sandow donned in attire and a wig similar to his hairstyle. He actually does a pretty good voice-impression of Vinnie Mac while putting over Hulk Hogan, Triple H, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and …. Damien Sandow! Sandow declares himself an entrant into the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal at Battleground. Stephanie appears on the Titan Tron and is none to pleased, to say the least, with Damien’s impersonation of her father. She orders him to face another I.C. Battle Royal competitor, now!
Match #5: Single – “Mr. McMahon” Damien Sandow VS. The Great Khali
One quick Overhead Chop and this one is over!
Winner via Pinfall: The Great Khali
Up next, a former WWE Champion and “cross-platinum” superstar returns!
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Segment #9: Arena Promo
Justin Roberts welcomes back the former WWE Champion and “cross-platinum” superstar …. The Miz! He walks out with a new attitude and look, resembling more of a movie star. He says he has returned because of the people; however not in the vein we want/think. While people in Hollywood appreciate him, the WWE Universe has not, despite all his accolades, which included main-eventing WrestleMania as the WWE Champion. He wants all the fans to appreciate him and is not going to leave until done so.
Suddenly, pyro explodes and familiar music blares the speakers. “Break the walls down!” Chris Jericho is back! “Y2J” parades the adoration of everyone, except for The Miz. He grills Jericho on why he is back, but “The Ayatollah Of Rock N’ Rollah” just plants him with the Codebreaker!
Jericho is thrilled to be back and wants to utter his famous words, “Welcome to Raw is …” The lights go out and The Wyatt Family are standing in the ring! (Crowd chants “this is awesome!”) The trio decimate Jericho, with Bray driving him face first via Sister Abigail. Bray kneels over him and yells “follow the buzzards!”
Commercials.
Match #6: Single – Fandango (with Layla) VS. “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler
Fandango aggressive early, throwing Ziggler into the ring post, and flapjack for two! Dolph elbows and kicks Fandango back, then leaps on him in the corner for quick punches. He drives Fandango down with a neckbreaker and an elbow, then Summer Rai suddenly shows up. She plants a big smooch on Dolph, to Fandango’s dismay. “The Show Off” returns it with a full-on make-out session, then finishes this contest with the Zig-Zag!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler
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Match #7: Tag-Team – Rybaxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel) VS. Goldust and Stardust
Ryback immediately pushes Stardust off the apron while Axel kicks away on Goldust in the corner. Goldust comes back with a reverse atomic drop. Ryback in and controls over Goldust, giving him a duplex and ripping at his nose. Ryback chops in the corner, then catches Goldust off a crossbody into a fall-away slam. He measures Goldust for the Meathook Clothesline, but Goldust counters with a spinebuster. Stardust now in and all over Curtis. He nails a springboard clothesline on Ryback, and a flatliner on Axel for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pinfall: Goldust and Stardust
Commercials.
Segment #9: Arena Promo
Divas Champion Paige is out and insists that she has proven she is hear to stay, despite her critics. This brings out the Diva who has not been seen in almost three months, A.J. Lee! She skips out to a huge pop, and puts over Paige for defeating her. She wants to congratulate her, but Paige does not fall for it, as she did it herself to A.J. on April 7th. She claims that the fans don’t want Paige to defend her title tonight, but the fans disagree, chanting “yes, yes, yes.” A.J. polls the fans and they want it. Paige agrees, and referee Mike Chioda enters. It is on!
Match #8: Single for the Divas Championship – Paige (Champion) VS. A.J. Lee (Challenger)
A.J. takes it to Paige right off the bat with leaping punches, but Paige becomes harsh. She pushes A.J. to the canvas and yells “this is my house now!” Paige misses a move and A.J. catches her in an inside cradle and take the title!
Winner via Pinfall and NEW Divas Champion: A.J. Lee
Up next, Roman Reigns and WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena will face Kane and Randy Orton!
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It is announced that United States Champion Sheamus will have a special 4th Of July Challenge this week on Smackdown!
Match #9: Tag-Team – Kane and “The Viper” Randy Orton VS. WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and Roman Reigns (Non-Title)
Orton and Cena square off first, with Randy controlling with a standing side headlock. Cena takes down Orton, then stares at and tags in Reigns. Orton backs down and switches with Kane. The two monsters trade punches, with Reigns getting the upper by chucking Kane out of the ring.
Commercials.
Randy now dominating over Reigns with a grounding rear chinlock. He slams his head back against the mat, then drops a high knee. 1 – 2 – Reigns kicks out. Reigns comes off an Irish Whip with a jumping clothesline. He sets up Randy against the ropes, but Kane blocks him from doing the leaping front-dropkick. He slams Kane against the barricade, and Randy takes advantage. Kane is in now and takes charge. Roman clotheslines Kane down, but cannot get to Cena, as Orton comes in and stomps away.
Kane back in, but gets booted out of the corner. He tries a chokeslam but Reigns slaps him and flips him over with a Samoan Drop! He tags in Cena, who is all over Orton with his usual moves. He drops the Five-Knuckle Shuffle fist drop, but can’t give the A.A. as Orton wiggles out and tags Kane. Cena takes down Kane with a spin-out backdrop, but Orton slides in and R.K.O’s Cena! Reigns in and hits the Superman Punch on Kane, but Randy grabs him and they battle back to the stage and beyond. Kane smashes Cena with the steel steps, causing the DQ!
Winners via Disqualification: WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and Roman Reigns
Post-match, Kane continues to punish the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, tombstoning Cena; the fans chant “one more time!” Referee Charles Robinson and a WWE personnel check on John.
Suddenly, Seth Rollins’ music plays and he marches out with the Money In The Bank briefcase! He wants to cash it in, but Dean Ambrose runs out and brawls with him through the crowd to backstage. Triple H is unhappy, and Kane goes to whack Cena with a chair. Reigns charges back out and spears Kane! He and Triple H stare down each other intently to the fans’ delight, closing the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
This was a pretty great Raw coming off an expected Pay-Per-View, complete with a couple of surprises! And it already setup Battleground, which is nice too! Onto the analysis:
Excellence: Loved how they already booked the main event for the next Pay-Per-View; sets up the next few weeks of feuds nicely. (although, part of it doesn’t make sense, so more on that in bogus) Matches between Van Dam/Rollins, the Six-Man, Goldust & Stardust/Rybaxel.
Damien Sandow does an almost spot-on imitation of Mr. McMahon. That was pretty cool! Always loving Bo Dallas, and even if it is a one-off match with Bryan when he comes back, it will be a great wrestling match between the two!
The returns of The Miz, Chris Jericho (especially), and A.J. Lee. Was not expecting any of those at the start of the night, and only thought of A.J. when Paige was on her own cutting the promo. Love the new feud between Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt; that verbal back-and-forth is going to be SUPERB! Liking the new Miz persona, and I really hope they put him over again as a strong heel.
Bogus: I’m happy that A.J.’s back, but it never really feels like she lost the title and/or was gone for that amount of time. No offense to Paige, she’s great. But they really didn’t have her dominate much like they should’ve. Paige should’ve been built much more, and then this comeback and “surprise” win (touché) for A.J. would’ve had more meaning.
Poor Wade Barrett; as my Dad said, just as he gets rolling again, he’s out with a severe injury. Much like Miz, I hope they continue his push when he returns.
Kofi winning during commercial was really, really stupid! It was just weird, and really bad.
As mentioned above, part of the Battleground main-event puzzles me; if Triple H hates Roman Reigns so much, why give him another opportunity at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? That doesn’t follow continuity very well.
All in all, a great Raw, and I’m really looking forward to next week’s, when they’re in my home-country of Canada. Particularly, Montreal, which is very, very famous for very, very obvious wrestling-related reasons! Until then, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
