Barbie Blank, better known to WWE fans as Kelly Kelly, was backstage at Raw in Vegas last night and told WWE.COM that we might see her back…soon!
The former Divas champion, now a Las Vegas resident, said that she hasn’t been backstage at a WWE event in four years and it was great and super exciting to meet and see the people who she worked with years ago.
“I would love to do one more run or something, maybe, in the future you never know,” she told WWE.COM after she was asked if she plans on coming back. When pressed if there’s a chance we’ll see her in Orlando for WrestleMania, Kelly Kelly said that “there’s definitely a chance” and she will be at Axxess doing autograph signings and is looking forward to that…and maybe something more!
At one point, the 30-year-old was the youngest wrestler on the WWE roster. She worked for WWE between 2006 and 2012 and won the Divas title once. Her last appearance at WrestleMania was at WrestleMania 28 in 2012, teaming up with Maria Menounos to take on Beth Phoenix and Eve.
After several months, Emmalina made her debut on Monday Night Raw. “Good God in Heaven, she has arrived,” screamed Corey Graves. “Finally,” Saxton replied.
But her arrival didn’t last very long. More like a minute and a half as the 27-year-old Aussie informed the fans that she’s going back to being just…Emma.
“You’ve waited for 17 weeks to see the makeover from Emma to Emmalina…and now it’s time for the makeover from Emmalina…to Emma,” she said. And with that, Emmalina in her gold dress turned around and exited the stage to a chorus of boos.
The Emmalina vignettes started on the October 3 edition of Monday Night Raw and she was then announced to be debuting on the December 12 episode of Raw. She was taken off the show for unknown reasons and since then, vignettes kept airing weekly saying she would be premiering soon.
Emma has been off WWE television since May when she was injured during a non-televised live event and required surgery.
Welcome to tonight’s Raw Report! I am @TheMagnumDA. We are LIVE from one of my favorite cities in America, Las Vegas. Free drinks at the Golden Nugget as long as you bet on horses all night. You basically can turn $20 of gambling into $150 of free alcohol. I’m a cheapskate old schooler, what can I say. ON WITH THE SHOW.
Stephanie McMahon joins us for tonight’s opening promo. She talks about giving Mick Foley the night off, making her in charge. She teases the crowd with Reigns vs. Strowman tonight, and then takes it away from them. I hate that spot. Roman Reigns comes out to a decent reaction, and says he’d like for that match to happen. Steph says that she doesn’t care what anyone thinks or wants. She says that Strowman has Mark Henry tonight. Reigns considers coming to ringside for this match, but Steph bars him from doing so.
Somehow, this brings out Anderson and Gallows, who challenge Reigns to a 2-on-1 match. Boy, they’re just churning out these handicap matches with zero psychology, aren’t they? First, we get Ziggler, and now this. Stephanie does the WORST Teddy Long impression I’ve ever seen (stay white, honey), and we have a match.
Match #1 – Handicap Match
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Roman Reigns
Reigns, a true babyface, jumps Gallows and Anderson right after the match is made. The 2-on-1 advantage sets in, and Anderson throws Reigns into the steps. The match only goes 3 minutes, and ends when Reigns gets his Superman Punch on Anderson blocked by Luke Gallows. This leads to a double team without a tag, where the ref calls for the DQ. Anderson and Gallows hit the Magic Killer, because why not?
Winner: Roman Reigns by DQ (no stars)
FESTIVAL OF FRIENDSHIP…TONIGHT!
The New Day are here! Kofi ribs Bo and calls him a “Social Outcast” (hardy har har), and Xavier tells us that they have the blueprint for their ice cream machine. They will share it after the match. Well, alrighty then.
Match #2
Kofi Kingston vs. Bo Dallas
Kofi nails a dropkick as the fans chant “We want ice cream!” This is seriously getting over? I kinda liked it better when CM Punk did it 5 years ago. Bo Dallas runs outside and STEALS THE BLUEPRINTS, RIPPING THEM APART. The boys are in tears outside, and inside the ring Bo hits a great slingshot neckbreaker for ONE, TWO, NO! Corey starts talking about taking a shot of “Wheat Grass”. That’s literally the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Kofi reverses for the SOS, and it’s ONE, TWO, THREE! After the match, they dump breakfast cereal in his mouth. Nothing much.
Winner: Kofi Kingston (*)
Charly is backstage with Neville. They’re joined by Jack Gallagher, who tries to quote Shakespeare. Neville immediately cuts him off, to which Gallagher retorts…”You think people don’t like you because of the way you look…maybe it’s just because you’re a bloody pillock.” Ha! Take THAT, Adrian.
Another video recap of the “Festival of Friendship”…feels like all of this is coming to an end soon. I’m incredibly sad knowing this.
Match #3
Noam Dar vs. Jack Gallagher
I feel like Jack had an incredible cult following, at first…I’m not sure where things got lost, but he doesn’t get the response he used to receive. They lock up and head to the corner. Gallagher breaks cleanly (naturally), and then ties him up in an armbar. The commentators take turns saying “Alicia Fooooxxx”. Dar kicks Gallagher RIGHT in the shin, taking him down.
Dar gets Jack in the corner and hits the shoulder blocks. Noam works on the left leg, putting Jack in the spinning toe hold. How has Alicia had a job with WWE for 10 straight years? It’s incredible. Dar with another armbar, but Gallagher with a nice reversal. He monkey flips Dar, and dropkicks him. Irish whip is reversed by Dar, but Jack hits an ULTRA FIERCE headbutt, followed by the dropkick in the corner to finish!
Winner: Jack Gallagher (*1/2)
Afterwards, Neville stands at the stage and poses with the championship. The cameras go outside, and there’s a Limo. Which nWo faction could it be? Out comes Samoa Joe and HHH! Another Emma promo. She premieres next! She promises to steal all of our hearts…and maybe an iPod case too. HEYO! 😀
Emmalina has ARRIVED! Within 45 seconds, the whole gimmick is killed. She says “You’ve waited for 17 weeks to see the makeover from Emma to Emmalina…and now it’s time for the makeover from Emmalina…to Emma.” Uh?! Just what the hell is going on? I don’t even think Glacier got 17 weeks to build up his debut, but at least he had a debut match. I don’t even know what to call this…Se7en of ’17?
Backstage, Bayley says that she’s going to achieve her dream and become Women’s Champion tonight on Raw. Then we get Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, who get ready for the Festival of Friendship. Triple H shows up and summons ONLY Kevin. Oooo…sowing the seeds of dissent. After the break, we see Triple H doing that face that he makes whenever he’s talking down on somebody. Methinks the target is Y2J.
Match #4
Braun Strowman vs. Mark Henry
Wow. Zero reaction for Mizark. I almost feel bad for the guy. They stand toe to toe and talk trash, and then they decide to lock up. They break even, and try it again. Personally, I hope they just lock up for 42 straight minutes. They talk trash some more, and then Braun starts landing rights as the crowd chants “boring”. Henry comes back with some rights and shoulder blocks in the corner. Strowman hits a cheap shot with the ref’s back turned, and then he smacks Henry with a lariat. Saxton calls Strowman “Blood Thirsty” (on a show that doesn’t do blood) as Braun clubs Henry to the ground.
Braun locks in the UPPER MIDDLE CARD CHINLOCK, but Henry fights out. Of course, Strowman destroys him with one shot. Braun goes to finish, but Henry fights out once more. Henry hits a running splash, followed by a corner splash as THE CROWD GOES MILD. Henry tries the World’s Strongest Slam, but he falls right on his back. This allows Strowman to hit a VICIOUS dropkick, followed by the Running Powerslam for the pin.
Winner: Braun Strowman (1/2*)
After the match, Strowman blasts Roman out of the ring. Roman finally gets a chance to drill Braun with two Superman Punches, followed by a spear attempt that’s countered into the Powerslam! I tell you what, the fans in Vegas are giving Roman support. Braun finally screams, “YOU CAN’T WIN!” Uh oh, did Roman have another positive drug test?
Enzo and Cass are backstage with Cesaro and Sheamus. They challenge each other for later tonight. Enzo’s one-liners aren’t too hot…”Haymaker Pancakers for those Sausage Nipples!” What is that about?
Samoa Joe is backstage with Michael Cole for a sit-down interview. We get the SECOND reference of “currying” someone’s favor. What, did Vince just try curry for the first time this past weekend or something? I guess it beats steak burritos with ketchup. Joe declares that Seth will not be at WrestleMania this year. Joe is poised, and his eyes are cold and calculating. He carries himself like he’s been doing this for 20 years (which he has), but to have that poise two weeks in with WWE…it’s very unique. Joe throws his mic off at the end. I guarantee Vince thought highly of this interview. Cole sells it well. I dug this promo. This guy just needs to stay healthy, and he’s bound for a HOF career. I think that highly of him.
Match #5
Sami Zayn vs. Rusev
Corey thinks Rusev is still “handsome” even with the broken nose mask. Eh, not really. Rusev uses sumo slaps to get Sami in the corner, and the ref takes 7 minutes to get them out of the corner. Rusev goes for a home run kick, but misses. Zayn gets powered down as we get a shot of Lana. My goodness. Rusev somehow pulls Zayn by the short hairs to pick him up. Rusev then proceeds to take him down again. Is this a rib? Like, this is Owen Hart offense. This is easily fixed by Zayn getting punched in the ear. Sloppy dropkick reversal knocks Rusev out of the ring. Suicide dive from Sami! Rusev makes it to the ring first, and as Sami comes in, Rusev meets him with a LOUD sidekick. Shit, you can basically see the bruise on Rusev’s leg from where he slapped himself. Yeesh!
After the break, Rusev is clubbing Sami with forearms to the back. Rusev gets him in a bearhug, and the ringside camera visual of Rusev in that hideous mask is pretty glorious. Rusev pummels Zayn, and loses his mask while suplexing him. Zayn is placed in the corner, but he fights Rusev off with headbutts. Sami leaps over Rusev, but he walks right into another sidekick. Plus one more, for good measure.
Rusev tries two covers, but he can’t finish Zayn. Rusev starts to chop him in the corner, and then splashes him in the opposite corner. This is turning into a squash, so Sami must be winning. Rusev misses a splash on Zayn and falls outside. Rusev brings him down and lays out Sami with another lariat. This guy is mean. Rusev comes back in and gets caught with a HELUVA KICK for ONE, TWO, THREE! Whoa, WHAT?! I don’t like it. Rusev took 95% after the commercial break. You need more than 5% to build a proper comeback.
Winner: Sami Zayn (**1/2)
After the match, Sami cuts a determined promo that wins the crowd over. He heard his name called out during Samoa Joe’s promo (which happened), and said that “You’re darn right I’m Sami Zayn!” He goes on to say he’s proud of who he is, and that he’s not a sell-out. Sami brings up WrestleMania, and this brings out JOE. I called it, Renegade! Joe vs. Zayn looks like it’s going to happen at WrestleMania. Probably for the United States Championship, too! Joe tells him to show some respect when he says the name “Samoa Joe”. That should be great at WrestleMania.
Teddy Long is announced for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame. God Bless him, he deserves it. Super nice guy.
Match #7
Akira Tozawa vs. Ariya Daivari
Brian Kendrick has joined Aries, Corey, and Michael on commentary. They shake hands to start. Daivari shoulder blocks Tozawa down and Akira gets right up and screams. This guy is scary! Ariya chops him and Akira takes it. Tozawa with a running kick for two. Akira dives in, but Daivari kicks him at the feet, sending Tozawa into the buckle. Daivari takes control with some vicious offense. He gets a few nearfalls, and sends Akira into the ropes.
Daivari catches him with a sleeperhold, and Tozawa fights out. Daivari gets elbowed to the outside, and Akira hits a diving headbutt through the ropes! Back inside, an incredible exchange…Daivari is hit with a kick to the gut. Ariya dives and misses the second high kick, but this allows Tozawa to crawl though and catch Ariya with a SWEET German Suplex. One, two, three! Awesome stuff, but too short.
Winner: Akira Tozawa (**)
After the break, Jericho is on the Titan Tron. He calls the following event, “The WrestleMania of Camaraderie-based Events!”, THE FESTIVAL OF FRIENDSHIP! Jericho comes out in the goofiest, whitest hat I’ve ever seen. He has Vegas Dancers with him! This music sounds like a bad TV show theme. Kevin Owens is here! Holy smokes…he does not look like he’s playing along with this.
Jericho is having the time of his life, however. THAT DANCE. I NEED A GIF OF THAT DANCE. That whole presentation is *****, complete with the Canadian Vegas logo for the FESTIVAL OF FRIENDSHIP! The fans are into it. Jericho tells us about meeting Mr. Ralph Gugenheim, leading to this FRIGGIN WEIRD statue that costs $7,000. Owens calls it a “steal”, and the crowd laughs. Awesome. Then there is a painting of “THE CREATION OF KEVIN”. I can’t even describe the photo. Okay, maybe I can. Someday. Jericho with the line of the night…”It’s art! you don’t need pants!”
Y2J then introduces us to Friendship The Magician, and the fans boo?! Then there’s some D-level magic done, and the fans are still tepid. KO says that his 9 year old son can do these tricks. Jericho then calls out Friendship, and says that when you don’t impress KO, YOU MAKE THE LIST! Crowd goes batshit. Jericho says, “Why don’t you do another trick and disappear!?” KO asks where Jericho got that guy, and Jericho with another winning line…”Craigslist.”
Jericho then tells KO that the real reason he put this together was to finally get his hands on Goldberg. He tells the fans that Goldberg is “…GOING TO GET….(commercial break)….IT!” This guy’s oddly brilliant. I love it. How does this get topped? GILLBERG! KO immediately lays out poor Duane Gill and comes back into the ring. Chris declares, “YOU JUST BEAT HIM!” KO is furious because he thought there’d be an actual beatdown on Goldberg.
Jericho says that it was just a joke, and he thought it was kinda funny. Chris says some very heartfelt words about truly enjoying his time with Kevin, and the fans actually give him sincere applause.
Then, in one of the greatest turns in Raw history, Kevin unveils the one present he gave Chris…”The List of KO”. There’s only one name on the list…oh no. It’s Chris Jericho. Owens immediately lays waste to Jericho, destroying the entire set along the way. You had to know this was coming, but Kevin’s attitude during this entire segment has been played beautifully.
The climax of this segment is Kevin Owens power-bombing Chris Jericho into the ring apron. Y2J gets pulled into the ring, and KO tells him that he hates him…and THROWS HIM THROUGH THE INSANELY, OBSCENELY EXPENSIVE JERITRON 6000. Glass shatters everywhere, and the place COMPLETELY boos Kevin out of the building. Refs are there with towels for Jericho. This is complete genius. If I rated angles, this would be damn close to *****. WrestleMania, here they come. I cannot wait.
After the break, they load Jericho up in the meat wagon. Ironically, he had the towel over his eye. As Shawn Michaels warned him…”An eye for an eye.”
Enzo and Cass make their entrance, and Enzo immediately fumbles the live mic. BUDDABLOMBOOOOM, REALEST DUDES IN THE ROOM, HOW YOU DOIN. They have a cheesy bit where Enzo was holding marshmellows in his hand because Cesaro was “Swiss Miss”. Or something like that. No wonder he couldn’t hold the mic.
Match #8
Enzo Amore vs. Cesaro
On paper, this feels like a mismatch. Cesaro takes advantage, and then carries Enzo around. Enzo gets caught in the ropes, and the crowd laughs. Enzo tries a rollup, but gets immediately picked up for a backbreaker. HARD double stomp to Enzo. Corey’s mood has improved slightly, for those caring. Running uppercut from Cesaro, following by another in the corner…and ANOTHER in the corner. Enzo catches him with a boot and a sloppy DDT from the middle rope. Enzo starts to run the ropes for a dive, but Cesaro runs in and tosses Enzo in the air into a YUGE European Uppercut. One, Two, Three! Wow, that was quick work. Corey found the match therapeutic, in light of what happened in the previous segment.
Winner: Cesaro (*)
Backstage, Charlotte and Sasha talk trash to each other backstage.
Main Event – Raw Women’s championship
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley
These title changes are booked brilliantly. Lose on Raw, win it back at the PPV. Winning formula! Does it continue tonight? Charlotte takes Bayley to the ropes in their opening grapple. Charlotte takes advantage of the arm, bringing Bayley to the canvas. Charlotte stops to pose, and Bayley rolls her up for ONE, TWO, NO! Bayley finally gets the wristlock, and rolls through it multiple times.
Charlotte collects herself on the outside, and take Bayley to the corner. Bayley shoves her back, and HARD. Charlotte rolls out of the ring as we go to commercial. After the break, Charlotte catches Bayley with a knee. Bayley is thrown from pillar to post, and Bayley is HULKING UP. Charlotte gets 10 buckles to the face, but she’s able to fight back after a wicked rollup where Bayley’s head smacks the bottom turnbuckle. Charlotte throws some BLOWS onto Bayley’s face, followed by boots to the throat. The psychology is on Bayley’s neck. Charlotte gets a standing chinlock, but Bayley nails her with a jawbreaker.
Charlotte catches her with a neck vice that looks SICK. Charlotte takes a moment to tell the fans to shut up. A true Flair. Another neckbreaker basically lays Bayley out. ONE, TWO, NO! Bayley kicks out. Charlotte with a classic Flair knee drop. This is followed by a classic Flair chop in the corner. WHOO! Standing Dragon Sleeper by Flair on Bayley, wrenching her neck. Bayley reverses, and Charlotte is dropkicked in the corner. Bayley’s whip is reversed, and Charlotte misses in the corner. She rallies with a mafia kick to Bayley’s face, causing Bayley to go to the outside.
Charlotte is double vicious on the outside, stepping on Bayley while she is down. Charlotte with a sloppy but incredible moonsault from the table to Bayley. She throws Bayley inside and tries a ONE, TWO, NO! She tries again and no! Charlotte is back in control. This has been a pretty rad match. Charlotte and Bayley trade blows, and Bayley takes advantage with forearms. They run the ropes and crash into each other with a cross body attempt.
Bayley takes advantage and hits her signature moves, peaking with the Jannetty rolling elbow from the top rope. ONE, TWO, NO! Bayley hits a SICK hotshot into the ropes. Side suplex by Bayley! Macho Man Elbow! ONE, TWO, TH-NO!!! Crowd is starting to percolate. Charlotte thrown into the ropes, but catches Bayley with a boot. Charlotte goes to the top, but Bayley catches her with forearms and a FRANKENSTEINER OFF THE TOP! ONE, TWO, NO!
The crowd is starting to go crazy. Dana Brooke comes out, but the distraction actually helps Bayley! Bayley puts the Figure 4 on Charlotte! Brooke scratches Bayley’s eyes, leading to the Figure 8 by Charlotte. Sasha Banks NAILS Charlotte with the crutch, and A BELLY TO BAYLEY! ONE! TWO! THREE! SHE DID IT! What a great match.
Winner: Bayley (***3/4, New Champion)
Bayley celebrates with the fans as Raw concludes. This is quite the scene!
Final Thoughts: There were a few stupid things, but there was a lot of momentous stuff going on. The end of Jeri-KO, the beginning of Bayley’s first title reign, and Joe’s first great promo. I think this show’s a solid thumbs up.
Dwayne Johnson announced today in a post on Instagram that Vince Vaughn has been cast in the upcoming Fighting With My Family movie, based on the family of WWE Superstar Paige.
“He’s playing a man who I know all too well and those of you who follow wrestling history know well too. The 80’s wrestling star who squandered his money and opportunities because he didn’t have the capacity to handle his fame. One bad decision after another, but these days he owns his past actions and does everything he can to give back to the wrestling business he loves,” Johnson wrote about Vaughn’s character.
Johnson added that production on the movie starts tomorrow. Seven Bucks Productions, Misher Films, WWE Studios and Film4 are jointly working on this movie which is directed by Stephen Merchant.
Parking tickets for WrestleMania officially went on sale today on Ticketmaster.com.
In total there are 8 parking lots around the Camping World Stadium area – Lot K, Lot L, Lot 1, Lot 7, Lot 8, Lot 9, Lot 10, and Lot 11. Lot 8 is reserved for buses only and Lot 10 is reserved for ADA parking only.
Regular parking will cost $50 per car plus $4.05 in additional fees. Bus parking slots cost $150 plus $6.15 in additional fees.
Linda McMahon, the former WWE Chief Executive Officer, was confirmed by the Senate earlier today to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
McMahon was approved by an 81-19 vote and managed to get bipartisan support for her nomination.
“McMahon, who built a small company from the ground up, understands the many challenges small businesses can face,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. “She certainly come a long way from sharing a desk with her husband and leasing a typewriter.”
While the head of the SBA is not officially one of the 15 Cabinet positions, the position is considered to be Cabinet-level along with the White House Chief of Staff, Trade Representative, Director of National Intelligence, Ambassador to the United Nations, Director of the OMB, Director of the CIA, and Administrator of the EPA, and she will be attending Cabinet meetings.
Linda McMahon is expected to be sworn in later today.
Rosa Mendes today announced her retirement from WWE in a post on her Instagram, coinciding with her daughter’s first birthday.
“As I write these words I have tears in my eyes because of the love I have for my WWE family, and especially for the WWE universe. For the last 10 years, WWE was my life, my world and my family,” Rosa wrote.
She added that from today, she is Milena Roucka, “Jordan’s mother, a soon to be wife and a hard working entrepreneur.” Mendes wrote how once she dreamed of becoming a WWE champion but now her dream is to be the best mother she can be and to make the man she loves happy and proud.
Rosa Mendes started with WWE in 2006, first appearing as part of the Diva Search contest, reaching the final eight. Although she did not win the contest, she was signed to a developmental deal straight afterward and then made her debut on Raw in late November 2008. During her time with the company she also managed Primo and Epico and even danced with Fandango. She went on maternity leave in October 2015 and her journey to motherhood was captured on Total Divas.
As part of Total Divas, she was part of the main cast in seasons 3 and 5 and had a recurring role in season 4. She also had a few appearances in season 2, and in total appeared in 26 Total Divas episodes.
HBO Sports, WWE and the Bill Simmons Media Group announced today that they will produce Andre The Giant, a documentary film examining the life and career of one the WWE Hall of Famer. The announcement was done by Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer, and Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports.
The ambitious and wide-ranging documentary film will explore Andre’s upbringing in France, his celebrated career in WWE and his forays in the entertainment world.
“For more than 20 years, Andre the Giant’s larger than life personality and unique charisma captured the imagination of fans around the world,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “I will always value our friendship, and I am proud to tell the story of the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’.”
Bill Simmons, who joined HBO in the summer of 2015 and founded The Ringer, will serve as an executive producer of the film. “Going back to 2007 and 2008 when I was creating and developing ‘30 for 30’ for ESPN, Andre’s story rode the top of every single sports documentary wish list I ever made,” said Simmons. “We always hear about unicorns these days – Andre was the ultimate unicorn. He’s a true legend. Everyone who ever crossed paths with him has an Andre story – and usually four or five. I’m delighted to join forces with Jason Hehir and WWE so we can capture Andre’s amazing story once and for all.”
Emmy-Award winning director and producer Jason Hehir will serve as the film’s director. HBO Sports and WWE are partnering for the first time ever on this full-length signature presentation, which will combine never-before-seen footage and revealing interviews for a comprehensive and intimate portrait of one of WWE’s most beloved, yet largely unknown figures. Interviews will include WWE Superstars, sports and entertainment executives, athletes, media, family, friends and associates.
Contenders Clothing has partnered with WWE to create a co-branded exclusive collection of WWE-inspired boxer briefs, called ‘WWE Contenders Collection’. Contenders is the first to create unique and exciting licensed boxer briefs in conjunction with WWE.
The WWE Contenders Collection includes adult and youth size boxer briefs that feature WWE Superstars and Legends, including John Cena, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, and WWE Hall of Famers “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Ric Flair, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The collection will be available for pre-order at Magic February 21-23 in Las Vegas.
“We’re honored to be making the first deal of this kind with WWE, one of the largest and most respected sports and entertainment brands in the world. Our brand’s ethos of strength and determination perfectly matches that of the WWE; it was a natural fit and we’re looking forward to sharing this collection with potential retail partners,” said Contenders CEO, Jonathan Snyder.
The colors, taglines and symbols featured in the WWE Contenders Collection are a representation of each WWE Superstars’ unique persona. Pairs come in WWE exclusive packaging imprinted with the WWE Championship title and will contain a limited edition collector’s card, another unique attribute and industry first.
The WWE Hall of Fame class of 2017 got its third inductee, former Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long. FOX Sports was given the “exclusive” to reveal Long before WWE officially announced it.
Long, now 69 years old, started his professional wrestling debut in 1985 as a referee in NWA’s Jim Crockett Promotions before moving to World Championship Wrestling, where he managed Doom, Johnny B. Badd, One Man Gang, The Skyscrapers, 2 Cold Scorpio, and many others.
In 1998 he went to WWE where he started out as a referee and then in 2002 moved to a managerial role for Superstars such as Mark Henry, D’Lo Brown, and Jazz. In 2004, he was promoted to Smackdown General Manager, then ECW General Manager in 2008, before returning to Smackdown’s GM role a year later. He was released from his WWE contract in mid-2014 and last appeared on WWE television in 2016 when he tried to get another General Manager job before the draft.
Teddy Long is mostly known – and made fun of – for making six and eight-man tag team matches on Smackdown, and that happened pretty much every week during his tenure.
The Congress.gov website lists that Linda McMahon’s Senate debate and vote will take place tomorrow, February 14, although no time was listed. She is expected to get the green light and sworn in as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration later in the day.
Linda McMahon underwent a two hour grilling by the Small Business Entrepreneurship Committee on January 24 and her nomination was approved a week later with 18 votes in favor and 1 against.
The only “no” vote came from Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Booker was the one who during the hearing said that Triple H, who was in attendance, was “letting himself slip” and offered to take him to the Senate gym afterward for some “triple help” in getting back in shape.
McMahon was introduced for her hearing by Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, the two men she lost to in the U.S. Senate campaigns in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
Bray Wyatt’s road to the WWE championship took a bit longer than most, but yesterday, the leader of the Wyatt Family reached the top of the mountain for his first singles title in the company he has been a part of since 2009.
First making his debut in WWE’s developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, Wyatt spent a year training before being called up to be part of the second season of NXT in 2010, using the name Husky Harris. He was part of the Nexus, and later a member of The New Nexus under the leadership of CM Punk however, he did not last long as he was written off television after – ironically enough – Randy Orton kicked him in the head.
After a couple of more years in FCW and the change to NXT, he reappeared under the name Bray Wyatt, slowly building the character that fans love to see and hate – and sometime cheer – on television. Wyatt, along with Harper and Rowan, made their Raw debut in July 2013 and the rest, as they say, is history.
After a feud with The Undertaker for WrestleMania 31, Wyatt was left empty handed for WrestleMania 32 and ended up in the segment with The Rock, eventually beaten up by both Rock and Cena in a segment that was largely criticized for “burying” the Wyatt Family.
At this year’s WrestleMania however, things will be a bit different as the 29-year-old will be walking out of the Camping World Stadium as the WWE champion in one of the main events of the show.
Here are the results from last night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view which took place from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Mojo Rawley defeated Curt Hawkins in the Kickoff match; Becky Lynch defeated Mickie James; Kalisto and Apollo Crews defeated Dolph Ziggler in a 2-on-1 handicap match; American Alpha defeated The Ascension, The Usos, Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Vaudvillains, and Breezango in a tag team turmoil match to retain the Smackdown Tag Team titles; Nikki Bella vs Natalya ended in a double count-out; Randy Orton defeated Luke Harper; Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss to become the new Smackdown Women’s champion; Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena, AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, and Baron Corbin in an Elimination Chamber match to become the new WWE champion.
The order of elimination for the tag team turmoil match were Breezango (by Heath Slater and Rhyno), The Vaudevillains (by Heath Slater and Rhyno), Heath Slater and Rhyno (by The Usos), The Usos (by American Alpha), and The Ascension (by American Alpha).
The order of elimination for the Elimination Chamber match were Baron Corbin (by Dean Ambrose), Dean Ambrose (by The Mix), The Miz (by John Cena), John Cena (by Bray Wyatt) and AJ Styles (by Bray Wyatt).
Live tonight from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona WWE presents Elimination Chamber on pay-per-view and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
John Cena vs AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose vs Baron Corbin vs Bray Wyatt vs The Miz in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE title; Alexa Bliss vs Naomi for the Smackdown Women’s title; American Alpha vs Breezango vs The Ascension vs Heath Slater and Rhyno vs The Vaudevillains vs The Usos in a tag team turmoil match for the Smackdown Tag Team titles; Apollo Crews and Kalisto vs Dolph Ziggler in a 2-on-1 handicap match; Luke Harper vs Randy Orton; Nikki Bella vs Natalya; and Mojo Rawley vs Curt Hawkins in the Kickoff match.
The Elimination Chamber is live on the WWE Network and free for first-time subscribers. Subscribing today will also get you Fastlane for free next month. You can subscribe at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson won the Entertainer of the Year award last night at the 48th NAACP Image Awards ceremony held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.
The NAACP Image Awards honor outstanding representations and achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music and literature during the year.
Johnson was nominated along with Viola Davis, Beyonce, Chance the Rapper, and Regina King.
“Thank you @NAACP! Honored for me to celebrate the excellence of everyone tonight. #Grateful,” Johnson tweeted after the show.
WhatCulture Pro Wrestling held a press conference ahead of their True Destiny event this afternoon, revealing further details for this year’s Pro Wrestling World Cup tournament.
Jim Ross, Matt Striker, Achmed Chaer (promoter of the German Wrestling Federation), Zack Sabre Jr, Alberto el Patron and El Hijo del Dos Caras were present, as qualifiers for several countries were revealed.
“Anything we can do in pro wrestling to align to mainstream sports, the better off we are” – Jim Ross on the World Cup format, comparing it to other events such as the Olympics and the football World Cup.
The first qualifiers will take place on March 21 at the Harvey Hadden Sports Village in Nottingham, featuring the English qualifiers. They were completely unveiled on Saturday as: Zack Sabre Jr, Rampage, Zack Gibson, Martin Kirby, Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay, Nick Aldis and Jimmy Havoc.
Two days later at the Motherwell Concert Hall in Motherwell, Scotland, there’ll be the Scottish qualifiers. March 23 will see Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, Lewis Girvan, Joe Hendry, Drew Galloway, BT Gunn, Kenny Williams and Liam Thomson attempt to become one of the two qualifiers for the finals in August.
Also announced was the Mexican qualifiers, which will take place on April 30th in the Coventry Skydome. Announced for that leg was Rey Mysterio Jr, Caristico, El Hijo del Dos Caras, Penta el Zero M (the former Pentagon Jr), Alberto el Patron, Drago, Rey Fenix and El Ligero.
The final announced qualifiers came from the German Wrestling Federation, who’ll be getting their two entrants on July 2nd at a show at Huxley’s Neue Welt in Berlin. The GWF’s eight are: “Bad Bones” John Klinger, Axel Dieter Jr, Crazy Sexy Mike, Cash Money Erkan, Juvenile X, Pascal Spalter, Lucky Kid and Tarkan Aslan. Those first two entrants were particular eyebrow raisers, given that they are more well known for their work in another German promotion, wXw.
“I love a good tournament… Nothing represents pro wrestling than an amalgamation of talent from around the world” – Zack Sabre Jr
Further details saw the confirmation of Toronto’s SMASH wrestling hosting the Canadian leg of the qualifiers, whilst the USA, Japanese and Rest of World qualifiers remained TBC.
All matches from the Pro Wrestling World Cup will air free of charge on the WhatCulture YouTube channel, with the finals taking place over four days at the Newcastle Sport Centre – between August 23 and August 26. The final two days will air live on YouTube – with the format of the finals yet to be confirmed.
While the Smackdown Superstars are enjoying the relatively warm weather in Phoenix, Arizona for tonight’s Elimination Chamber, the Raw brand Superstars are on the opposite side of that, freezing in the state of Alaska for the weekend!
WWE visited Alaska for the first time in a couple of years yesterday, with a live show in Anchorage at the George M Sullivan Sports Arena headlined by Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.
Today, they travel to Fairbanks, where the weather is even more unforgiving for another live event at the Carlson Center. The weather is expected to be just 8 degrees Fahrenheit, or -13 degrees Celsius, by the time the show starts.
The Raw Superstars will then depart Fairbanks for an approximate 3,000 mile journey on a red-eye flight for some better weather as Monday Night Raw will be live from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson might be taking Hollywood by storm but another wrestler-turned-actor is doing pretty good for himself too. Deadline is reporting that former WWE champion Dave Bautista is joining Jodie Foster in Hotel Artemis, a movie directed by Drew Pearce.
The future-set project sees Foster as a nurse who runs an underground hospital for Los Angeles’ most sinister criminals and finds that one of her patients is actually there to assassinate another.
Bautista had his fair share of decent movies lately, and will be seen next in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2. His latest movie is Bushwick along with Brittany Snow and he will also be in the upcoming Blade Runner 2049 and Avengers 3 movies.
“Mr. Bautista is a force to be reckoned with — a powerful presence who’s equal parts strength and soulfulness. I’m a true fan, and it’s a privilege to have him in the world of Hotel Artemis,” said director Drew Pearce.
One of WrestleMania’s main events will be officially set tonight as the winner of the Elimination Chamber match will meet Randy Orton in Orlando, Florida. But who’s the favorite to win?
According to bookies, it’s none other than Bray Wyatt. Wyatt is a distant favorite at 1/14 to win his first WWE championship, with Cena at 6/1 to retain his 16th world title reign. AJ Styles is third favorite at 16/1, Baron Corbin and The Miz are at 20/1, while Dean Ambrose is last at 25/1.
Cena is not the only one in danger of losing the title as Naomi is now at 1/4 to win the Smackdown Women’s title, with Alexa Bliss at 11/4 to retain. The news for American Alpha is better, as they are 1/16 to hold on to the Smackdown Tag Team titles, with The Usos at 8/1, Heath Slater and Rhyno and The Ascension at 25/1, and The Vaudevillains at 50/1 for the upset.
Randy Orton is the clear favorite at 1/16 to defeat Luke Harper who is at 7/1, Nikki Bella is 8/15 for the win over Natalya who is at 11/8, Becky Lynch is favorite at 1/4 to defeat Mickie James who has odds of 11/4, and Apollo Crews and Kalisto are 1/25 to win their 2-on-1 handicap match against Dolph Ziggler who is at 8/1.
Odds are likely to change as the events gets closer to bell time and smart money comes in. Elimination Chamber is live on the WWE Network and free for first-time subscribers.
People who are interested are going to have a lot of options if they are interested in trying out some of the new wrestling themed online games. Online games that have a sports theme of some kind are really common and popular today. The specific sport theme is certainly going to vary a lot. Most people are going to choose the football themed online slot, which is going to be a sport that will have plenty of different slot games attached to it. However, while other online casino slots are going to be more popular, the online games that have a wrestling theme are going to be particularly popular.
There is an Andre the Giant slot, and this is the kind of thing that is going to show a lot of people just how much wrestling is loved. People are not going to make slot games of all professional athletes, and they only will when the sport itself is going to be loved more than most people would expect in most cases. Professional wrestlers are already acting in a way, and that is only going to make the whole thing that much more popular with all people involved.
Some of the wrestling games are going to specifically involve wrestling. People can actually vicariously live through the professional athletes who have managed to make a name for themselves with such a wonderfully physical activity that relies so much on size and skill. A lot of people love wrestling for the fact that it is such a simple activity compared to a good portion of the other sports that people are going to play today. Many sports today have such a complicated set of rules that people might feel that there is something almost intimidating about the fact that people have to learn all of the different complications in order to stay on top of things.
Wrestling is different. There are still plenty of things that people are going to have to do and there are still plenty of little rules to learn and to memorize along the way. However, the game itself is going to have a great deal of visceral reality as a result, and this is going to mean a great deal to a lot of people no matter what they are doing. People are going to have all sorts of different expectations when they go and try to play Euro Palace mobile casino games. Euro Palace Online Casino games are usually going to manage to offer people a great deal of what they want, and that includes many of the games that have popular sport themes. The games that have a wrestling theme fall into that category.
Some of these games are going to be modeled after some famous wrestlers. Some of them are going to help players feel as if they are famous wrestlers. One way or another, these are truly games that are going to help a lot of people feel as if they are on top of the world.
