WWE Studios’ The Marine 3: Homefront will start airing in the United Kingdom this weekend, starting on Friday, November 8 and will have a total of 20 showings up until November 11 on Sky.
The third installment of The Marine franchise has The Miz in the leading role, a role which was originally going to Randy Orton before the U.S. Marine Corps objected to the role due to Orton’s past in the military.
The Marine 3: Homefront was released in March 2013 straight-to-DVD and had a production cost of $1.5 million. It will be airing on Sky Premiere HD, Sky Premiere, and Sky Premiere +1.
Just like Scott Hall and Jake Roberts did to fund their surgeries and recovery, Hacksaw Jim Duggan is seeking support from his fans through a fundraiser on Indiegogo.com to help him pay for shoulder surgery.
The WWE Hall of Famer is suffering from a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and is in desperate need of surgery. “Without this surgery Hacksaw is severely limited in his range of motion and his ability to perform in the ring, which to this day is still his livelihood,” says the summary on the page.
Hacksaw is hoping to raise $6,500 to completely fund the shoulder surgery. In return of a donation, Duggan will be sending out perks including 8×10 autographed photos, a personal phone call, a t-shirt, a Skype video call, and one night stay at DDP’s Accountability Crib with DDP. All perks will be fulfilled in April 2014.
$1,425 have been raised as of this writing with 60 days left in the campaign. You can check out the campaign page and an emotional video from Hacksaw at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hoooooo-support-an-american-hero
As we move on to Survivor Series, certain feuds are finally moving forward too. The Big Show has really taken a stand against The Authority in the last few weeks, so what can/will he do tonight to aggravate Stephanie & Triple H? We do know that “The Game” has said the 7-Footer is “banned for life” from the WWE, but come on, he’s here!
The World Heavyweight Championship is set with a rematch between Alberto Del Rio & John Cena; but what about the WWE Championship. Who is going to step up and face the “new face of the WWE,” Randy Orton?
C.M. Punk and Daniel Bryan were both taken out by The Wyatt Family – will they be appearing to exact revenge, or was the bizarre trio’s assault enough to put the fan-favorites out of action for a while?
Kane has appeared to given up his identity again and align himself with Stephanie, so what kind of “bidding” could the “Big Red Machine” be in for?
All this and much more, on hopefully another great and intriguing Raw! Read on to find out!
Monday Night Raw Report for November 4th, 2013 – “Another Shot?”
Match #1: Single – C.M. Punk VS. Luke Harper (with Wyatt Family members Bray Wyatt and Erik Rowan)
One of the questions above is answered right away, with “Cult Of Personality” blaring the speakers and C.M. Punk making his entrance for the opening bout! (Yes, this is really how Raw started, right to a match!)
Loud “C.M. Punk” chants ring out, as he boots Harper then slugs away quickly. Harper comes back with a slapping right hand and another uppercut to gain control. Punk battles back with kicks and punches, but is put down with another huge uppercut! He pushes his foot onto Punk’s head, but is flown over the ropes by C.M. As Punk goes for the suicide dive, Luke cuts him off with a forearm and tries a cover for two!
Harper scoop-slams and toys with Punk on the mat. He clamps on a front-facelock and rolls around the mat, in which Michael Coles calls “the gator roll.” Harper whips Punk into the corner and measures him, but misses a big running boot! He tumbles to the outside, then Punk is able to successfully hit him with the suicide dive! Bray Wyatt stares intently in his rocking chair, as Erik Rowan walks around the ring to intimidate “The Second City Saint.”
Commercials.
Luke is back dominating Punk, holding him with a facelock. He slingshots him into the second rope and then pounds away with elbows and fists. Harper goes back to the Gator Roll and wears Punk down. C.M. counters a run with double-boots, then turns him around with a Tornado DDT!
Punk fights back with punches and a calf-kick, then spins Harper with a neckbreaker! He runs at Luke in the corner with the high-knee and bulldog, then soars off the top rope with a front-body-splash onto Erik Rowan outside! Punk uses the ropes and springboards himself right into a big right boot by Harper! C.M. manages to duck the discus clothesline and roll-up Luke for the victory!
Winner via Pin Fall: C.M. Punk
Post-match, all three Wyatt Family members attack C.M. Punk, but Daniel Bryan (with his right shoulder taped up) runs out with a steel chair and helps even the odds. Punk and Bryan both whale away chairs and fend off the Family for now.
After Michael Cole recaps Triple H’s announcement of Big Show’s “WWE ban,” it is announced that WWE Champion Randy Orton’s opponent can be chosen by the fans. Their picks are either Dolph Ziggler, Big E. Langston, or The Miz. Later, World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and Tag-Team Champions The Rhodes Brothers will face Damien Sandow and The Real Americans. (Okay, so I didn’t need to watch this match on Smackdown, obviously!)
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Segment #1: Backstage Promo
Rene Young is with C.M. Punk and wants to know his thoughts on The Wyatt Family. He says “accepts the fact that I am going to be out-numbered, as long as everybody else accepts the fact that they’re always going to be out-gunned.” Punk warns that he is not alone in his feud with The Wyatts.
Segment #2: Phone Promo
Cole conducts a phone interview with Paul Heyman. He recaps his numerous injuries, courtesy of C.M. Punk from the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. Heyman claims that he is in Europe, being looked after by various physicians/doctors. He demands an apology from both Punk and the WWE Fans for making him suffer the beating, then quivers in his voice, so Cole wonders if he was crying. A dial tone is promptly heard.
Ryback makes his way to the ring and will take on The Great Khali
Commercials.
Match #2: Single – Ryback VS. The Great Khali (with Hornswoggle and Santino Marella)
They lockup and are even in power for the first try, then Khali shoves Ryback to the mat on the second try. Ryback tries a couple chops but his nailed over the head with an forearm. Khali elbows him in the corner, and chops him big in the second one. Khali repeatedly chops Ryback, both standing and in the corner.
Ryback attempts the Shellshock, but Khali fights out of it. He continues to control with clotheslines, but Ryback fires back suddenly with the Meathook Clothesline for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pin Fall: Ryback
Post-match, Ryback takes out Marella and walks up the ramp, saying “Ryback still rules!”
Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and John “Bradshaw” Layfield recap/speculate why Big Show is “banned for life.” They show footage of Show helping The Rhodes Brothers win the Tag-Team Championships 3 weeks ago.
Kofi Kingston jumps to the ring for his next bout!
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Match #3: Single – Kofi Kingston VS. Alberto Del Rio
Del Rio aggressive early with kicks and punches. He rams his shoulder into Kofi and whacks him with a kick that had a resounding-smack! Del Rio runs off the ropes, but Kofi jumps over him with a couple of leap frogs and hits him with a spinning elbow.
Kofi clotheslines Alberto over the ropes and follows up with a flipping senton (but totally misses/over-shoots!). Del Rio reverses a whip-into-the-corner, then grabs Kofi’s legs as he tried a double-kick, and then double-stomps on Kofi’s chest.
Alberto gets control, punching and kicking Kofi in the gut, then runs at him with an enziguri. 1 – 2 – kickout by Kingston! Del Rio grasps Kofi with a rear chinlock, but Kofi battles out. Del Rio ducks a clothesline and brings Kofi back with a pinning German Suplex for a two-count!
Del Rio runs at him again with another kick-to-the-arm and goes back to the rear chinlock. Kofi elbows his away out then flips over him with a sunset flip pin for a near-fall! Del Rio counters another run with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, then wears him down some more with the chinlock. Kofi moves out of a second enziguri try, then flies off the ropes with a splash! 1 – 2 – Alberto kicks out!
Kofi springs out of the corner middle rope with a crossbody for another close one, then chops Del Rio a couple of times. He leapfrogs again, but Del Rio counters with another kick. Kofi slides down and rolls him up but only gets two! Del Rio twirls around and catches Kingston in the Cross Armbreaker, forcing Kofi to tap!
winner via Submission: Alberto Del Rio
More replays of The Authority/Big Show rivalry are shown.
Up next, we will find out who WWE Champion Randy Orton will take on!
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – WWE Champion Randy Orton VS. ??? (Non-Title)
Before Lawler can introduce Orton’s opponent, “The Viper” rips the fans for being the “faces of jealously, faces of failure, faces of envy,” while putting himself over greatly He says the only choice they have is who is his next “victim.” And the winner is … Big E. Langston!
Orton takes it to Big E. quickly with kicks, headbutts, and punches. Langston pushes Randy out of a side headlock and fires back with a shoulder-block! Orton takes a quick break on the outside, then locks up and waistlocks Langston back inside. Big E. reverses and takes Orton down. He whips around Randy and comes back with a hard elbow, and starts to dominate!
Orton takes another break around the ring, then gets back in and puts Langston down with a front dropkick. 1 – Langston gets the shoulder up. Orton tries the slingshot DDT, but Big E. tosses him over to the apron then sends him into the barricade via a shoulder block!
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Langston is still dominating, with punches in the corner then a short-arm clothesline after. Orton rolls to the outside and attempts to trick Big E, but instead he is slammed head-first into the steel steps. Orton tries something on the apron, but Big E. charges for another shoulder; however Orton moves and Langston flies to the outside.
Orton gets a little control, trying to wear Langston down with a chinlock, but Big E. just stands up and backs Randy into the corner. He runs with another shoulder block then a couple of clotheslines. Langston belly-to-belly suplexes Orton, then splashes on him! 1 – 2 – Randy kicks out!
Randy kicks Orton and brings him down with the backbreaker for two! Orton holds Langston and runs him into the ring post, then plants with the slingshot DDT! “The Viper” is gearing up. He goes for the R.K.O., but Langston pushes him off and runs him over with a body block! Langston picks up Orton in the Big Ending position, but Randy hops off and plants Langston with the R.K.O. for the hard-fought win!
Winner via Pin Fall: WWE Champion Randy Orton
Triple H’s announcement, along with other clips of Big Show ticking off The Authority are shown. Footage from the new WWE 2K14 video game is also displayed., then Fandango and Summer Rae dance their way out!
Commercials.
Match #5: Mixed Tag-Team – Fandango and Summer Rae VS. Tyson Kidd and Natalya
Fandango and Tyson size each other up, then both display some fast-pace tactics. Kidd hits Fandango with a spin kick and side dropkick, then Fandango tags in Summer Rae, which means Natalya must come in.
Rae slaps Nattie right away, but Natalya comes back, grabbing both Rae’s legs. Fandango distracts Nattie, allowing Summer to take domination. She drives Natalya down with a front-Russian-legsweep, and clamps on a body scissors. They both hit a double-clothesline, then tag in respectively.
Tyson waits for Fandango on the apron, then nails a high-kick-to-the-head. He hits a flip-over-dropkick, then literately Fandango over the ropes. Rae gets in Tyson’s way, allowing Fandango to yank the ring apron and pull Tyson down. Fandango ascends the turnbuckle, but is caught with a legsweep! Tyson turns Fandango around into the Sharpshooter, making him give up!
Winners via Submission: Tyson Kidd and Natalya
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Rene Young interviews Damien Sandow, but first shows parts of his match against World Heavyweight Champion John Cena from last week. “The Intellectual Savior” says he has turned into a man who “gets what he wants,” which pleases Zeb Colter who walks in on the interview. He predicts that The Real Americans will defeat The Rhodes Brothers for a second time, then looks into the camera and proclaims “we the people,” with Cesaro and Swagger standing behind.
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Prior to the next bout, World Heavyweight Champion John Cena cuts a promo, sincerely putting over the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation, and WWE’s partnership with them. He says that all year long, pink WWE merchandise will be sold and the proceeds go to the foundation for breast cancer. He thanks everyone for putting their feelings of him aside to support the cause, and everyone in-house who has been in in a situation with cancer.
Tag-Team Champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes come out next, and the match will happen following the break.
Commercials.
Match #6: Six-Man Tag-Team – World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and Tag-Team Champions The Rhodes Brothers (Goldust and Cody Rhodes) VS. Damien Sandow and The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger) (with Zeb Colter) (Non-Title)
(Note: Alberto Del Rio has also joined ringside.) Cena and Sandow begin, with Cena on fire. He pulls Sandow forward with a bulldog, then tags in Cody and they hit Damien with a double-elbow. Rhodes is still in control, with a corner flip-over sunset flip. He gets a two-count, then Jack is tagged in and he and Goldust go at it. Frequent tags with the races and heels, and a big pop for Cena and Cesaro squaring off.
They lock up and Cesaro shoves Cena back. Another elbow/collar tie-up is broken even. This time, they test each-other’s strength, with it being somewhat even. Cesaro kicks Cena out of it and uppercuts him in the corner. John reverses a corner whip and brings him out with a Fisherman’s Suplex. Cena and Goldust double-suplex Antonio for a two-count, then Goldust goes to work.
He snapmares Cesaro and drops his leg on his arm, then switches with his brother. Cody front-suplexes Antonio for a two-count, but is quickly controlled by Sandow. He reverses a whip and backdrops Damien, then feeds him to Cena. John tries the Attitude Adjustment, but Sandow wiggles out of it.
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Cena and Cesaro going at it again, and Antonio flapjacks the World Champ into an uppercut! 1 – 2 – Cena kicks out! Swagger is in and suplexes Cena for a near-fall, then springs off the corner middle rope with a Swaggerbomb! 1 – 2 – Cena gets the shoulder up! Sandow is back in and gets a full-nelson neckbreaker by Cena! Swagger and Cesaro are both tagged in at points and control Cena.
Cesaro hits another stiff uppercut, but is soon flipped over with an impressive hurricanrana by Cena! Antonio grabs Cena’s ankle, preventing him from tagging in his partners, while he tagged in Sandow. He works over Cena’s previously-injured left arm/elbow. Cena works his way out and tries another A.A., but Damien drops down and brings John to the mat with an inverted facebuster.
Sandow is hyped up and measures Cena, but the World Heavyweight Champion hurdles over and powerbombs Sandow! He manages to get the hot-tag to Goldust, who comes in on fire with clotheslines, uppercuts, an inverted atomic drop, and punches! Goldust elbows Cesaro then dives backwards with a crossbody for a count before Sandow breaks it up.
Rhodes dives in with a front-dropkick, then nails Swagger with the Disaster Kick. Cena follows with the Attitude Adjustment, but is taken out by the “You’re Welcome” from Sandow. Cesaro gets a hold of Goldust and swings him around, about 20 times! Goldust rolls to the outside and Cesaro follows, but is tossed into Zeb! He puts Antonio back in the ring, giving Goldust the opportunity for a bulldog. He covers, but Sandow breaks it up!
Cody soars off the top rope with a moonsault while Cena does the same to Cesaro with a crossbody! Goldust hits the Final Cut (tornado-suplex neckbreaker) for the much-deserved victory!
Winners via Pin Fall: World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and Tag-Team Champions The Rhodes Brothers (Goldust and Cody Rhodes)
The same footage from earlier is shown on Big Show & The Authority. Meanwhile, backstage, told ya! The Big Show is donned in a suit and is greeting wrestlers in the hallways.
Segment #4: Office Promo
Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero walks in on Triple H and says “he’s here.” She tells him that Show is in the building and HHH wonder’s why. Stephanie also walks in at that time, and says she has let him in because of The Board. Stephanie says that it was The Board’s decision, so that everything can be settled and no further problems would arise. Triple H detests this and the McMahon family issues, until Stephanie insinuates that he had “no problem taking McMahon family money.” A small rift is felt between the two and “The Game” orders Guerrero to go get Big Show.
Commercials.
Match #7: Single – “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler VS. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel (Non-Title)
Axel counters a lockup with an armlock to begin, and Dolph reverses it into a hammerlock. Curtis slugs back and comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Ziggler returns with a dropkick, but is pulled off the middle rope hard. Axel takes advantage and pounds away on the back of the head.
He pushes him off the ropes and hits a dropkick, then yanks at his chin on the mat. Dolph counters with a front jawbreaker. He sends Axel shoulder-first into the ring post, then hops on the middle rope and gives him a flurry of fists. Dolph is fired up and jumps high with an elbow drop on the mat!
He ducks one clothesline, but eats another to the back-of-the-head from Curtis for a near fall! The I.C. Champion goes for a powerbomb, but Ziggler rolls through and plants him with the Fameasser. 1 – 2 – Axel kicks out! Ziggler tries a Zig-Zag, but is pushed off as Curtis goes for the neckbreaker. Dolph gets out of that and brings him down with the Zig-Zag jumping neckbreaker for the 1 – 2 – 3 (and surprise, nice win!)
Winner via Pin Fall: “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler
Footage of tonight’s opening match is recalled.
Segment #5: Backstage Promo
Rene Young catches Daniel Bryan, and wonders if it was good for him to assault The Wyatt Family considering his shoulder injury. Bryan says “it’s not a wise move to run into the ‘mouth of madness.'” // “I saw an opportunity for payback and I took it!” // “It looks like there’s someone else who has an issue with The Wyatt Family.
The Usos make their usual entrance, prior to the break.
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Segment #6: Office Promo
Vickie Guerrero walks in, sans Big Show. The Authority want to know what’s up and she tells HHH and Stephanie that Show wants to meet with them in the ring tonight.
Match #8: Tag-Team – The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) VS. 3.M.B. (Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre)
In short, The Usos polish off the rock-star wannabees with a super-kick and splash.
Winners via Pin Fall: The Usos (Jimmy and Jey)
Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Rene Young is with Los Matadores. She shows us clips of their career in WWE so far and tries to talk to them. They introduce themselves in Spanish, then El Torito runs in and startles Rene. That’s it!
The Bella Twins and Eva Marie come to the ring and will be in action next!
Commercials.
Match #9: 6-Diva Tag-Team – The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie) and Eva Marie VS. Divas Champion A.J. Lee, Tamina Snuka, and Aksana (Non-Title)
Nikki ties up Tamina with a waistlock, but Snuka backs her into the corner. She drops Nikki with a Samoan drop for a two-count, then tags in Aksana. She stomps away in the corner, then switches with A.J. The Divas Champ hops onto Nikki with a guillotine choke, but Nikki throws her stomach-first. Lee gets a tag to her friend Snuka, who headbutts Nikki.
Bella comes back with an elbow and sunset flip, then tags in Brie who comes in and pushes A.J. off the apron and clotheslines Tamina. She hits a regular dropkick then a second-rope one for a two-count! Snuka comes back and takes out Marie and Bella, then ascends the top rope. She attempts the Superfly Splash but Brie rolls out of the way and tags in Eva, who rolls up Tamina for the victory!
Winners via Pin Fall: The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie) and Eva Marie
The Authority are walking through the backstage area and will be out next!
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It is made known that Daniel Bryan will face Luke Harper this week on Smackdown!
Segment #8: Arena Promo
Stephanie and Triple H make their way into the ring. They both have a microphone and Triple H starts, inviting Big Show to come on out. Stephanie reiterates the notion. He answers the call and squares off with the C.O.O. and “one of the principal owners of WWE.”
Stephanie says they’ve all agreed to settle, and wants to know his demands. He first makes a witch (yes, correctly, witch!) joke at Stephanie. Triple H interjects and thinks this is all about money. Show responds saying that it isn’t about the dollars, and bottom line wants his job back. HHH mocks that statement, but McMahon cuts him off before he says something he might regret.
She gives him his wish, and Big Show couldn’t be happier, chanting “yes, yes, yes!” However, that’s not the end of it, as “The World’s Largest Athlete” wants the “world’s largest bonus!” Again, it’s not about the $, but instead pride. Show wants to be “the face of the WWE.” Stephanie now mocks that, until The Shield interrupt and saunter through the crowd. Show threatens that something could be at “stake.”
Commercials.
Triple H apologizes for the interjection, but Show isn’t finish. His need is for the WWE Championship, and he wants a title shot at Survivor Series. “Listen to me, you got your job back, and you’re lucky for it. Get the hell out of my ring before I leave you here in a puddle of your own blood. Move,” HHH threatens. Show makes sure that it is what “The Game” wants, then does leave. On his way out, he remarks that the deal’s off and by morning, “I will complete my task of owning all of you.”
With convincing from Stephanie, Triple H back-pedals and gives him the bout. Show toys with him and makes HHH repeat the request twice more. Big gets back in the ring and back in “The Game’s” face. HHH repeats his demands, “you have your job back. You have a WWE Championship match at Survivor Series against Randy Orton.”
Show wants to shake his hands, but HHH has another idea. Since he gave the 7-Footer his employment, he will now face The Shield and Randy Orton, right now!
Match #10: 4-On-1 – Big Show VS. The Shield (United States Champion Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) and WWE Champion Randy Orton (Non-Title)
Show is ultimately beat down by the foursome. They rip off his shirt, and Orton orders them to pick him up. He wants them to triple-powerbomb, but Show fights back with boots. He double-duplexes Rollins and Ambrose, then is facing off with the WWE Champion!
Just now, Kane’s music plays and out walks the “Big Red Machine,” in a suit and tie! Big Show is distracted enough for The Shield to come back in and attack. Kane helps out by throwing chairs into the ring and they all take turns smacking him with the steel weapon, causing the bell to ring.
No Winner via Referee Stoppage
Post-match, they use the steel steps to hammer show as Kane was tearing apart the announce table. The Shield slam him through the structure with the triple-powerbomb! Orton holds the WWE Title over his face, as Stephanie screams “Show, welcome back!” Randy is in his face, telling him “you don’t got a chance in hell of beating me.” They all look over a downed Big Show, with Orton holding the title high to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Man, was this a wrestling-heavy show or what! 10 matches were on the card, and it took two hours for Triple H & Stephanie to make a live-on-camera appearance. Nonetheless, it was still a pretty darn good show and I was quite satisfied with how it ended. On to the analysis:
Excellence – The exorbitant amount of bouts. Even though, as usual some of them were short (and filler), others were well-wrestled and entertaining to watch. My specified favorites were Punk/Harper, Kofi/Del Rio, Randy/Langston, and the two six-person tags. I really thought the Divas put in a great effort this week, and am really liking the Bellas in-ring improvement. Even though I thought Kidd/Natalya & Fandango/Rae were filler, it was nice to see Tyson back and I give high marks for Summer’s in-ring work too.
Liked the fact they kept Daniel Bryan from wrestling, to sell the shoulder “injury” he suffered at the hands of The Wyatt Family. Good continuity.
Loved the ending, particularly with The Shield, Stephanie & Triple H, Randy Orton, and Kane all standing over a fallen Big Show. The entire segment was well-performed, especially Show with his personality and skill. I also really like the “silent-asssassin” character type Kane portrayed, and he seemed to look even more evil in a suit!
Bogus: I do wish that Raw started off with a promo. It kind of felt like I missed something with it beginning with a regular match right off the bat. C.M. didn’t even talk. At the very least, next time, play the Raw video or use the opening pyro, to give Raw that “kick off with a bang feel.” As mentioned above in a way, Ryback/Khali, Natalya/Kidd & Fandango/Summer, Usos/3.M.B., and the Los Matadores segments were all just filler. Nothing special too them.
As great as the match was, and I think it was better than Smackdown’s, why did they have Cena & The Rhodes face the same team of The Real Americans and Sandow, especially only after 3 days when most people could’ve seen it on T.V. Friday night? Seemed too redundant. Also, as much as I love Damien and his new-found aggressive attitude, I think after last week, his feud with Cena should’ve ended there. Granted, it shouldn’t have begun that way at all (that was in last week’s ranting!), but Cena should be focused on Del Rio for Survivor Series, not get muddled with “The Intellectual Saviour.”
Overall, was really happy with this episode, and again, it left a cliff-hanger and me wanting more for next week! Well done, creative! As always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
Tomorrow, WWE Superstars and Divas will start a very hectic 11 day tour of Europe which will see them perform in 19 live events across 9 different countries.
The tour kicks off on November 6, at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland and then they move to Dublin, Ireland, at the O2 Arena on November 7.
There are two shows on November 8, with one group at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, and the other at the Forest National in Brussels, Belgium.
Another double header is on November 9, with a show at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany, and another one at the LG Arena in Birmingham, England.
On November 10 it’s one show at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, and another show at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.
Monday Night RAW will be taped on November 11 from the Phones 4u Arena in Manchester, England, and Smackdown will also be taped from the same arena the next day on November 12. Another show on November 12 will take place at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England.
On November 13 there’s one show at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England, and another in Zurich, Switzerland, at the Hallenstadion.
Two shows on November 14 will see the WWE crew at the Leeds Arena in Leeds, England, and at the Kinderarena in Rouen, France.
The last two days of the tour will feature four shows, two on November 15, one at the O2 Arena in London, England, and the other at Le Dome in Marseille, France. The other two are at the Butlins Arena in Minehead, England, and at the Wiener Stadthalle Halle D, Vienna, Austria, on November 16.
AskMen.com today published the results of their 8th annual Top 49 Most Influential Men, a list compiled by over 100,000 voters.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made it to the list coming in at number 45 and was listed under his WWE name. The list was topped by Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla Motors and PayPal.
The full list can be seen at http://www.askmen.com/specials/2013_top_49/
One of the main events for the Survivor Series was announced yesterday night on RAW with the WWE title match being the first bout on the card.
Current WWE champion Randy Orton will be taking on the Big Show for the WWE title after Show was reinstated by Stephanie McMahon during the last segment on the show.
The Big Show was then attacked by The Shield and Randy Orton with a little help from Kane, who came out in a suit looking all corporate! Show got attacked with chairs and then was triple power bombed through the announcers table.
WWE has signed U.S. Olympic wrestler Chas Betts to a developmental contract and he will be starting training at the WWE Performance Center today. The Minnesota native was part of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.
“For those that have known me a long time, you know being a pro-wrestler has been a dream of mine since I was 11 or 12 years old,” Betts said on his Facebook, adding that he was proud to have signed with the WWE.
“I’m honored and humbled by the opportunity. I am extremely lucky to have a wife and family that has supported me in every dream I’ve chosen to chase, however unlikely it may be. Never underestimate the power of a good support system, people!”
Brandi Runnels, the 30 year old wife of Cody Rhodes, begins training at the WWE Performance Center in Florida today according to a tweet she sent out over the weekend.
“Surprise rookie gift from @CodyRhodesWWE. Guess I traded heels for boots. TRAINING begins Monday @WWE @WWEPerformCtr,” she wrote, posting a photo of wrestling boots to accompany her text.
Brandi is no stranger to WWE as in March 2011 she signed a developmental deal with the company where she was assigned to FCW in Tampa. In July of that year she was rebranded as Eden Stiles and was the NXT ring announcer and appeared once on Smackdown and also did announcing on the WWE Superstars TV show.
She left the company in December of the same year and will now be back under the name of Brandi Rhodes. If you can’t recall who she is, here are some photos of Brandi to jog your memory below.
WWE Studios and Film Roman announced today that they have entered into a co-financing and co-production agreement to produce up to thirteen, three-minute webisodes of a new animated series entitled Camp WWE. Mike Benson of Entourage and The Bernie Mac Show will script the series.
Film Roman, the animation studio behind The Simpsons and King of the Hill, will be behind the adult comedy series about what the WWE Superstars were like as kids.
“Proving to be a nightmare for teachers and other kids, their exhausted parents pack-up their future WWE Superstars with their masks, chains, kneepads and security blankets and send them off to Camp WWE, to be transformed into model citizens by the most terrifying counselor who ever lived, Mr. McMahon,” says the synopsis.
“Film Roman has been involved with some of the most well-known and humorous animated series,” said Michael Luisi, President WWE Studios. “They are the perfect partners for WWE Studios to capture our Superstars in a truly unique and fun way.”
Dana Booton, General Manager for Film Roman said that they hope that this will begin a mutually beneficial, long-term business relationship with WWE.
“With a combination of their unique personalities, distinctive characteristics and huge built-in loyal fan base, WWE Superstars make for ideal animation subjects in CAMP WWE,” Booton said.
John Cena sent Boston Red Sox World Series MVP David Ortiz a replica of the WWE Heavyweight title to sport during the rolling rally that was held yesterday to celebrate Boston’s World Series win.
“@davidortiz, be on the look-out for @WWE bling just in time for the WS parade. Hope to see you at #SurvivorSeries @tdgarden on Sun, Nov 24,” Cena tweeted a couple of days ago.
And the current World Heavyweight champion kept his bling promise as “Papi” came out wearing the WWE title wrapped around his waist.
You can see the photo of Ortiz with the WWE title during the celebrations which aired on the local FOX affiliate at
TNA’s comeback at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, will begin on November 21 with a live Impact taping and obviously free admission to those who are in the park.
The company has been assigned a different sound stage from their previous one, and now they will be taping their Impact shows from Sound Stage 19 and not 21 as they have done in the past.
Sound Stage 19 is the biggest among the six stages at Universal Orlando, with an area of 16,500 square feet. It’s also equipped with fiber and satellite transmissions which is most likely why they have been relocated to that sound stage.
It is unlikely that TNA will use the whole area as the sound stage is shaped as a rectangle rather than square so it looks like they will use half of it.
Currently Fox Sports Florida operates from Sound Stage 19.
According to the latest filings with the SEC, WWE entered into a new three year agreement with Stephanie McMahon where she is referred to as a wrestler with a salary of $325,000 per year plus added bonuses.
She is also entitled to royalties from product sales which will obviously add to the $325,000 figure every year.
The contract – which is published in full – is a performer/wrestler contract which means that McMahon will not vanish from your television screens anytime soon. The contract was signed on October 18 with Jane Geddes, Senior Vice President of Talent Relations and Development, representing WWE. McMahon signed the contract using her full name of Stephanie McMahon Levesque.
You can read the contract on section 2, page 40 of the document at http://ir.corporate.wwe.com/Cache/c20528073.html
PWInsider.com is reporting that Janice Carter, Dixie Carter’s mother and one of the bosses and owners at TNA’s parent company Panda Energy, has issued an internal memo to address the rumors of TNA being for sale.
The memo states that any rumors of Panda Energy attempting to offload their stake in the company are completely false and that they are committed to continue their operations with TNA.
Janice Carter has lately taken over roles within the organization from her husband Robert Carter.
During last night’s Impact, TNA President Dixie Carter announced an eight-men tournament to crown the new TNA World champion. The matches will take over the course of the next few weeks.
The brackets announced are Jeff Hardy vs Chris Sabin and Bobby Roode vs James Storm with the winners of each match facing each other in a semi-final match.
On the other side there is Kurt Angle vs Austin Aries and Magnus vs Samoa Joe with the winners of those two matches facing off each other in the second semi-final match.
The first match takes place next week with Jeff Hardy vs Chris Sabin in a full metal mayhem match.
Despite the not-so-great financial results today, Wall Street was feeling some love for WWE as stocks hit a 52-week high of $13.14 and then eventually closing the day at $12.95.
The $12.95 closing represented a 9.38% – or $1.11 – increase over yesterday’s closing which was $11.84.
The second half of season one of Total Divas will return on E! on Sunday, November 10, as it has been moved one week ahead of schedule.
The move came so the show can benefit from the Keeping Up with the Kardashians finale, which will serve as the lead-in for Total Divas. Total Divas kicks off at 10PM EST. Total Divas pulled in better ratings when it benefitted from first-run episodes of the Kardashians show.
The first half of the season ran for eight episodes, and six more were recorded for the second half. The show will start off with the SummerSlam weekend and will feature the same cast – Bella Twins, Natalya, Eva Marie, JoJo, and The Funkadactyls.
Out of the ten major departments that bring in revenue for WWE, six of them decreased when compared to the same quarter last year while four performed better.
Those who registered a decrease were venue merchandise down 11% to $4 million, PPV was down 10% to %14.6 million, licensing slid 24% to $5.7 million, home entertainment decreased 15% to $5.2 million, magazine publishing and WWE Studios decreased by $100,000 each to $1.5 million and $1.8 million respectively.
The four departments which registered a plus included live events which went up 10% to $25 million, TV increased 30% to $44.1 million, WWE.COM was up 19% to $5.7 million, and WWEShop increased 11% to $2.9 million.
The three WWE pay-per-views that took place in the third quarter of 2013 didn’t fare that well, especially SummerSlam, which is considered one of the big four WWE pay-per-views of the year.
Money In The Bank in July did 199,000 buys, an increase from the 188,000 the show did last year. SummerSlam was down considerably to 296,000 buys from 358,000 buys that the 2012 version did, and Night of Champions also did less than last year’s show with 175,000 versus the 189,000 buys from last year.
WWE today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2013. Revenues increased $9.1 million or 9%, to $113.3 million from $104.2 million in the prior year quarter. Operating income decreased 36% to $3.2 million as compared to $5.0 million in the prior year quarter. Net income was $2.4 million, or $0.03 per share, as compared to $3.5 million, or $0.05 per share, in the prior year quarter.
“During the third quarter, our achievements were highlighted by the production and monetization of new content, including the original series, Total Divas, the expansion of pay-per-view distribution on the Sony PlayStation 3 platform, and the formation of new partnerships with blue-chip sponsors such as General Mills and Kraft,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“These accomplishments reflect the strength of our brands, including a national television audience that exceeds the annual reach of most other sports and entertainment programs. This strength provides a solid foundation for the renegotiation of our TV contracts and the potential launch of a WWE network. Based on our ability to create powerful, entertaining content and to expand distribution, we strongly believe that we are poised to transform our business.”
You can read the full press release in PDF format here.
