Naomi made her return on Smackdown last night following approximately 40 days on the sidelines with a knee injury.
The 29-year-old Florida native won the Smackdown Women’s title at the Elimination Chamber last month but then had to forfeit the title a week later on the February 21 edition of Smackdown after it was revealed that she would be out for several weeks, if not months.
Naomi started intense physical therapy to try and get back in time for WrestleMania, which is taking place from her home town of Orlando. Now, the former member of The Funkadactyls has been added to the Smackdown Women’s title match with Alexa Bliss defending the title also against Mickie James, Natalya, Becky Lynch, and Carmella.
General Manager Daniel Bryan jumps to the ring, which is decorated with a blue mat, a table, and two chairs, amid a loud ovation. Commentators Tom Phillips, David Otunga, and John “Bradshaw” Layfield welcome us to Richmond, Virginia. Bryan brings out his boss, Commissioner Shane McMahon, and then Shane’s WrestleMania opponent, A.J. Styles.
Shane and A.J. take a seat, and McMahon talks about what he and Daniel wanted to do for Smackdown! Live. He puts over Styles as “a part of that vision,” and “one of the greatest talents to step in this ring.” A.J. concurs, and Shane continues about Styles’ path to where they are tonight. He cites a big problem though, which is A.J.’s “ego.” Shane says that Styles’ self-worth got out of hand, to the point he had to put himself in WrestleMania by beating up McMahon, because A.J. was upset he wasn’t booked for ‘Mania already; Shane signs the contract.
“The Phenomenal One” reminds the Commissioner that their match is a normal, one-on-one. Shane won’t be able to lean on tables, Hell In A Cell, count-outs, or disqualifications for an easy win. A.J. proclaims it “traditional” and says that he is in “A.J. Styles’ world.” He too puts pen-to-paper, and then they get in each other’s face. Bryan separates them and A.J. walks away.
Later tonight, Luke Harper will face WWE Champion Bray Wyatt!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single – Becky Lynch VS. Carmella (with James Ellsworth)
(Note: Mickie James and Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss are on commentary.)
Becky tries to start quick but Carmella goes to the apron for a break. Lynch attempts again but Carmella counters a corner-jump with a kick. Becky hits back with an enziguri, and then this one breaks down when Mickie and Alexa fight on the outside and into the ring. This prompts the referee to call for the bell.
Winner: No Contest due to Double-Interference
Post-match, Mickie and Becky are left in the ring, jawing at one another.
Commercials.
Match #2: Tag-Team – Becky Lynch and Mickie James VS. Carmella and Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss (with James Ellsworth)
Lynch is in control and then switches with Mickie. Bliss tags in Carmella, who receives a couple of kicks from James, but quickly takes over after double-teaming her with Alexa. The Women’s Champion is stretching Mickie’s neck and governs for a bit.
Natalya now makes her entrance as the other women look on.
Commercials.
Natalya is on commentary, as Mickie and Alexa make hot-tags to Carmella and Becky, respectively. Becky is “on fire” (pun-intended!) until Ellsworth pulls Lynch’s legs, and allows Carmella to roll up Lynch for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: Carmella and Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss
Post-match, all five women brawl until a returning Naomi charges down the aisle! She meets Natalya with a hurricanrana on the way and then cleans the ring. Naomi gets a microphone and declares herself a participant in the Women’s Championship Challenge at WrestleMania!
Office Promo
GM Bryan is on his cellular phone when his “sister-in-law” walks in, who is really Tyler Breeze dressed up. He wants to be in the Women’s championship match, but Daniel sees through this and makes him wrestle in a Ten-Man Tag-Team later tonight.
Commercials.
Arena Promo
The Miz and Maryse strut to the ring for an edition of MizTV. They present the “unaired” episode of Total Bellas. It completely mocks John Cena’s and Nikki Bella’s lifestyle, with Maryse playing Nikki and Brie, and Miz playing John and Daniel Bryan.
Commercials.
Maryse and Miz are still in the ring and show us the finish to the video, which has Maryse and Miz turn back into themselves, warning Nikki and John what they will do at WrestleMania. Cena and Bella respond, with John being very serious, but also calling out Miz and Maryse in a number of personal shots. Cena then takes off his hat, t-shirt, and wristbands, and challenges Miz to fight. At first, Miz and Maryse walk up the ramp, but then go back to the ring. They tease a brawl, but Miz backs away again.
Commercials.
Match #3: Ten-Man Tag-Team – Dolph Ziggler, Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango), and Tag-Team Champions The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) VS. Mojo Rawley, Rhyno and Heath Slater, and American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable)
Dolph and Jason begin, and then Chad is in. Gable soon makes a tag to Rhyno, who gives a belly-to-belly suplex to Ziggler and sends him to the floor.
Commercials.
The Usos are dominating now, and then a bit later, this inevitably breaks down. Mojo is left in the ring with Tyler, and finishes him with a running-forearm to take this!
Winners via Pinfall: Mojo Rawley, Rhyno and Heath Slater, and American Alpha
Video Promo
Luke Harper says he warned WWE Champion Bray Wyatt about Randy Orton, and now Harper also declares himself “free.”
Commercials.
After the commentator’s run down the WrestleMania card, WWE Champion Bray Wyatt makes his entrance for the main-event!
Commercials
Match #4: Single – WWE Champion Bray Wyatt VS. Luke Harper (Non-Title)
They both slug it out at first, and hit big punches and kicks. They go to the outside where Harper dumps Bray into the timekeeper’s area. He stands on the announcer’s table for cheers.
Commercials.
Wyatt has now taken over but Luke hits back with a big boot. He follows with a couple of suicide-dives, and then goes for his Discus Clothesline a bit later. Bray grabs him and plants Harper with Sister Abigail and covers to receive the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: WWE Champion Bray Wyatt
Post-match, Randy Orton, who is challenging Bray for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, appears on the Titantron. He is in the place that used to house “Sister Abigail;” he takes Bray’s “cross” and stabs it into the ground, proclaiming that he has put an end to “Sister Abigail,” and then Wyatt’s title reign at WrestleMania.
The final Raw before WrestleMania drew a total of 3,292,000 viewers, up 244,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast.
Hour one started with 3,253,000 viewers, followed by 3,426,000 in the second hour, and then closing the night with 3,197,000 viewers for the third and final hour. Raw was #3, #4, and #5 in the top 50 cable chart in the 18-49 demographic.
Just to compare, last year’s Raw before WrestleMania had a total of 3,764,000 viewers so there were nearly half a million viewers less tuning in. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
The final stop before WrestleMania is tonight as Smackdown Live rolls into Richmond, Virginia for a show headlined by WWE champion Bray Wyatt taking on his former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper.
The only other match scheduled for the show so far is Becky Lynch taking on Carmella, while two other segments set to air are the WrestleMania contract signing between Shane McMahon and AJ Styles and the “finale” of The Miz and Maryse’s hilarious take on Total Bellas.
After Smackdown, everyone will travel to Orlando to start their loaded WrestleMania week!
With WrestleMania week here, we want to give you all the options you have to follow all the news from us throughout the whole week apart from Wrestling-Online.com.
E-mail: The Instant News Alert Service (http://w-o.it/woinas) gives you the ability to receive news immediately as it is posted on the website straight to your e-mail. It’s all free as well. The W-O Newsletter will still be sending throughout the week at irregular times depending on the day’s schedule with a recap of all the day’s news.
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WrestleMania 33 gained its 13th match on the card as the non-sanctioned match between Triple H and Seth Rollins was made official last night on Monday Night Raw.
The two have been rumored to be wrestling on the show for several months, ever since Triple H turned on Rollins the night after SummerSlam, helping Kevin Owens win the Universal title. Unfortunately for Rollins, he was once again injured a couple of months ago after he was attacked by Raw new arrival Samoa Joe.
Rollins’ involvement at WrestleMania was a touch and go as the knee he injured was the same one that needed surgery back in 2015. The match was kept off the card until the very last minute even though Rollins was cleared from his injury a few weeks ago.
Had Rollins missed this year’s WrestleMania, it would have been the second one in a row that he missed due to injury. He closed WrestleMania 31, walking out of Levi’s Stadium as the WWE champion after cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase.
WWE and StubHub today announced they have reached a multi-year agreement, naming StubHub the company’s exclusive ticket resale marketplace for fans in the United States and Canada.
The agreement is in place in time for fans still looking for ticket options for WrestleMania 33. In addition to WrestleMania 33, fans can also use StubHub to see ticket options for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, NXT TakeOver, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown.
“Our partnership with StubHub will give fans greater access to hundreds of WWE live events,” said Paul Levesque, WWE’s Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative. “StubHub will also provide our fans with exceptional customer service and a secure ticket resale marketplace just in time for all the events of WrestleMania week in Orlando.”
StubHub General Manager, North America, Perkins Miller said, “StubHub is thrilled to be WWE’s first-ever secondary ticket partner as we prepare for one of the biggest events of the year, WrestleMania, this weekend. WWE is one of the largest global brands for live events, commerce, and programming, and we look forward to providing their fans with the industry’s leading ticketing technology, exceptional customer service and our robust buying-and-selling marketplace throughout North America.”
StubHub’s GM Perkins Miller worked for WWE between 2012 and 2014 and was the company’s Executive Vice President of Digital Media.
In a new blog post, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross explained why he is still going to WrestleMania week in Orlando, just a week after his beloved wife Jan passed away from a road accident.
“For those who may be wondering why I’ve decided to go to Orlando and participate in WrestleMania week it is simply because I truly think that is what Jan would have wanted. I will be able to be around friends and fans in a positive environment of which I feel that I need,” Ross said.
He added that the alternative was to stay home and continue to be reminded of what he lost. Ross thinks that being around his old friends and many wrestling fans will be a blessing that he needs to experience.
“Jan loved WrestleMania week I think as much as Christmas because she shopped, she loved Louis Vuitton, would get dressed up and could be entertained for hours simply conversing with the many people and friends that we connected with during our 21 year run together in WWE. That’s not including all our WCW friends we knew in Atlanta who will also be in Orlando for a variety of reasons,” JR wrote.
Ross also said that his wife was an organ donor and so far her organs have saved four lives. He urged readers to sign up to be organ donors as well.
For the past several years, a ladder match has been a staple at WrestleMania. Be it a Money In The Bank ladder match or a ladder match for the Intercontinental title, these matches often provided the “holy shit” moment of the night, and sometimes, more than one moment.
This year the Intercontinental title will be defended in a one-on-one match, however, the ladder match will return at this year’s WrestleMania as Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson will be defending the titles against Enzo Amore and Big Cass and Sheamus and Cesaro with the Raw Tag Team titles suspended high up in the air.
Last night on Raw, Sheamus ended up with 15 stitches above his eye following a brawl between the teams.
WWE Superstar Paige issued a long statement on the recent leaks that exposed her naked photos and videos on the Internet.
Paige, who is getting married tomorrow to former WWE champion and current TNA star Alberto El Patron, accepted all responsibility over what happened and it was her mistake for letting someone take advantage of her years ago.
The full statement is as follows:
“I made a big mistake. Huge. I put trust in the hands of someone that took advantage of a young girl years ago. It was my mistake and I’ll always take responsibility. But the one thing that was the hardest was thinking “my husband is gonna leave me,” “my family will disown me,” but I’m blessed beyond words to have a family and a husband that stuck by me because they know who I am.
They know I’m not a bad person and they held my hands through hell. Because as my husband says, “you may feel like the devil is throwing you into a storm, but just remember, you are the storm.”
And he’s right. But we are human. Unfortunately people don’t see it that way when they are behind a keyboard. They don’t think that we have feelings or that we don’t suffer.
Not only was I a victim of viral humiliation, but a victim of cyber bullying. I had days were I wanted to physically harm myself. Not only for what millions was telling me but because my family and my husband were suffering the same fate from the internet because of my mistake.
It made me and Alberto wonder how people who aren’t as mentally strong as us can handle this? How many people have to suffer because of the internet and the cowards behind the keyboard?
Or how many men and women have fell into the same trap as me and made those mistakes?
That’s why we are taking this massive negative and making some kind of positive. We wanna bring those people to justice and also take down the ones who are trolls, with the lack of a better term.
Bring awareness. Bring help to those who don’t have the tools or the mental strength to do this themselves. To show men and women alike to always think about their future before they do something that may cause a butterfly effect later on in life.
Now I know through all of this is…no one will make me feel bad about my mistakes, I already know what they are and I already feel bad. But Alberto and I together can also make a change. My mistake could help people’s future. Think. Before you act.
Anyways. Onwards and upwards. Only happiness. No longer talking about anything. Just looking into the future and being happy. I mean come on, I’m getting married? How can I not be happy!!!!”
Welcome to the RAW Report for this week! I am @TheMagnumDA, and we are one week away from WrestleMania XXXIII. I wish I was going, but hey…there’s always next year, right? I wish everyone a safe trip and a great time! Have a drink on me, mates!
We open tonight’s RAW (live from Philly) with…The Undertaker?! A strange and cryptic video interrupts the opening intro. After the opening promos, we are introduced to BAYLEY, the WWE Raw Women’s Champion. It’s announced that the Fatal 4 Way Raw Women’s championship match is an elimination match. Bayley talks about watching WrestleMania with her friends, and now she’ll have the chance to participate in WrestleMania. She considers it a dream come true. Charlotte comes out and tells Bayley she’s being played by Sasha Banks like a pawn. She’s mentioned this before, so it’s not breaking news. Charlotte says that after WrestleMania, she will be a five-time women’s champion. Charlotte then pulls from an old tweet, which is essentially a BOTCH of the classic line from “The Godfather”.
For reference’s sake, the tweet was…”the path to success rule #1: Keep you friends by your side and #2: Keep you enemies closer.” Of course, The Godfather’s writing is more effective, because the actual line is “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
Nevertheless, Charlotte warns Bayley about being stabbed in the bank by Sasha. This brings Sasha out, who says that Charlotte mentions this every week. This is true. Sasha also says that she and Bayley are big girls, and they understand that friendship is friendship and business is business. Banks made sure to get her digs in, though…mentioning that she will defeat Bayley and become the Women’s Champion. That got a look from Bayley. Nia Jax comes out and makes her presence known. Charlotte tells Jax that the reason she’s in the match is because Sasha didn’t have to pretend to be Bayley’s friend anymore. Sasha drills Charlotte and THE FIGHT IS ON!
Match #1 – Charlotte & Nia Jax vs. WWE Women’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks
Charlotte and Sasha lock up to start. Fierce lock-up too, to the point that it takes them out of the ring! Sasha runs Charlotte’s back into the apron, but Charlotte catches her with a kick as they go back inside. Sasha catches Charlotte with a pretzel lock, but Charlotte uses her…assets…to counter. Sasha goes outside and Charlotte chases after her. Charlotte gets hit with a wicked elbow, and Sasha rolls back in. Nia is tagged, and she attempts to slam Sasha. Sasha is able to roll off Nia’s shoulders and tag Bayley in. They hit a double drop kick a la The Rockers, and Bayley continues to nail Nia with offense, but Nia fights her off. Charlotte comes back in and throws Bayley in the corner post. Bayley counters and takes turns throwing Charlotte into the posts!
This leads to Bayley missing a cross body attempt and Charlotte getting a nearfall. Charlotte puts Bayley in a sleeperhold. Crowd cheers Bayley back to her feet! Charlotte brings her back down. Charlotte tosses Bayley into the corner and chops her coming out. Bayley’s able to kick Charlotte out of the ring during a Figure 8 attempt, leading to the HOT TAG! Sasha Banks is a HOUSE OF FIRE! Sasha hits a set of clotheslines on Charlotte, a toss into the post, and a cross body for ONE, TWO, NO! Nia gets the sly tag on Charlotte while Sasha tried to roll her up. Sasha fights back against Nia, and climbs the corner for a 10-punch. Nia’s having none of it, tossing Sasha to the outside as we go to break.
After the break, (please no sleeperholds! please no sleeperholds!) Charlotte hits a HUGE Flair knee, followed by the Nature Boy strut. Maybe they should call her “The Nature Girl”…although that’s more of Nattie’s thing, isn’t it? I’ll tell you this…her walk looks more like Jeff Jarrett’s strut than Ric’s. Back to the match! Charlotte gets a nearfall, and tags Nia back into the match. Sasha hits some elbows on Nia, but Nia ragdolls her across the ring. She hits a set of falling elbows, and then puts Sasha in the Million Dollar Dream! Sasha fights out, and desparately tries to get to Bayley. Nia simply picks her up and runs her to the opposite corner. Charlotte tags back in, and catches Sasha with a set of backbreakers, and a submission attempt. Sasha fights out of this somehow to catch a flying headscissors on Charlotte.
She tries to get to Bayley again, but Charlotte grabs Sasha’s arm to prevent her from making the tag. Sasha reverses this and throws Charlotte right into her partner! Nia flies off the apron! Sasha crawls to her corner to make the second HOT TAG to Bayley, and now SHE’S a HOUSE OF FIYAHH! She drills Charlotte with a double chop and a Hart Attack! She nails Charlotte with the apron neckbreaker, and hits her Signature moves in the corner. She goes to the well once too often, as Charlotte blasts her in the mouth with a vicious knee. Bayley misses a Flair charge and catches her with a back suplex for ONE, TWO, NO! Bayley goes up to the top rope, but Charlotte pushes Bayley’s legs off the ropes. During this exchange, one of Bayley’s legs gets entangled into the ropes. This allows Charlotte to capitalize with a SICKENING knee to the prone leg. With Bayley down, Charlotte puts Bayley in the Figure 8. Sasha is able to break the hold, but she gets caught trying to hit a cross body on Nia to the outside. Sasha counters this by throwing Nia into the post. Back inside, Bayley catches Charlotte with the BELLY-TO-BAYLEY for the ONE, TWO, THREE!
Winners: Bayley & Sasha Banks (***1/4, it was a very good tag match)
After the match, Nia Jax destroys Bayley and Sasha Banks single-handedly! Then Nia ANNIHILATES Charlotte and grabs the Championship! I have a feeling we’re going to have a new champion Sunday. This is followed by a Triple H/Seth Rollins recap video.
We get a recap of this year’s WWE Hall of Fame Inductees: Kurt Angle, Diamond Dallas Page, Teddy Long, the Rock n’ Roll Express, Beth Phoenix, and Ravishing Rick Rude. My only request is this…when Rude is inducted, can we please get a sample of his WCW music “Simply Ravishing” at some point? Please?! If you haven’t heard it, go out of your way to find it. Better yet, look up “Mario Paint Simply Ravishing” on YouTube. Someone actually took the time to write this out in sheet music, and play it using 16-bit sound effects. Awesome. You won’t be disappointed.
After the Hall of Fame recap, we get another recap! This time we’re looking back at Mick Foley’s termination from last Monday. That was not a nice day. Afterwards, Sami Zayn is interviewed with the Andre Trophy in the background. Sami says that he is entering the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania, and he’s dedicating the match to his hero, Mick Foley. Stephanie interrupts and tells Sami that he has a match tonight with Kevin Owens, with no disqualifications. If Sami wins, he keeps his spot in the Battle Royal. If he loses? He’s on the unemployment line with Foley. No pressure, Sami.
Match #2 – Austin Aries vs. Noam Dar
Neville is on commentary. He looks good on a suit! The Cruiserweight Championship match with Neville and Austin Aries will take place on the WrestleMania Kickoff Show. Wow, it’s a four-hour show and they can’t fit these guys on there? Well, it’d have been great to open WrestleMania with this match. Huge “Austin Aries” chant to start. Aries runs a full sprint and SMASHES Noam in the face with a dropkick. Dar didn’t even get out of the starting blocks! After the break, we see that Noam Dar has taken advantage. Dar catches Aries with an elbow in the corner for a nearfall. They keep cutting back to Neville, making it hard to call the match. Dar tosses Aries into the corner and drills him with a running uppercut for ONE, TWO, NO! Dar continues to stomp down Aries as they cut back to Neville again. DAMN IT, I’M TRYING TO WRITE HERE! Aries botches a tilt-a-whirl and Noam falls face-first into the mat. Ouch. Aries nails him with a running clothesline, a front shoulder breaker, and a twisting signature elbow. Aries keeps up the pace with a HEAT SEEKING MISSILE to the outside. Austin hits the neckbreaker off the ropes, and sets up for the Five-Arm. Alicia Foooxxxxx (yes, I type it like I say it these days) interrupts and says “I DON’T LIKE YOUR FACE.” It’s not a bad face. Aries is unfazed and DRILLS Noam Dar with the Discus Five-Arm and his new submission move, the Last Chancery. You know…because it’s a Front Chancery and the guy taps. Which is exactly what Dar does here!
Winner: Austin Aries (*1/2 sloppy, at points)
We get one more Rollins/HHH recap from Raw last week. The Contract Signing is next!
It’s time for the CONTRACT SIGNING between Seth Rollins and Triple H. Seth comes down ringside, and I tell you…he doesn’t look good at all. So this is either brave, or this is some great acting. Seth points out that there’s two chairs, so he challenges Triple H to come out and join him. Of course, Triple H obliges. Helmsley is looking especially trim these days…must be getting himself into ring shape for something, no? Triple H tells Seth that if he is attacked prior to the signing, the match will be off. Triple H insists that Rollins take a seat, and when he refuses…Hunter simply walks away. Seth takes a seat, and Triple H tells him “Good boy.” Wow.
Instead of reading the contract, Hunter tells him that when Seth’s career is ended, his rights are waived. Seth is aware of the risks, and tells Hunter to sign it and pass it over. Hunter tells him that he gets one shot at this life, so why would Seth want to risk all of that for this match? Hunter warns him…”If you sign this contract, you’ll be walking into WrestleMania…but you won’t be walking out.” Seth tells the fans that he was a proud man, at one point. Once he was aligned with HHH, he gave up everything he once had, and this includes his health. Rollins tells the world that he gets a shot at redemption, and signs the contract. Within seconds, Hunter attacks Seth by kicking the table into his injured leg. Hunter starts to grab the crutch, but Rollins catches Hunter with a kick! He tries to hit Hunter with the Pedigree, but this is blocked. Hunter returns serve with an attempt of his own, but Seth throws him over the top and out. Hunter runs back in, and Seth decks him with a crutch. HHH retreats, leaving Seth in the ring. Good segment!
Recap of Lesnar vs. Goldberg at Survivor Series. Goldberg won in a minute and change. Makes you really want to put down money to see this, no?
Match #3 – Over The Top Rope Challenge – Big Show vs. Jinder Mahal
Show tries to throw out Mahal instantly, but Mahal fights Show back. For about five seconds. Mahal is eliminated, and this brings out Bo Dallas. He also gets a shot to eliminate Big Show, but that lasts even less time than Jinder. Next are the Colons! Oops, I mean Shining Stars. They team up on Show, but they both get dumped at the same time. This brings out Curtis Axel, Goldust, and R-Truth to gang up on Big Show. The Shining Stars come back into the ring to help the concerted effort. Show is dumped over the top rope, but he gets back in to clean house. Just as the Big Show’s theme plays, here comes BRAUN STROWMAN. He says that he does what he wants, and that means he will wait until WrestleMania to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Winner: You tell me. (This gets no stars, by the way.)
Anderson & Gallows are backstage. They talk about how foolish Enzo & Cass were for losing last week’s tag match. Then they mock their catchphrases. Again, I need to know what they have to say that’s going to make me buy WrestleMania. It’s simple, guys…SELL THE SHOW TO ME.
Roman Reigns is backstage with Charley. Roman tells Charley that he doesn’t believe in the superstition or the hype. Roman says that he has a message for The Undertaker later tonight. Then we get a clip of The New Day at the New York Stock Exchange. Then the boys race up the steps, but because Big E had his Booty-O’s…Kofi and Xavier were no match for him!
Mike Rowe is with Sheamus & Cesaro, who are immediately ambushed by Gallows & Anderson. The champs take a ladder and destroy both challengers with it. I wonder if that’s going to be a Triple Threat Ladder Match!
Match #4 – WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville vs. Gentleman Jack Gallagher (non-title)
They lock up and Neville shoves Jack into the ropes. Neville with a headlock takedown on Gallagher, but Jack uses the handstand to escape. Gallagher is thrown into the corner, but he catches Neville with a double kick and a nearfall. Gallagher continues with uppercuts, but Neville tackles him down. Gallagher with a sweet rollover into a monkey flip. Gallagher charges at Neville, but Adrian brilliantly throws him into the ropes and catches him with a HARD Snap German Suplex for the ONE, TWO, NO! After the break, Neville DRILLS Gallagher with a kick to the guts. He hits two more kicks, but Gallagher catches Neville with the running headbutt that smacks Neville in the face and out of the ring. Jack heads to the top with WILLIAM III, his trusty umbrella. Gallagher drills Neville with a flying press. Back inside, Neville is PISSED. He nails Jack with some kicks, and then sends him upstairs for the Windham Superplex. This transitions into the Rings of Saturn, and Gallagher taps immediately.
Winner: Neville by Submission (**1/2)
We have a SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN by Austin Aries! He has The New Day with him this evening. Kofi, Big E, and Xavier are all convinced that the man who can swivel his hips the best will be champion after this match. This leads to Aries doing their dance. Oh, boy. The New Day start an “A-Double!” chant as Aries signs off. Corey Graves considers this moment as Austin’s “Jump The Shark” moment. Uh oh. Them’s fighting words in the TV industry.
Al Roker (from the American morning show “Today!”) will be the Guest Announcer in the mixed tag match at WrestleMania XXXIII (Cena/Nikki vs. Miz/Maryse).
Roman Reigns comes out for a promo! He mentions the 2015 Royal Rumble, and headlining the last two WrestleManias. Roman considers this his gravest challenge, but he is telling the world that he will put The Undertaker down. Roman says that today is his day, and this is his arena. When he calls it “His Yard”, the bell tolls! IT’S THE UNDERTAKER! Taker shows a burial plot, with him standing over the grave of Roman Reigns. Apparently, Roman’s birth date will not be on his grave. Undertaker warns Roman that he will…and the lights go out. When they come back on, THE UNDERTAKER IS IN THE RING!! He tells Roman, to his face, that he will REST…IN…PEACE. Undertaker takes the lights down (take a lifetime, will ya?!) and we go to commercials. Not gonna lie…Undertaker’s film segments are starting to look more like Ed Wood than Hollywood.
Match #5 – Enzo & Big Cass vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
Before the match starts, Cesaro and Sheamus flatten Anderson and Gallows with the very ladder used against them backstage! It’s a complete war inside, with Cass dropping both Sheamus and Cesaro with a boot and the ladder. The champs come back in and destroy Cass with the ladder. Then they get Cesaro with the ladder to the injured ribs. Enzo goes to the top rope, but the Gaijin Brothers are ready to smack him in the face with the ladder. I’m ready to double down on that bet for the Ladder Match.
Winner: No Match
WWE and Women’s History Month celebrates Maya Angelou. She was a brilliant writer and poet.
Charley is with Kevin Owens, who faces Sami Zayn in a No DQ Match momentarily (with Sami’s job on the line). Charley mentions the past friendships with both men, and KO tells her that his friendship with Jericho was not real. Kevin looks forward to the chance at being the man responsible for Sami Zayn leaving Monday Night Raw. KO also looks forward to WrestleMania, where Chris Jericho will meet his ultimate demise.
They play a recap video to hype the Rollins vs. Triple H match at WrestleMania XXXIII. You know, Triple H shouldn’t have threatened to cancel the match against Seth. Can you imagine how much money would’ve been flushed down the drain using Metallica’s music in that video?
They recap all the big matches for WrestleMania XXXIII, which I will do right now:
WWE Universal Title Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg (c)
WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt (c)
Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match for the RAW Women’s Title
Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley (c)
WWE United States Title Match
Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho (c)
WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Baron Corbin vs. Dean Ambrose (c)
Triple Threat for the RAW Tag Team Titles
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (c)
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Mickie James vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss (c) (other participants possible)
Non-Sanctioned Match
Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Mojo Rawley, Apollo Crews, Big Show, Curt Hawkins, Goldust, R-Truth, Primo, Epico, Curtis Axel, Jinder Mahal, Bo Dallas, Braun Strowman and others TBA
Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker
John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse
Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
Kickoff Pre-show: WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
Austin Aries vs. Neville (c)
Match #6 – Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (No Disqualification, Sami Zayn is fired from Raw if he loses)
Owens beats Zayn into the corner, but Sami fights out. Sami hits a lariat and catches KO with punches in the corner. KO rolls out of the ring, and as Sami chases him, Owens throws a shirt in his face. Owens throws Zayn into the barricade, but Zayn catches his footing on the top of it. Owens pushes him out to the crowd, and they fight out into the crowd. They basically throw each other into every wall they walked along. Zayn hits a RUNNING CANNONBALL FROM THE STAGE onto KO! Awesome! After the break (please no Sleeperholds! please no Sleeperholds!) Sami is ripping the stairs out of the corner. Owens hits a gnarly DDT onto the ring steps! After this, Owens absolutely CRUSHES Zayn with a Senton off the steps. Back inside, Owens gets a near fall. Owens lays Zayn out with some lariats in the corner. Out of nowhere, Sami hits KO with an EXPLODER SUPLEX into the corner! They both roll outside, and Sami goes for the Tornado DDT through the corners! I swear, that should be called the HELUVA DDT. They go back in, but Owens hits a Superkick for the ONE, TWO, NO! Owens goes up and hits the Frog Splash for the ONE, TWO, NO! Wow. Awesome. Owens tries the Pop Up Powerbomb, but Sami turns it into a Blue Thunder Bomb for the ONE, TWO, NO! We have a SAMOA JOE sighting. As he goes for a chair, Y2J HAS ARRIVED! Jericho destroys Samoa Joe with the chair. Owens tags Jericho, but this allows Sami Zayn to roll up KO! ONE, TWO, THREE!
Winner: Sami Zayn (***1/2)
After the match, Jericho fights off Owens and grabs the mic. He asks, “You know what happens when you betray Chris Jericho? YOU JUST MADE THE LIST!” What a fantastic build for this bout. Can’t wait for this whole thing to blow off at WrestleMania.
MAIN EVENT SEGMENT
Huge ECW chant for Paul Heyman as he introduces Brock Lesnar. Heyman declares Lesnar as “…the extremist who will derail Goldberg’s ultimate thrill ride!” There are dueling “Goldberg” and “Suplex City” chants! Heyman shills the match HARD, going so far as to saying Goldberg is “The Man!” However, Lesnar is THE BEAST! Goldberg will check into Suplex City, but he will not check out. Heyman is HILARIOUS here, going into Yiddish! Paul E. concludes by saying Goldberg will not “Survive the F-5!” Goldberg’s music hits, and the champ is here! Goldberg declares, “Since we can’t bring all of Philly to WrestleMania…let’s bring WrestleMania to Philly!” Then he SPEARS Lesnar halfway to hell! Awesome.
Final Thoughts: Well, it looks like we have a pretty stacked card for WrestleMania. The question becomes…can they deliver on these matches? I haven’t been impressed with the Reigns/Undertaker build (or Lesnar/Goldberg for that matter), but we’ll see what happens Sunday. I’m still pumped, though, because it’s Wrestle F’n Mania! Have a great week everybody, and we’ll see you next Monday for the wildest RAW of the year!
Aerial footage from a drone filmed by Orlando’s News 6 WKMG shows the construction of the biggest stage in WrestleMania history…and those who are afraid of heights will have a big problem come Sunday night!
Perhaps the most impressive thing on the stage seems to be the apparent replica of a roller coaster being built at the very top of the stadium, with the ramp starting from underneath it at the top tier of the north side of the stadium, making it a very high, and very long entrance way.
The ring is being covered by a canopy with four large steel structures in the corner that will surely block the view of those who are sitting right across it. A round large screen will sit underneath the canopy that will serve video to the whole stadium.
A massive WrestleMania steel logo is also visible, though not put in place yet.
One thing is for sure, WWE spared no expenses in constructing the stage for this year’s WrestleMania. The empty north side of the stadium was key to allow such a big stage. You can see the drone footage below.
During his hosting duties on NBC’s TODAY show this morning, John Cena invited co-anchor Al Roker to be a guest ring announcer at WrestleMania.
“I have a special surprise for you,” Cena told Roker, who was at the University of Oklahoma for his 2017 Roker-thon. The 16-time World champ said that he knows that Roker will be at WrestleMania, but he needs someone to stand in the middle of the ring and do the announcing for his match in front of 70,000 fans. Cena then asked Roker if he accepts the gig, and a surprised Roker replied with “Yes! Yes! Yes!” as students from the University presented him with a replica WWE title.
Roker will be taking over the introductions for the mixed tag team match featuring Cena himself and his girlfriend Nikki taking on The Miz and his wife Maryse.
Alberto El Patron announced in an Instagram post that he and Paige are getting married this coming Wednesday.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you try to break us… is not gonna happen… we were harassed by a company we still are… cause you don’t fool me MF’s I know it was you trying to destroy us… destroy my baby… she’s better stronger than all of you pieces of shit,” he wrote, along with a photo of him, Paige, and a statue of Disney’s character Elsa from Frozen in the middle.
“We are getting married Wednesday … Have a nice and go and F… yourself haters,” he concluded. The message included some typos which were corrected in the quotes published here.
When news broke out that Paige and the former WWE champion were dating, WWE put them on different brands to try and split them up. Paige’s parents also voiced their concern about their daughter dating El Patron however this did not stop Paige from continuing her relationship.
Alberto El Patron canceled all his appearances during WrestleMania weekend to be with Paige, who will not be in Orlando with the rest of the WWE family.
WrestleMania will have a live performance by popular American rapper Pitbull, featuring appearances by three other special guests.
Pitbull will be joined on stage at the Camping World Stadium by Lunchmoney Lewis, Stephen Marley, and frequent WWE contributor Flo Rida. Pitbull’s song Greenlight, which features Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis, is the official theme song of WrestleMania 33. Flo Rida’s music has already been used multiple times as theme songs at various WrestleManias and the 37-year-old performed at WrestleMania previously as well.
In a medley performance, Pitbull will perform his newest hit single Options with Stephen Marley, before being joined by Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis to finish the act with his popular single GreenLight.
“WrestleMania is the ultimate stage and WWE is a global brand,” said Pitbull. “It’s an honor to partner with WWE. We are excited to get back into the ring with GreenLight and Options, Dale!”
WWE Superstar Paige made her first public appearance yesterday since her big collection of naked photos and videos leaked online.
Paige accompanied her fiancee Alberto El Patron to Lima, Peru as he was booked in the main event of the Imperio Lucha Libre show, a main event which featured a no disqualification fatal four-way match including Carlito, Mansilla, Ariki Toa, and El Patron.
The show also featured the likes of Matt and Jeff Hardy, Chavo Guerrero, Zack Sabre Jr, and others.
The former Divas champion was acknowledged during the show and shown on the big screen. Paige stood up and waved to the crowd. You can see the photo courtesy of Depor.com below.
WWE and PPTV, its television partner in China, announced today that WrestleMania will be available live in China for the first time on PPTV Sports via pay-per-view at 7:00 AM Beijing time on Monday, April 3 with a choice of Mandarin or English commentary.
PPTV customers can go to WWE.PPTV.com starting at 3:33 PM Beijing time on Thursday, March 30 to subscribe to WrestleMania for a one-time payment of RMB 30 using Alipay, WeChat or Bank Card. Subscribers will be able to stream WrestleMania live on Web iOS, Android devices and digital media players. WrestleMania will also be available for purchase on demand for 30 days after the live broadcast. The RMB 30 price is equivalent of $4.30 US.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with PPTV and distribute WWE’s biggest pay-per-view event, WrestleMania, live in China for the first time,” said Jay Li, Vice President & General Manager, WWE Greater China. “In addition to watching Raw and SmackDown on PPTV every week, fans in China can now watch their favorite WWE Superstars compete live on the grandest stage of all, WrestleMania.”
Yicheng Lou, Vice President of PPTV Sports, added, “I am extremely excited that PPTV Sports is able to launch a sports pay-per-view event for the first time in China. Equally exciting is the fact that we can launch this feature with WrestleMania, one of the world’s most valuable sports and entertainment events. This is a solid step towards developing the largely untapped sports pay-per-view market in China.”
Philadelphia will play host to Raw’s final push for WrestleMania with both Universal champion Goldberg and his challenger Brock Lesnar in the house.
Seth Rollins will be there to answer Triple H’s challenge from last week for an unsanctioned match between the two this coming Sunday. The Rollins vs Triple H match is potentially the last match to be added to the WrestleMania card.
The Undertaker is not listed as appearing but with this being the last stop before the show, it’s highly likely that The Phenom will also be there to continue his program with Roman Reigns.
Raw is also without a General Manager and WWE.COM has been hinting at who can take Mick Foley’s spot. The last Raw before WrestleMania is usually newsworthy although in the past few years, this particular episode disappointed on how it faded to black.
Tickets for SummerSlam, which went on sale to the general public yesterday morning, are all gone and Ticketmaster lists the show as sold out.
SummerSlam is returning to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for the third year in a row after WWE moved the show from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
The most expensive tickets for the show were just over $600 each for ringside on Ticketmaster. Secondary-market tickets are already available on several other ticket websites with prices going over $2,000 for ringside.
WWE will be hosting NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III, SummerSlam, Raw and Smackdown all in the same location. SummerSlam will be held on August 20.
A WWE fan who attended the Raw non-televised live event in Portland, Maine yesterday night passed away during the show.
Twitter user @ChunkTV was sitting next to the person who died, saying that after he walked past him in the stands just like everybody else, he “then fell asleep never to be woken up.” The deceased was taking care of a disabled person during the show.
TMZ adds to the story that EMTs were called in and moved the man conduct CPR for around 20 minutes as two matches went by. The incident happened at the beginning of the second match. He was taken to Maine Medical Center but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
“I wish the best for his family and the disabled gentleman he was caring for as well. I can’t believe this is real,” @ChunkTV wrote.
