Las Vegas – UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Liz Carmouche are set to make history on Saturday, Feb. 23 when they become the first women to compete in the UFC’s hallowed Octagon®. Tonight, fans get an all-access pass inside their training camps before the historic championship bout, as episode one of UFC PRIMETIME®: ROUSEY vs. CARMOUCHE premieres on FSN. To see when the show airs in your region, check your local listings or visit http://msn.foxsports.com/tv/schedule or http://www.ufc.com/news/157-primetime-listings-news
UFC PRIMETIME®: ROUSEY vs. CARMOUCHE will also be available on www.ufc.com beginning tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 8. Air dates and times for the remaining two episodes will be announced shortly.
Las Vegas, Nevada – UFC® lightweight champion Benson Henderson will defend his title in a long-awaited showdown with Gilbert Melendez, the last man to hold the Strikeforce® lightweight title, on Saturday, April 20 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brings the Octagon® back to HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
The 29-year-old Henderson is 6-0 in the UFC, including two consecutive title defenses over Nate Diaz and Frankie Edgar. He’ll look to cement his status as the world’s best 155-pounder when he meets Melendez, a San Francisco resident riding a seven-fight winning streak.
“Benson Henderson wants to beat Gilbert Melendez to prove once and for all that he’s the best lightweight in the world,” UFC President Dana White said. “Gilbert was a champion in Strikeforce and he’s been on an incredible tear. Benson wants this fight badly and I’m excited that it’s headlining such a stacked card.”
In addition, this outstanding card also features:
· Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir vs. highly touted Olympic wrestler and winner of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, San Jose’s Daniel Cormier.
· Stockton’s Nate Diaz vs. San Jose’s Josh Thomson in lightweight action
· A welterweight collision between Dan Hardy and Matt Brown
The main card airs live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, preceded by the prelims on FX at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. FUEL TV previews the card the week before on signature shows UFC TONIGHT and UFC ULTIMATE INSIDER, and also carries the WEIGH-IN SHOW on Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and provides post-event analysis.
Tickets for UFC® on FOX: HENDERSON vs. MELENDEZ go on sale Friday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $250, $150, $100, $75, and $50. Tickets are available at the HP Pavilion Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone 800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.
UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Feb. 14, starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
UFC announced today that Thiago Tavares tested positive for Drostanolone, an anabolic steroid and banned substance, after drug tests for the UFC on FX 7 card from Brazil came back.
Tavares was handed a 9 month suspension by the company retroactive to the date of the event, January 19. He must pass a drug test upon completion of the suspension before receiving clearance to compete again.
Tavares lost his fight on the card against Khabib Nurmagomedov via a KO.
The statement from UFC also cleared Vitor Belfort who was on a medically approved testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) regimen under the supervision of a medical doctor from the State of Nevada.
The UFC said that the levels tested for Belfort were normal and the test did not reveal the presence of any performance enhancing drugs.
WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hit Man” Hart underwent knee surgery earlier this week and is now in recovery.
Hart wrote on Twitter that he knows has “a matching set” while showing a photo of his large scar that runs vertical across his knee. You can see the photo at http://t.co/WLdA9OnU (Warning: Graphic content)
It will be interesting to see if Hart will be in any way shape or form involved in the WrestleMania weekend as so far he has not been announced to be part of Axxess. He last appeared for WWE during the Royal Rumble weekend, participating in a panel with Shawn Michaels and Jerry Lawler on the Montreal screwjob and had a cameo on the pay-per-view as well.
Former WWE champion John Cena will be at the SXSW 2013 event to headline a panel that will talk about WWE’s use of social media to extend WWE’s brand. WWE has more than 137 million social media fans in total.
This panel – which will also include Stephanie McMahon, the Executive Vice President of WWE Creative, and Perkins Miller, Executive Vice President of WWE DIgital Media – will explore how WWE is leveraging creative, media, technology and talent to become one of the most widely respected and successful brands in social TV.
The panel will be moderated by Khris Loux, co-founder and CEO of Echo, a partner with WWE when it comes to social media integration.
If you would like to participate in the “Get Ready to Rumble! How WWE is Crushing Social TV” panel, the event will be held on Saturday, March 9, between 11AM and Noon at the Sheraton Austin Capitol at 701 East 11 Street in Room EFGH.
This week’s Monday Night RAW drew a 3.5 rating and an average viewership of 4,810,000 viewers. It was down around 200,000 viewers from last week in total but still the second best number since the RAW 1000 episode.
Hour one pulled 4,863,000 viewers followed by 4,857,000 in the second hour and 4,711,000 in the third hour. While the drop expected since last week’s show was coming off a major pay-per-view, the number has to be considered a success. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
WWE has surpassed the 1 million subscribers mark on YouTube, surpassing popular YouTube channels such as ESPN, HBO, Comedy Central, Discovery Networks and Apple.
WWE was one of the first partners with YouTube to launch original content on their channel, and the company premiered almost 30 hours of original programming in 2012 with shows such as Backstage Fallout, Outside the Ring, WWE Inbox, WWE Download and Z! True Long Island Story.
With almost a half billion views, WWE has more views than Showtime, ABC News, ESPN and UFC. In addition, WWE fans watch more than 1.5 billion WWE clips a year across YouTube.
This episode has been built up for one of the most devastating finishes of all time. Will it be Hall or Cella to go down? They show an ambulance loading someone into it with one of Sonnen’s coaches standing there in the clips leading up to this weeks episode. Lets see how it will happen as Team Jones’ Adam Cella faces off against Team Sonnen’s Uriah Hall.
Bubba McDaniels is still playing the I told you so card in regards to Team Jones losing the first fight and wanting his fight with Kevin Casey. Casey feels disrespected by the call out but tells McDaniel that it will go down even if it has to happen in the house. Mixed group of TUF competitors are sitting outside by the fire and Hall said some thing along the lines of so and so is smart and is a “professional cooker.” Josh corrected him by telling him he meant “chef” which triggers flash backs for Hall who came from Jamaica and being picked on as a youth so he is determined to call out Josh after the fight.
In training you see Hall’s competitive side come out. As Sonnen said he is one of the best athletes there and pushes himself to be first in everything that they do but Uriah is Uriah’s worst enemy. As Casey gets his arm while they are rolling Hall won’t let the defeat go and wants to go again even though practice is done.
Adam talks that he doesn’t have to do this; he has an education, has a job and will have one when he gets back. He feels that gives him the advantage because he wants to win and doesn’t have to. Jones points out that Hall has broken some ones arm with a kick and that Cella may want to not take too many of them. Jones feels Adam has a lot to improve on grappling so Jones takes the time to show him a basic and efficient technique (short elbows from the guard) that may work better for him.
Sonnen talks game plan as Hall is shown striking with another coach and Sonnen says the plan is to go forward and his team is focused on the offense and making the other team have to adapt while going back wards. Sonnen gives Hall some advice about not beating yourself and that he even saw a sports psychologist. Randy Couture told Chael that it doesn’t go away he has to recognize it and push through it. It is normal to have doubt and its okay to to acknowledge it. That is just part of but ultimately you its your choice to fail or succeed.
When they return from commercial break Casey tells the other guys in the fan that he would rather not face Bubba in the first round of the competition. Chael puts up a picture of Casey in the next fight slot. Cella feels like they are looking past him and McDaniel who wants to fight Casey puts his picture up in the spot that Sonnen had put a question mark.
Its Jones turn to make a visit to the house and brought food for the guys that they bbq and also his puppy. Jones takes his team out to the fire pit and they sit around sharing stories so Jones can get to know his team. Jones plays it up that he is getting choked up and teary eyed hearing their stories.
Team Jones’ Adam Cella vs Team Sonnen’s Uriah Hall
Round 1-
Hall definitely has more of a kick boxer approach with his hands up but further apart. Hall is able to get a couple jabs in and they trade knees to the body as Hall gets the clinch. Cella tries for kick and Hall catches it and takes the fight to the ground. Cella goes for a submission and Hall stands up to punch down at him. Cella is able to get back up and Hall hits him with a hook then a front kick to the body that knocks Cella briefly to the mat. Hall lets him back up and eats a weak right. Hall catches another kick and pulls the leg out from under Cella who briefly goes down again. Hall lands a nice leg kick head kick with out ever letting his foot touch the mat again. Hall lands a side kick that briefly knocks Cella down again. Cella pops up and is trying to go on the offensive. Hall gets the clinch again and delivers another series of knees to the body. Hall is letting his hands drop and Chael has to keep reminding him to jab. Cella tries another spinning back fist but misses by a lot again. Hall lands a spinning heel kick right to the jaw of Cella with 5 seconds left and it is over. That kick connected right in front of the ear but nothing but heel to jaw. Cella is breathing like a fish out of water and the room falls silent. Hall says “Sorry Adam” and that is all that is heard. Hall looks shaken up at what he just did. Cella is in a seated position. Cella says “Spinning heel kick.” Cella is asked if he can see and he says “I can see Uriah.” Docs ask if he has any numbness or weird feeling and he says he doesn’t know what happened. They help him to the stool and every one applauds. Cella is back to his feet and he embraces Hall in the center. The kick was what Barboza finished Etim with but it wasn’t just a clip this time it was a pure connection.
Winner by KO Uriah Hall
Uriah Hall tells the camera that he is sorry about the kick to Adam and hopefully he wont be mad at him and looks forward to see him soon. It is hurt business but he is a human being and he feels bad that he could have really hurt him.
Mazzagati comes in and tells Team Jones’ Adam is okay, just going to have a CAT scan and should have his memory back in about an hour or so.
Up next…
Team Sonnen’s Kevin Casey vs Team Jones’ Collin Hart
Bubba McDaniel is upset; go figure. He figures that Casey or the other team is scared. Will Jones get his first win next week?
Jose Aldo will defend his UFC Featherweight belt for the fifth time this summer and for the third time against a fighter coming down from the UFC’s lightweight ranks.
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis will be the man making the extra ten pound weight cut this time. Pettis who is a top contender for the UFC’s Lightweight champion asked Dana White via text after Aldo successfully defended against Edgar last Saturday to get the next shot at the 145 champ.
USA Today first broke the story this morning after speaking with the UFC President Dana White whom they quoted as saying, “Two of the baddest dudes in the fight business are going to fight at 145 pounds. These guys are two of the most amazing, gravity-defying athletes in the sport. I am so pumped for this fight.”
A venue is yet to be determined for this date as of now.
Pettis 16-2 overall is 3-1 so far in the UFC since he came to the organization as WEC’s last Lightweight champion.
Pettis took the belt in a decision victory against then title holder and now current UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. In that fight “Showtime” delivered one of the most memorable kicks in MMA history when he jumped off the side of the cage to land the flying kick to the head of Henderson.
In Pettis’ first fight in the UFC he dropped a decision to Clay Guida as well as his shot at then lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Since then, Pettis has rattled off three straight victories over Jeremy Stephens, Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone. The last two fights earned him Knockout of the Night awards for both events.
The 22-1 Jose Aldo hasn’t lost since 2005 and is on a 15 win streak including going 8-0 in the WEC and 4-0 so far in the UFC.
The champ has won 13 of his fights by knockout and 2 by submission. The champ is known for his pin-point striking and vicious kicks. While it is his striking that garners most attention it is not to be forgotten that he holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is a four time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion, and world jiu-jitsu champion.
With the boss laid out last week at the hands of Brock Lesnar, who will return to take Mr. McMahon’s place, and what consequences and/or actions could the former WWE Champion face? The Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View is shaping up.
WWE Champion The Rock (still hard to type) and C.M. Punk are booked for a rematch, and the Smackdown Chamber is set for the #1 contender spot to the World Heavyweight Championship?
Between those two matches, what “mind games” can continue tonight? Plus, more from Chris Jericho? Let’s hope so!
All those, and (wishing) much more (and better) tonight, so read on!
Monday Night Raw Report for February 4th, 2013 – “Well Deserved”
Introduction Segment: Recap and Welcoming
Highlights from last week’s Raw air first, then greetings from Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler
Segment #1: Arena Promo
C.M. Punk angrily marches out to the ring, smashing a fan’s sign on the way down the aisle. He grabs ring announcer Justin Roberts and forces him to announce Punk as “The People’s Champion.”
C.M. asks the crowd if he overreacted, because he held the most important championship in WWE for 434 days. Punk answers his own questions, saying that he only acted as someone would normally act if they were screwed. He claims The Rock does not know what it is to be WWE Champion, and then informs us that people have been asking him regarding the video of Paul Heyman with Brad Maddox and The Shield.
“The Straight-Edge Superstar” exists the ring and inquires the fans if they had seen him in that video. Cole confirms that Punk was not in the footage. He continues to claim that Mr. McMahon doctored the video and Heyman was really not a part. Punk declares that Vince got what deserved when Brock Lesnar F-5’ed him.
C.M. will give The Rock his “rematch,” but before he can continue, Smackdown General Manager Booker T. walks out. He says that Monday Night Raw Managing Supervisor allowed him to pick Punk’s fate. However, he is going to leave the choices up to the people.
“The Second-City Saint” protests his potential opponents of Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, or Chris Jericho, all who he faced the last three WrestleManias in a row (26, 27, and 28 respectively). Using the WWE App on their phones, fans will get to pick, which Cole gives a quick tutorial about.
Michael also informs that an “epic” Hall-Of-Fame inductee will be announced tonight, and it is a long-time coming! According to him, ESPN broke the story, so it has to be a huge name to break out of the sports-entertainment world!(Intrigue and anticipation at it’s finest!)
Ryback makes his entrances and he will have a match up next!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single – Ryback VS. United States Champion Antonio Cesaro (Non-Title)
They lock-up to begin the bout and Ryback shoves Cesaro into the corner. Antonio tries a waistlock, but Ryback flips him over and beats away in the other corner.
He hip-tosses Cesaro and drops a leg on the U.S. Champ. Ryback stomps in the corner to the rhythm calls of “feed me more!” Ryback Thesz-Presses Cesaro, but misses in the corner and gets hammered with a club to the back of the neck.
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Back live, Ryback is in control again, spine-busting him. Cesaro rolls out of the ring, but Ryback gives chase and brings him back into the ring. Antonio jawbreaks Ryback on the ropes and runs him into the steel post and steps.
The referee begins the count, but Ryback slides back in the nick of time. Cesaro takes more advantage, beating Ryback in the corner and slamming him to the mat with double-knees. 1 – 2 – Ryback kicks out! Cesaro runs at him with a clothesline, but gets met with a knee and back body drop!
Ryback is wound up and “meat-hook’s” Antonio. who rolls out of the ring. Ryback catches him, but Cesaro nails a boot. He runs again at Ryback and gets taken down with another powerbomb. One more “meat-hook” clothesline and a Shell-Shock marching Samoan drop for the victory to Ryback!
Winner via Pinfall: Ryback
More replays from both tonight and last week are aired.
Commercials.
Segment #2: Video Promo
The same Shield promo, mixed in with footage of their attacks on the various superstars (including last week’s beatdown of John Cena) plays.
Segment #3: Office Promo
Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero tries to convince John Cena not to call out The Shield, but to no avail, as Cena stands up for the WWE as usual.
Segment #4: Hall-Of-Fame Promo
They re-air Trish Stratus’ well-deserved induction montage, then the new inductee will be revealed later tonight.
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Match #2: Single – Santino Marella VS. “The All-American-American” Jack Swagger
(Note: Smackdown General Manager Booker T. is out on commentary) Swagger dominates Santino, forcing him to tap-out to the “Patriot Act,” formerly known as the Ankle Lock.
Winner via Submission: “The All-American-American,” Jack Swagger
Commercials.
Match #3: Single – World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio VS. Cody Rhodes (Non-Title)
Cody is aggressive early, with a kick to the gut and elbows to the head. Del Rio fires back with an elbow to the head and a reverse hurricanrana off the top rope. Alberto drops Rhodes with a flapjack, then kick to the back of the head.
Cody slapped Del Rio, which irritated the World Heavyweight Champion, who punched and kicked Rhodes into the corner. Cody gains an advantage with a kick to Alberto’s knee and then a knee drop. He headbutts him in the corner, but misses a mini-splash, allowing Del Rio to regain momentum with a couple clotheslines and a tilt-a-whirl slam.
Stiff kick to the face for a near-fall by Del Rio, who then signals for the cross armbreaker Submission, but Cody gets out of it and hits the Disaster Kick! 1 – 2 – 2 1/2 – Del Rio kicks out! Alberto quickly catches Rhodes in the cross armbreaker for the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio
Post-match, Del Rio takes the microphone. He puts over the fans and his recent (and quite successful, so far) face turn. He says he is the World Heavyweight Champion for all the people who work hard and struggle in life, as well as those who are bullied by “monsters” like The Big Show. He threatens that the 7-footer will pay for beating up his best friend Ricardo Rodriguez.
Big Show himself appears on the Titantron, “live via Satellite.” He demands a rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship at Elimination Chamber, or what he will do to Del Rio will be much worse than what he did to Rodriguez.
Segment #5: Results
The choice of C.M. Punk’s opponent is made down, and with an overwhelming 57%, it will be Chris Jericho! (Sweet!)
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Segment #6: Backstage Promo
Kane and Daniel Bryan are arguing once again. They debate who was to blame in their tag-team loss from Friday’s Smackdown (read that fine report on this fine website!). Bryan demands his “Team Hell-No” partner to stay in the back while he goes out for his contest.
Match #4: Single – Rey Mysterio VS. Tag-Team Champion Daniel Bryan
They circle around and engage in an elbow/collar tie-up. Daniel snapmares Mysterio and kicks him in the back, but Mysterio gets out of a double-handlock cover combo, and flips Daniel over with an armdrag and dropkick. Mysterio knees and kicks Daniel, but gets dropped on his gut with Bryan’s knees.
Mysterio twirls out of a wristlock, but gets chopped on the turnbuckle and hangs upside down. Bryan runs at him, but eats steel and rolls out of the ring.
Commercials.
Bryan is back in control, with another wristlock and then flips Mysterio over. He throws Mysterio out and then baseball slides him. Bryan runs with a suicide-dive, but Rey-Rey counters with an elbow, diving seated-senton and a couple of hurricanranas for a near-fall!
Mysterio attempts the 6-1-9 but Bryan catches him with the “No-Lock” (Crossface) submission, however Rey reverses into a cover for two! Rey does measure Daniel again for the 6-1-9 and nails it! He ascends the top rope, but misses the “Drop of the Dime” splash, allowing the WWE Tag-Team Champion to clamp on the Crossface “No-Lock” again and making Mysterio give up!
Winner via Submission: Tag-Team Champion Daniel Bryan
As he is celebrating, Bryan is taking out by …. a returning Mark Henry! He also destroys Mysterio and Sin Cara, who tried to make the save. Following a corner splash, Henry yells “that’s what I do!”
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Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Tag-Team Champions “Team Hell-No” bicker again about who was where wells Bryan Mark Henry was decimating Bryan. Kane tells Daniel that “words hurt, and nothing is more powerful than our friendship.” Of course, that is not actually true and Kane walks off!
A recap of last week’s Raw involving Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, and Paul Heyman is aired yet again, as well as a pointless video of The Big Show ordering room service and refusing to tip.
Sheamus enters the arena and up next, he will take on Kane!
Commercials.
Match #5: Single – Sheamus VS. Tag-Team Champion Kane
Elbow/collar tie-up begins, then Sheamus hammers away in the corner, twice! Kane counters an Irish Whip into a clothesline then uppercuts and kicks Sheamus in the corner. A huge sidewalk slam gets a two-count for Kane, who briefly brawls with Sheamus on the outside before getting the Irish Curse backbreaker.
Both men are quickly to their feet until Sheamus axe-handles Kane over the ropes. Sheamus batters away at Kane on the apron, but Kane jawbreaks him using the top rope.
Kane counters the Brogue kick with a chokeslam attempt, but Sheamus reverses into the White Noise, but Kane wiggles out into the Tombstone, which Sheamus maneuvers out of, into a DDT. (Nice little sequence).
Just now, Daniel Bryan runs out and Kane is distracted, ordering him away. Kane turns around right into the Brogue Kick for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Sheamus
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Segment #8: Arena Promo
The Miz is setup for his talk show, MizTV. He talks about Paul Heyman’s deeds last week, until the man himself interrupts. Heyman addresses him as “Mr. Mizanin,” and says he did agree to clear his name.
He offers his “best wishes” to the Chairman Of WWE but denies all knowledge of Brock Lesnar’s assault on Mr. McMahon. Heyman turns it around on The Miz, asking him if he agrees that C.M. Punk should still be WWE Champion.
Vickie Guerrero interjects, giving Heyman his alibi, as he was the one who re-signed Lesnar. She begins to cry over Mr. McMahon’s condition. They have a moment of silence, until Miz berates them for being phonies. Brock Lesnar now comes out and complete destroys the set of MizTV and The Miz.
Commercials.
Match #6: Single – Randy Orton VS. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett (Non-Title)
During Wade’s entrance, a side video plays of Bo Dallas putting over his recent success with the Intercontinental Champion. Barrett kicks and punches at Orton in the corner, then Randy returns with a Thesz press and mounted-punches.
He slams Wade’s head twice into the side of the ring, then backdrops him on the barricade. Barrett pops right up and clotheslines Orton, then hits a snap suplex and another clothesline over the top rope.
Barrett runs over and kicks Orton in the head, then slams it into the side of the ring as well. Inside the ring, Wade clutches Orton with a rear chinlock, with “The Viper” battling out.
Two clotheslines and a powerslam follow, plus the slingshot DDT! Orton is “zoning up,” but gets caught into the side spinning slam. 1 – 2 – Randy kicks out!
He goes for Wasteland, but Orton elbows his way out and soon after brings him down with the R.K.O for the duke!
Winner via Pinfall: Randy Orton
Up next, C.M. Punk will take on Chris Jericho!
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Match #7: Single – Chris Jericho VS. C.M. Punk
(Personal note: still can’t get used to Y2J’s tattoo – just seems so out of place on him!). Lockup and chops between the both. Jericho catches Punk off the ropes with an elbow and a suplex.
The fans are chanting for both Y2J and C.M. Punk. A quick two-count for Jericho, then Punk grabs his leg. He whips him off the ropes and hits hard in Jericho’s gut with his knee, then grasps him with a grounding hammerlock.
He runs at Chris in the corner but gets a boot in his face, however does the same to Jericho with knees in the other corner. Jericho counters a Tornado DDT attempt, and soon baseball slides Punk into the announce table, but C.M. guillotines Jericho on the top rope.
Commercials.
Back live, Punk backdrops Jericho, then drops three legs on the back of his head for a two-count. He misses a springboard clothesline, giving Jericho the wind-up with shoulder blocks and a diving axe handle.
Bulldog by Jericho, gets his Walls Of Jericho submission countered. Punk tries to run at Jericho in the corner, but lands on the top rope and is brought down harshly with a top-rope hurricanrana. 1 – 2 – Punk gets the shoulder up!
Punk manages to get Jericho in position for the Go To Sleep, but Jericho reverses into the Walls Of Jericho, which Punk reverses into a small package pin, which Y2J reverses himself! (Also a nice little sequence).
Punk ascends the top rope but misses the top-rope elbow and gets a Lionsault slammed on his body! 1 – 2 – Punk kicks out! Jericho kicks out too, following a stiff kick from C.M., who promptly locks in the Anaconda Vice. Jericho is struggling and manages to grab the bottom rope.
Punk breaks it at four, and Jericho shoulders Punk in the gut twice. He climbs the turnbuckles again, but Punk cuts him off into the Go To Sleep. However, Jericho reverses into a full-on Walls Of Jericho in the middle of the ring!
C.M. makes it to the ropes to preserve the bout! He reverses another Walls by spinning Jericho into the middle turnbuckle and chucking him into the steel ring post. C.M. picks up Jericho and plants him with the G.T.S. for the hard-fought and earned victory!
Winner via Pinfall: C.M. Punk
It’s now time to find out the big name for the next honoree into the WWE Hall Of Fame!
Segment #9: Hall-Of-Fame Induction Promo
Bruno Sammartino! The Living Legend’s career is depicted in a nice highlight package, complete with sincere comments by other legendary Hall Of Fame wrestlers, like Rocky Johnson, George “The Animal” Steele,” “Mean” Gene Okerlund,” J.J. Dillon, and current stars such as John Cena and William Regal.
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Segment #10: Backstage Promo
Matt Striker interviews C.M. Punk and asks him where his head is at. Punk is pissed off because The Rock is walking around with HIS WWE Championship, and that Punk knows he is still the BEST IN THE WORLD.
Segment #11: Backstage Promo
Josh Matthews inquires why John Cena is calling out The Shield tonight. In short, he says because it’s time to push back and “I push back.”
Segment #12: Video Promo
A man delivers the contract to The Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship match at Elimination Chamber, then the champion himself shows up. Alberto and Show engage in a brawl in the hotel hallway, with Del Rio coming out on top.
Segment #13: Arena Promo
Brad Maddox is in the ring with a microphone. He claims that he was manipulated by Paul Heyman into helping out C.M. Punk. He declares himself an innocent victim, and reveals that he was the one who gave Mr. McMahon the clip that exposed the truth.
He also declares himself a hero and wants it to be him that will teach The Shield about justice, NOT John Cena. He calls out the outlaw trio.
In the stands, Dean Ambrose has a microphone and calls Maddox the rat. Seth Rollins wonders if Maddox knows what justice is about, which to Rollins will be them giving Brad the beating he deserves. Reigns says that they will enjoy it this time.
Maddox makes a run for Ambrose, but is quickly disposed of. Cena’s music plays, but instead of through the stage, himself, Ryback, and Sheamus, make like The Shield and run through the fans.
They surround the barricade, and as the three men try to go up the ramp, Randy Orton leads a bunch of the roster to block them off. Ryback, Cena, and Sheamus now enter the ring, brawling with Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns, until they retreat up the stairs again. Ryback, Sheamus, and Cena stand tall in the squared circle to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
This was a much better show, wrestling-wise, but overall still felt very sub-par. The matches made up for the lackluster “going through the motions” promos.
Excellence: the card – I thought all the bouts were well-executed, especially the mini-sequences of reversals and finishers in the Kane/Sheamus contest and Punk/Jericho match.
Even Swagger and Santino was good because of the pure renewed dominance that Jack had. I am liking this new “Kurt-Angle-esque wrestling machine” reboot for the “All-American-American.”
Of course, the main event match takes the cake, as only Y2J and “The Second-City Saint” can do! Speaking of him, C.M. Punk’s promo was awesome as usual, and that is because of him once again placing importance on the WWE Championship and how he made it significant again. Please keep doing this!
Finally, speaking of WWE Championships, congratulations to Bruno Sammartino. I’m very glad he put his personal feelings for Vince McMahon and the company as a whole aside, to accept the honor and (as many people say) legitimize the WWE Hall Of Fame.
While I wasn’t alive when he was in his prime (I was born in 1986), I do know his body of work a little bit and also the class-act reputation he had while both inside and outside the ring, especially when he was WWWF Champion for 8 years.
Bogus: Other than “The Straight-Edge Superstar’s” and World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio’s, the rest of the interviews for the evening were par for the course. Nothing new was revealed, nothing innovative was said, and frankly, they were just boring.
The one other exception was John Cena too, as at least for this week, he went back to the “passionate, defending the company and wrestling” seriousness he is great at when he wants to be and actually put the product over well.
On a small tidbit, why was A.D.R. smiling all the way down the ramp when his best friend was beaten up last week? It’s a minor detail, but if he’s that angry, he should show it and just charge to the ring, get the match over with and look for said best friend Ricardo Rodriguez! Lastly, where was Dolph Ziggler? He was a HUGE miss last night!
As always, here’s hoping for story-telling improvement next week, as it will be the last show before Elimination Chamber, so I’ll also be given you my picks for the pay-per-view. Until then, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
Another match was announced for the Elimination Chamber yesterday after RAW went off the air.
While The Shield were among the fans in the stands following the beating they got at the end of RAW, John Cena grabbed the microphone and challenged the trio to a six man tag team match at the pay-per-view with his tag team partners Sheamus and Ryback.
This is the fourth match announced for the show, joining The Rock vs CM Punk for the WWE title, Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show for the World Heavyweight title, and the number one contender match for the World title inside the Elimination Chamber.
Tickets for IMPACT at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on March 14 will run for quite a steep price.
TNA will be using approximately half the arena for these two tapings – one live and one recorded – with tickets priced $15, $25, $45, and $75. For $125, you can get a luxury fan suite which includes appearances by TNA Superstars before and during the show, full food and beverage catering in the room, private restrooms and closed-circuit TV.
Tickets go on sale this coming Friday at SearsCentre.com.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon underwent hip surgery this past week but is already back in the driving seat of his company and attended RAW last night.
McMahon had to fix a problem which was there before he got F5’ed by Brock Lesnar and it was decided to use the storyline to explain why he’d be off television. The fact that Vince took an ugly looking F5 with a bad hip explains it all about the Chairman and how far he will go.
Meanwhile, the official WWE Twitter account posted a photo of McMahon in bed before his surgery flipping off the camera, although the finger was blurred out!
“Mr. McMahon, watch out for that bedpan,” read the caption, a reference to that time when Steve Austin showed up in a hospital and hit McMahon with a pan on his head during the Attitude Era Days!
WWE issued a press release yesterday announcing Bruno Sammartino entering the WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 6, at Madison Square Garden.
“Having sold out more than 200 shows at Madison Square Garden and being the longest reigning WWE champion in history, Bruno Sammartino is truly ‘The Living Legend,’” said Vince McMahon. “This is an extraordinary and historic moment to have Bruno take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.”
Sammartino started his WWWF career in 1959 and within a few months he was headlining shows at Madison Square Garden. After he left the WWWF, he returned to the company in 1963 and defeated “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers to win the WWWF title in under a minute.
Bruno kept the title for 7 years, 8 months, and 1 day, and eventually lost his title in January 1971 to Ivan Koloff at Madison Square Garden. His second title reign came in December 1973, defeating Stan Stasiak, and then lost the title in 1977 to “Superstar” Billy Graham.
He left WWF and then came back in 1984, helping his son David Sammartino and getting involved in some feuds of his own. He left in 1988 after he moved to doing commentary.
You can see the video that WWE presented about Sammartino yesterday on RAW below.
The world’s strongest man Mark Henry returned on Monday Night RAW yesterday and squashed Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara after Daniel Bryan tapped out Mysterio.
The former World Heavyweight champion has been out of action since May after undergoing surgery for an injury that he never specified what it was. He wrote at the time that if he won’t be back to 100% he will simply walk away.
In August, Henry traveled to London, England, along with WWE officials to scout any Olympians who might one day make it in the world of professional wrestling.
ESPN broke the story that former WWE champion Bruno Sammartino has accepted the invitation to enter this year’s WWE Hall of Fame, a daunting task which was spearheaded by Triple H.
Sammartino and WWE have been at war for decades and he had refused to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for years. Eventually Triple H took over the project to try and convince the longest reigning WWE champion of all-time by having one-on-one meetings over the past few months.
“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame at Madison Square Gardens is the biggest thing in my life,” Sammartino said in an exclusive interview for ESPN Playbook.
Sammartino credited Triple H for changing his mind. He said that he didn’t like the direction the company was going into since he’s an old-school guy.
“I know what kind of a man he is,” Bruno said of Triple H. “And he is a giant in that field, so I take my hat off to WWE because they took such huge steps to make things better for the wrestlers themselves and making sure they are healthy to perform. That was very, very important.”
Triple H said that it was important for WWE to get Sammartino in the Hall of Fame as he’s one of the biggest names ever in the business.
“So for us to not have him in there, for the legitimacy of the whole thing, it was a major issue. He truly is a living legend,” HHH added.
Triple H also revealed that Bruno and Vince haven’t talked yet and he will be arranging a one-on-one sit-down meeting between the two after he shot down the idea of the two talking over the phone.
“Hall of Fame is probably where we’ll make that happen. Vince and Bruno will see each other for the first time in years and officially, in person, look each other in the eyes and bury that hatchet.”
TNA President Dixie Carter announced on her Twitter account that the TNA ReAction show will be making a comeback this month.
“Happy to announce that “ReACTION” will be returning in mid-February as an online series on YouTube,” Carter wrote. She didn’t give out any more details but said that more info will be coming soon on the TNA website.
The show made its debut in April 2010 and then stated weekly in August, offering a “never-before-seen look at the combustible world of TNA Wrestling with exclusive backstage access and candid interviews featuring the biggest names in wrestling.”
It ran for one hour, airing immediately after the flagship show, IMPACT, on Spike TV.
Unfortunately the docu-style series show – which was produced by Bischoff-Harvey Entertainment – got canned by Spike in December of the same year despite getting good feedback. Bischoff went on record to say that the show was eating into IMPACT’s overrun on Spike and that the show was a “financial burden” for TNA.
Zack Ryder’s “Hoeski” song was released on iTunes today and has already reached #100 in the Top Pop iTunes chart in the United States.
The almost four minute song is selling for $1.29 on iTunes and features his trademark “Woo Woo Woo” and other references to his wrestling character.
“Once in a lifetime we are blessed with a musical gift: The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and now Zack Ryder,” reads a funny review posted on iTunes. “From start to finish, this masterpiece will leave your ears craving for more. Hoeski is a gift from God. Long live Zack Ryder.”
It currently has an average rating of 4 1/2 stars out of 5 with 69 comments at time of this writing and his fellow WWE Superstars are buying it and tweeting about it, giving the former U.S. champ extra exposure.
WWE champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was in two Super Bowl commercials yesterday, one for the ‘got milk?’ campaign and the other a trailer for his upcoming movie Fast & Furious 6.
Johnson will be reprising his role of Luke Hobbs, a Diplomatic Security Service agent who travels to Europe to track down a group of drivers who take down a military convoy and seeks the help of his Fast 5 enemies-turn-friends – Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) and his team.
The film is scheduled for release on May 24 and you can see the Super Bowl trailer below.
