Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has two of his movies in the top 20 movies of 2016, one sitting in #12 and one in #19.
Disney’s animated adventure Moana, which is still in theaters nationwide, is in 12th place with a total of $199,059,039 in domestic box office revenues. It also has a total of $152,388,904 in international box office revenues, sending it’s worldwide tally to $351,447,943.
Central Intelligence, in which The Rock shared the screen with Kevin Hart, sits in 19th place with a total domestic box office revenue of $127,440,871. The movie had an additional $89,531,672 in international box office for a worldwide revenue of $216,972,543.
2017 seems to be an even bigger year for The Rock with Baywatch and Fate of the Furious scheduled to open in the first four months of the new year.
The final Impact of 2016, titled A Hardy New Year…and a Hardy New Year, drew 224,000 viewers, up from last week’s 209,000 number. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
With no more televised matches set for 2016, WWE.COM listed the top 25 matches of the year and the big winner was NXT as the brand topped the first two places followed by a women’s match.
The Revival vs DIY, the 2-out-of-3 falls match for the NXT Tag Team titles at NXT Takeover: Toronto took the big honor as the best match of the year in WWE. Another NXT match, Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: Dallas, came in second. Coming in third place were Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks for their Raw Women’s title match on the July 25 edition of Raw.
Rounding up the top five were Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens from Battleground and Kota Ibushi vs Cedric Alexander from the August 10 edition of the Cruiserweight Classic.
AJ Styles had six matches in the top 25 list, the most out of anyone. It’s not surprising since AJ Styles probably had the best debut year of any WWE Superstar in a very long time. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Seth Rollins all had four matches in the top 25 list, tying for second place. Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Dean Ambrose were involved in three matches on the list, tying for third place.
WWE fans who subscribe to the Charter Spectrum cable TV service might soon find themselves without WWE programming as the cable company is ready to drop NBCUniversal’s cable channels and NBC-owned local stations beginning January 1 according to Deadline.com.
Charter Spectrum “has been unyielding in its demand for terms superior to those agreed to by the rest of the industry, including larger distributors,” Comcast-owned NBCU said in a statement. “Given this position, we feel the responsibility to inform viewers that Charter Spectrum may drop NBCUniversal’s networks at the end of the year.”
The cable company has around 17 million subscribers and WWE airs all of its programming on NBC-owned channels – USA Network for Raw and Smackdown and E! for Total Divas. The reason why Charter Spectrum is about to drop NBCUniversal channels is because of money.
A website called delivermyshows.com launched by NBCUniversal lists WWE as one of the popular shows the cable giant will drop unless subscribers pile in on the pressure.
Smackdown improved slightly in the ratings compared to last year since moving to USA Network and switching to a live broadcast on Tuesday nights.
In 52 broadcasts, Smackdown only managed to crack the 3 million viewers once for the July 19 draft broadcast. It surpassed the 2.5 million viewer mark 16 times and failed to go over the 2 million viewer mark only twice.
As expected, the draft episode of Smackdown on July 19 was the most-watched Smackdown episode of 2016 with 3,170,000 viewers tuning in. The last Smackdown of 2016, with the return of John Cena and three title matches, was the second most-watched episode of the year with 2,885,000 viewers. The August 29 episode was close with 2,835,000 viewers, while the January 21 and November 15 episodes drew good numbers as well with 2,757,000 and 2,725,000 viewers respectively. The November 15 episode was the 900th episode of the show with appearances from The Undertaker and Edge.
The June 9 and November 8 episodes were the least watched this year, with 1.99 million viewers tuning in for the June episode and 1.92 million viewers for the November 8 show. The November 8 show went head-to-head with the U.S. Presidential election results and has the lowest viewer turnout for a non-holiday Smackdown episode.
Prior to going live on Tuesday nights, Smackdown averaged 2,335,000 viewers every week while from July 19, when it went live and changed to Tuesdays, the show averaged 2,516,000 viewers.
Overall, Smackdown did an average of 2.42 million viewers in 2016, up from the 2.36 million from 2015. Smackdown had 2.64 million average viewers in 2014 and 2.66 million viewers in 2013 on average.
It managed to beat Raw twice in viewership this year, with the draft episode and the December 27 episode pulling more viewers, albeit small, than Raw did in the same week.
You can see the chart of the viewership for 2016 for Smackdown below.
Mike Johnson over at PWInsider.com is reporting that according to a few of his sources, Anthem Sports & Entertainment will officially become the parent company of TNA Impact Wrestling on January 1, 2017. An announcement will be forthcoming.
Anthem, the parent company of The Fight Network in Canada, became the savior of TNA when they pumped in the money for the last round of television tapings including the Bound For Glory pay-per-view and then paid off former TNA President Billy Corgan to vanish from the company and drop his lawsuit against TNA. The settlement with Corgan was announced on November 29, paying him the loans he was owed.
The Canadian company announced that they had provided TNA with a credit facility to fund operations on November 3. Anthem is TNA’s exclusive broadcaster in Canada as well as the exclusive worldwide digital streaming partner for all TNA programming. It already had a stake in Impact Ventures prior to their credit deal. It’s expected that Anthem will own around 85% of TNA, with Aroluxe holding 10% and Dixie Carter holding 5%.
Taking over the day-to-day operations at TNA is Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm, who’s been calling the shots since early November. Dixie Carter will have zero say in any operations but will probably stay onboard as a performer.
John Cena, fresh off his return on Smackdown, appeared on the popular Talking Smack episode after 205 Live ended on the WWE Network with Renee Young and new sidekick JBL.
JBL asked Cena if he considers himself in the same role as The Rock when he left WWE to pursue other things and called him a “part timer.” A very honest Cena said that the things he said about The Rock back then were “the stupidest stuff ever” and admitted that he made those comments while “looking at it through very blinded eyes.”
He said he really wanted The Rock to come back to WWE and thought that if he hit him where it hurts it would get him back. The plan worked and The Rock eventually returned – part time again – but main evented WrestleMania 28 and 29 with John Cena. The Rock even did the job to Cena, losing the WWE title he won at the Royal Rumble from CM Punk a few months earlier.
Cena added that he has apologized to The Rock in person. “I was wrong. He was right. He’s now the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. He has transcended this business and I think anything, anytime a Superstar can give what he’s given to the WWE and then transcend the WWE, then that’s good for all of us.
The rivalry between John Cena and The Rock was very real at one point and the two had some nasty promos on Raw targeting each other during their WrestleMania build-up.
The last episode of Smackdown for the year 2016 drew 2,885,000 viewers, beating Raw only for the second time in the ratings since the draft started.
The show, headlined by three title matches and the return of John Cena, had an increase of 248,000 viewers over last week’s episode. It’s the second most-watched Smackdown since it moved to USA Network, behind the draft episode on July 19. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
2016 was not a stellar year for Monday Night Raw viewership, with the show only surpassing an average of 4 million viewers twice in 52 weeks.
The first hour of Raw managed to crack the 4 million viewer mark only three times in 2016, same as the second hour. The third hour of the show however only did that twice. Breaking the 3.5 million average viewership was also a hard task to accomplish as Raw only managed to do that eight times and the show failed to crack the 3 million average on 17 different occasions.
Since Monday Night Football restarted on ESPN on September 12, Raw cracked the 3 million viewership average three times only. Before MNF started, Raw averaged 3.36 million viewers while in the past 16 weeks, the show did 2.82 million viewers on average, losing half a million viewers a week on average.
Raw pulled in 3.19 million average viewers over the past 52 weeks, down from the 3.59 million viewers average it did in 2015, 4.04 million it did in 2014, 4.10 million in 2013, and 3.99 million in 2012.
The most-watched Raw of 2016 was the January 25 episode, the night after the Royal Rumble. On that night, the show did 4.14 million in the first hour, 4.18 million in the second hour, and 3.97 million in the third hour for an average of 4,098,000 viewers.
Coming in very close to that episode was the post-WrestleMania Raw on April 4 which did 4,090,000 viewers. Hour one did 4.27 million viewers, hour two did 4.17 million, and hour three did 3.81 million. The first hour of this Raw was the most watched of the whole year.
The February 22 episode also did a good number. That episode featured the surprise return of Shane McMahon. Hour one did 4.2 million viewers, 4.0 million in the second hour, and then dropped off big time to 3.39 million in the third hour for an average of 3,884,000 viewers.
The worst number for Raw this year was the September 26 episode, which got 2,487,000 average viewers, the worst number in two decades for the show. That night, hour one started with 2.85 million viewers, then had a massive drop to 2.38 million in the second and further down to 2.2 million in the third hour. The 2.2 million of that third hour was the least-viewed hour of Raw.
Since the draft started in July, Raw lost twice in the ratings to Smackdown. The first one was the draft episode of Smackdown on July 19, with Raw pulling 3.13 million and Smackdown doing 3.17. And the final Smackdown of 2016 pulled in 2.88 million viewers versus Raw’s 2.85 million.
A chart of all the viewership for each Monday Night Raw of 2016 can be seen below.
The last Raw of 2016 drew a total of 2,855,000 average viewers, down 100,000 viewers from last week’s show against a very strong Monday Night Football on ESPN which drew 18.5 million viewers.
Hour one did 2,974,000 viewers, then dropped to 2,878,000 in the second hour, and ended the night with 2,715,000. Raw was 5th, 6th, and 8th in the 18-49 demographic chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
W-O reader Andy attended last night’s non-televised Raw event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri and sent in the following results.
Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The New Day, and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a triple threat match to retain the Raw Tag Team titles; Big Cass with Enzo defeated Rusev after Lana got ejected; Sasha Banks, Bayley and Liv Morgan defeated Charlotte Flair, Dana Brooke, and Nia Jax in a 6-women tag match with Emmalina as the guest referee; Seth Rollins defeated Chris Jericho; The Golden Truth, Sin Cara, Curtis Axel, and Darren Young with Bob Backlund defeated The Shining Stars, Jinder Mahal, Titus O’Neil and Bo Dallas in a 10-man tag match. After the match, Dallas challenged anyone to come out and Big Show accepted and knocked him out with a punch; Braun Strowman defeated Sami Zayn; Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens to retain the United States title.
WWE returns to the Scottrade Center on June 18 for the Money In The Bank pay-per-view which is a Smackdown-brand show.
The second main event for the Royal Rumble was announced last night on Smackdown and the returning John Cena has found himself back in the title picture.
Kicking off the show, Cena said that for the Rumble, he would be challenging the winner of the WWE championship match from later on in the evening, a triple threat match between champion AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin.
AJ Styles came out victorious in that match, closing 2016 as the WWE champion, but now has a date with Cena for a third one-on-one match between the two. Styles has two victories over Cena already, a 24-minute match at Money In The Bank, and a 23-minute match at SummerSlam. Both were non-title matches. At No Mercy in October, Styles also pinned Cena in the triple threat for the WWE title which also included Dean Ambrose to retain the title.
The other match announced so far for the Rumble is Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal title with Chris Jericho stuck in a shark cage above the ring.
Mick Foley admitted that while he needs a hip replacement surgery, just like many other former Superstars, he does not currently have insurance and the operation costs $60,000.
“I have this little tiny problem in that I don’t actually have health insurance,” Foley wrote on Facebook. He said that for 26 years, he had health insurance but for the past four years, things got more complicated and in 2016 he missed a payment and was no longer insured.
He said that he will try his best in 2017 to get insurance but doesn’t know if a new insurance company will shell out the money for surgery that should have been done several years ago. Foley also revealed that he’s on a handshake deal with WWE and is in the job as long as he enjoys it and as long as WWE is happy with him. “No contract involved at all, except for the legends deal, which is strictly about merchandise,” Foley wrote, explaining why the Raw GM has to buy his own health insurance.
He did say though that ever since he took on the job, the pain has increased and once this job is gone and travel will be much less, the “quality of life will probably improve when Stephanie and WWE decide to go in a new direction.” The WWE Hall of Famer added that with or without a hip replacement, he will still lead a good life as there is enough medication out there to help with the pain. “I hope that I am given the opportunity to take advantage of the new technology.
Maybe some enterprising orthopedic specialist can think outside the box and look at me as a potential poster-boy for their services. If The Rock can sell tires, then I have to believe I can sell hip replacements,” Foley wrote.
For the last Smackdown! of 2016, we are Championship-filled as three titles are on the line! The Tag-Team, Women’s and WWE World Heavyweight will be defended in major-matches! Will Smackdown! close 2016 with new champions, or can the current champions (The Wyatt Family, Alexa Bliss, and A.J. Styles, respectively) walk into 2017 with their belts?
As well, John Cena returns! What will “The Face That Runs The Place” have to say after being absent since No Mercy?
These two major points and more, so read on to find out what goes down!
Tuesday Night Smackdown! Live TV Report for December 27th, 2016 – “Championship Finale”
Introduction Segment: Welcoming and Arena Promo
Mauro Ranallo greets us from Chicago, Illinois, and then John Cena’s music plays. The former “Dr. of Thug-A-Nomics” is back and enters the ring to a chorus of boos. He plays it up and seems to be okay with the boisterous crowd not liking him. Cena gives props to the fans for their reactions as being one of the best, and being “the city of champions.” He goes over the main three matches for tonight, in particular the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He lists the three competitors – Dolph Ziggler (surprisingly getting boos), Baron Corbin (louder boos), and Champion A.J. Styles (“yes” chants). Cena admits he has taken a liking to Mr. Styles for turning challenger-after-challenger away, and then wonders why he himself is here.
The crowd chants “Undertaker,” and then John tells us he is “setting the record straight” about whether he is with WWE or not. “I’m not done; I ain’t leaving; and I’m sick of this ‘new era’ b.s! It ain’t the ‘new era;’ it’s the ‘MY TIME IS NOW ERA.’ ‘Never give up’ means that when you get knocked down like I did this year, you don’t stay down. You get up, you fire up, and you KICK-ASS!”
Cena announces that he wants to face whoever wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple-Threat tonight for a Title Match at the Royal Rumble! “I know what you’re thinking – ‘I can’t do that.’ I just did. Why? ‘Cus I’m John Cena. Recognize.” He drops the mike, leaves the ring, and poses at the top of the ramp!
After the announcers go over the Championship Matches themselves, Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Family make their entrance.
Commercials.
Segment #2: Locker Room Promo
Female backstage announcer ? (really can’t remember her name and they didn’t put a graphic up) wants to talk to Intercontinental Champion The Miz, but he will only give Renee Young the time following last week’s events. He calls Young “unprofessional” for slapping him last week.
(Stipulation: When one member of a team is pinned, submits, counted-out, or disqualified, the entire team is eliminated. The last team remaining are the Tag Team Champions.)
Match #1: Four Corners Elimination Tag Team for the Tag Team Championship – The Wyatt Family (Randy Orton and Luke Harper) (with Wyatt Family member and Bray Wyatt) (Champions) VS. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) (Challengers) VS. Heath Slater and Rhyno (Challengers) VS. American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) (Challengers)
Rhyno and Chad begin with Chad waist-locking Rhyno. He tries a hip-toss, but Rhyno blocks into a clothesline. Gable hits back with an elbow and then a Northern-Lights Suplex for a near-fall! Both Usos switch back-and-forth and work over “The Man-Beast” against the ropes in their corner. Rhyno eventually gets the hot-tag and Heath is all over both Usos! He almost eliminates Jimmy, but is superkicked a bit later and pinned.
Eliminated via Pinfall: Heath Slater and Rhyno
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Jey now has Jordan in a grounding facelock, and then wretches at his chin. Both Alpha and Usos double-wrestle for a bit, and Jordan and Chad double-suplex The Usos! Chad goes for a sunset-flip, but Jey reverses and tries to sit on his shoulders and uses the ropes, but Gable turns into a cover for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Eliminated via Pinfall: The Usos
The Usos are not pleased with their loss, but the referee is finally able to order them away. Randy takes over and controls Jason for a while. He almost gets this with a powerslam but Jordan just raises his shoulder! They both make respective tags and Chad is able to shortly dominate Luke until Bray gets the referees attention and Orton clothesline Gable from the apron.
Commercials.
Harper has Chad in a grounding rear-chinlock, and then elbows him into the ropes. Luke follows with a sling-shot into the middle rope, making him tumble to the floor. Gable makes it back in the ring to break the count, but Harper tosses him out, where Randy follows with a backdrop on the barrier. Orton puts Chad in the ring and slingshot-suplexes him a couple of times; he only gets a two-count though!
Luke is back in and plants Gable with a Michinoku Driver, and then rolls him around in a Gator Headlock! The fans are calling for Jordan, and Chad reverses a powerbomb into a hurricanrana! Gable is able to leap to Jason, who cleans house on both Orton ad Harper! He and Luke battle on the outside, where Chad cannonballs himself onto both! Jason also takes out Bray, but is driven into the mat with a springboard-DDT by Randy!
Gable climbs onto the top turnbuckle; Randy meets him there but miscommunication between Luke and Orton allows Chad to take advantage; he and Jordan slam Orton with their Grand Amplitude double-backdrop finisher, and Chad pins Randy to receive the victory!
Winners via Pinfall and NEW Tag-Team Champions: American Alpha
Post-match, Alpha celebrate outside the ring while Harper and Orton argue; Bray gets in between to stop them getting physical.
Up next, the Women’s Championship will be up for grabs!
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Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Rene Young interviews Dolph Ziggler about his WWE World Championship Match. He compares himself to a “wild card,” and declares that “the ‘wild card’ can change the game.”
Segment #4: Backstage Promo
Dasha asks James Ellsworth about people’s opinions of them. He says he understands the comments they make, until Carmella joins and takes him away, claiming she sees him “uniquely attractive.”
Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss is out and now the Women’s Championship Match will be up next!
Commercials.
Match #2: Single for the Women’s Championship – Alexa Bliss (Champion) VS. Becky Lynch (Challenger)
They lockup and Becky brings her down with an armdrag. Bliss leg-scissor-locks Lynch, but Becky reverses into an Indian Death-lock; Alexa crawls to the bottom rope for a break. They trade wristlocks and headlocks, and then Lynch gives Bliss a shoulder-block running from the ropes. She goes for a sunset-flip and they switch back-and-forth on pin combos for twos; Becky slides out of one and kicks Alexa hard! She clamps on an armlock, and tries the Disarmer, but Bliss reverses into a victory-roll for two! Bliss takes over after a sweep-slam and then pounds away!
Alexa stands on the back of Lynch and stomps her face into the canvas. Bliss runs off the ropes but Becky reverses into a couple of armdrags and then dropkicks her. Alexa goes to the floor and Becky tries a baseball-slide, but Bliss moves. She drags Lynch to the outside and hammers away, and then pushes her into the ring post.
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“Little Miss Bliss” is still governing, running her knees into the back of Becky’s head against the middle rope. She stands on Lynch’s hair and pulls at her arms. She misses a double-kneedrop, and Becky uppercuts back a couple of times and then hits a couple of clotheslines. Alexa voids a running-forearm, but gets hit with a springboard middle-kick. The Champion rolls through an Exploder-Suplex, but Becky rolls through and slams her arm against the mat!
The Challenger climbs the turnbuckle but Alexa meets her there. They punch back-and-forth, and Becky kicks off, and then follows with a rocketing front-dropkick! 1 – 2 – Bliss just kicks out! Mysterious music plays and a woman dressed in the La Luchadore outfit like last week runs out; she distracts Lynch, but Alexa can’t get the pin. They trade covers again, and Bliss lands on Becky’s knees with her Twisted Bliss Splash from the top turnbuckle! Becky turns Bliss into her Disarmer, but Alexa is able to place her foot on the bottom rope to break. We see that Bliss’ arm is bent the wrong way now, and as the referee checks on her, La Luchadore runs Lynch into the ring post. Alexa recovers to DDT Becky and take this one!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL Women’s Champion: Alexa Bliss
Post-match, Dasha inquires who the mystery woman is; Bliss speculates that it is either Sasha Banks or Nia Jax.
Segment #5: Locker Room Promo
Renee Young is with Intercontinental Champion The Miz. She unimpressively asks him about 2016 vs. 2017, which he declares “will be the year of The Miz.” Rene now smiles as the camera has panned to Dean Ambrose, dressed as “security.” Miz turns around they brawl until other security pull them apart. Miz escapes while Ambrose fights away the guards.
Commercials.
Segment #6: Locker Room Promo
Nikki Bella is interviewed by Dasha about Natalya’s turn on Nikki. She says that she is actually OK with it, because of all that she has accomplished. Dasha asks again, and Nikki says she will tell Natalya one-on-one.
Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Rene Young wants to find out if Baron Corbin is feeling any “pressure” about his WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match. He denies it, and says that The Champion, A.J. Styles, is the one who should be pressured.
Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler make their entrances prior to the break!
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It is announced that The Miz will defend his Intercontinental Title against Dean Ambrose next week on Smackdown!
Match #3: Triple-Threat for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Baron Corbin (Challenger) VS. Dolph Ziggler (Challenger) VS. A.J. Styles (Champion)
Following formal introductions, they measure each other and all go at it! None get a real advantage before a broadcast rest.
Commercials.
Baron is now on top, running Dolph into the corner of the barricade and ramming A.J. into the ring apron. In the ring, he tries End of Days on Styles, but Ziggler runs back in and dropkicks Corbin! A.J. and Dolph wrestle, stopping each others suplexes. They forearm each other, but turn into a double-clothesline from Baron! He yells at Ziggler and then whips him hard into the turnbuckle, and then tosses shim high into a flapjack! He tries End of Days again, but it is Styles that stops it this time!
Corbin whips both into the turnbuckle and runs, but Dolph elbows him. Baron runs again, but A.J. ducks and sends him to the outside. Baron runs back in, clotheslining Dolph and putting Styles to the canvas but he can’t get the following pin!
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Corbin is still dominating until Ziggler and Styles fight back, now deciding to double-team him! They take him to the floor, but Baron avoids more, slamming them both on the mat (Dolph) and into the corner barrier (A.J.). Corbin now tears apart the announcer’s table, but “The Phenomenal One” fires back with a leaping-forearm from the steps, and “The Show-Off” hits him with a superkick to place Baron on the table! BOTH A.J. and Dolph decide to jump off the barrier with an elbow (Ziggler) and leg (A.J.) drop, landing on Corbin through the table!
Dolph and Styles now wrestle and counter each other in the ring. A.J. goes for his Styles Clash, but Ziggler kicks away! He tosses A.J. to the apron, where The Champ jumps onto the ropes; Dolph stops a forearm with a kick and then superkicks! 1 – 2 – Styles JUST lifts his shoulder!
Baron is now back in, and Dolph slugs away on him. Ziggler runs off of the ropes, but right into a Deep-Six spinning-backdrop! 1 – 2 – A.J. breaks it up! Styles and Corbin punch back-and-forth, and then Baron catches Styles in an End of Days position, and Dolph brings Corbin back with a Zig-Zag! Dolph covers but Corbin JUST raises his shoulder!
Baron places Ziggler on the top turnbuckle, but Dolph punches away. Corbin runs back, crotching Ziggler and then driving him into the canvas with End of Days! As he stands, A.J. leaps in with his Phenomenal Forearm, and then covers Dolph to receive the hard-earned victory!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL WWE Champion: A.J. Styles
Post-match, John Cena’s music plays and he runs out. He takes off his shirt and holds out his hand (to boos, for some reason); A.J. holds the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, lays it down, and shakes Cena’s hand! They then mouth-off at each other to close the show.
End of Smackdown! Live
Until next week/year (hehe!), Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
In an interview with ESPN, former 15-time World champion John Cena confirmed that he would like to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, but at the end of the day it’s up to the audience and what they want.
Cena said that he would have loved to wrestle Andre The Giant because of the respect and folklore that surrounds Andre and he thinks that The Undertaker carries the same aura.
“If you’re asking if I’d want to be in a high-profile match with one of the most legendary superstars in the industry, my answer is yes,” Cena told ESPN.
There are rumors that the two will be wrestling in Orlando come April and it’s one of the last “dream matches” that so far has not happened on the big stage.
In the same interview, Cena also reflects on the year 2015, his outside the ring projects and what the future holds. You can read the interview in full at http://es.pn/2hKIJIZ.
Cody Rhodes was all but impressed with the segment on Raw last night that involved a teddy bear wearing his father’s famous polka dot theme.
The backstage segment with Goldust, R-Truth, Bayley, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows saw Bayley giving Goldust the teddy bear as a present saying, “I wouldn’t be the number one contender for the Raw Women’s championship today if it wasn’t for the guidance and support I got at NXT from your dad, the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.
Bayley continued, “I owe him everything, and I loved him very much.” Goldust said it was the sweetest gift and told her that his father loved her too.
At that point, The Club entered the picture and made fun of Goldust and his teddy bear, then Anderson grabbed the teddy bear and ripped his head off as the crowd oooh’ed in the background.
After the segment, the man formerly known as Stardust went on Twitter to express his disappointment. “Not gonna’ say something mean or blow a whistle. All I can say…is that whoever produced that, I hope they never know what this feels like.”
Hey! @TheMagnumDA here. It’s time for the last Raw Report of 2016, LIVE from Chicago. (cue CM Punk chants)
Stephanie McMahon comes out to open the show. Hey, I was right! CM Punk chants. She delivers a pretty good burn, though… “If you guys keep going for another 2 minutes and 15 seconds, you’ll last longer than he did!”
Chorus of boos. Awesome.
She has given Mick Foley the night off. Seth Rollins interrupts and asks if she gave Triple H his manhood back. Anatomically speaking, I’m not sure how that works. Rollins then says that Triple H used to be one of the baddest dudes out there. Wow, Triple H really does operate like Dusty…he makes sure that his opponents put him over huge as their program evolves. Rollins makes a challenge to Braun Strowman for tonight.
Roman Reigns comes out to massive jeers, which turn into huge boos the moment he speaks. Wow. So apparently, both guys want Strowman tonight…and this turns into a discussion about jumping him backstage. Steph puts her fist out (like The Shield used to do) which gets a humorous glare from Rollins and Reigns.
She teases a Shield reunion…but then books Rollins vs. Strowman and Reigns vs. an opponent of her choice for the US Championship. Finally, she announces a WWE Tag Team Championship rematch that starts right meow!
Match #1: WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Sheamus and Cesaro (c) vs. The New Day
Sheamus and Cesaro dominate Xavier Woods early in the match. Sheamus knocks Kofi off the apron, but Cesaro nails Sheamus when they attempted a knee-drop version of the Demolition Decapitation. The story here is that “they shrugged off that mistake and moved on.” Why would you purposely book tag partners to nail each other and do nothing about it?
Kofi comes in and he’s a HOUSE OF FIRE. He nails Cesaro on the outside and hits the SOS on Sheamus for a one, two, no! Crowd was into that nearfall. Kofi hits the rolling apron kick, and so does Xavier! Xavier hits the flying elbow, but Cesaro breaks up the count. Cesaro tags in and hits the Giant Swing on Xavier.
Big E attempts to interrupt, but Cesaro dumps Kofi onto Big E! Xavier hits the rolling elbow, but Sheamus gets the blind tag and DROPS Xavier with the Brogue Kick to end it. Sheamus and Cesaro retain. **3/4
Not gonna lie, that’s a pretty epic John Cena return video. He returns tomorrow night on Smackdown Live!
Video package for Lesnar/Goldberg entering the Royal Rumble. So it’s a given that neither of these two men will win, right? I only throw that out there because they seem destined for Wrestlemania 33. This is followed by an announcement that Goldberg will return to Raw next Monday.
Braun is scaring every human being backstage until he runs into Jericho and Owens. Kevin tells Braun that he could be the #1 contender if he beats Rollins. Strowman says “Be careful what you wish for.” Then both men imply that Braun is soft. Braun gets pissed. Braun declares that “RUMORS ARE CRAP, AND SO ARE YOU.” Ooooo, boogie boogie.
Golden Truth are backstage when Bayley shows up. Hugs for R-Truth and a DUSTY BEAR for Goldie, complete with headband and polka dots. Crowd cheers huge for that! Dusty chant breaks out! Anderson and Gallows show up, and Anderson rips the head off the bear. What a dick. The crowd was genuinely saddened by this. Why do I feel like Cody Rhodes won’t be happy with this segment?
Match #2: Nia Jax vs. Scarlet
Scarlet was apparently inspired by Sasha Banks. Nia kicks Scarlet right in the gut. Clubs in the corner, followed by a throw across the ring. Nia hits three splashes in the corner, and then she turns a powerslam into the Samoan Drop for 3. Total squash. 1/2*
After the match, Jax tells Scarlet to “choose a better role model.” Then she hits a legit brutal leg-drop (her leg literally hits this poor girl right in the mouth).
Bayley’s on her way out for an interview. After the commercial, Charlotte and Stephanie McMahon are shaking hands and smiling. Jericho and Owens show up and ask Stephanie to reconsider the shark cage. Instead, Kevin Owens gets a US Championship match. Jericho does not seem pleased with any of this.
Bayley comes out for her promo. I don’t understand how she could be so happy, considering what happened to Goldust. She considers herself the new #1 contender. Is she really this awkward, or is she on drugs?
Charlotte interrupts and shows the video from last week’s controversial finish. If you missed it, Charlotte pulled her shoulder up before Bayley got the three-count in a non-title win. Apparently, thanks to Charlotte’s lawyers, last week’s victory was stricken from the record. If those lawyers have any connection to Ric Flair, then I know for a fact those are powerful lawyers. Ask his 14 ex-wives.
Charlotte gives Bayley a chance to redeem herself, but not before appointing Dana Brooke as the special referee for their rematch.
Match #3: Charlotte vs. Bayley (non-title, Special Referee: Dana Brooke)
Dana immediately harasses Bayley and Charlotte lays her out. Charlotte hits chops in the corners, but Bayley reverses with kicks to the gut. Dana gets in Bayley’s face once again, and Bayley says “f*ck it” and hits her finish on Dana.
An actual official comes into the ring, and…counts the two?! I guess Bayley isn’t DQ’ed, which is just lame. Bayley keeps the advantage and hits a cross-body for two. Bayley hits the elbow in the corner, but Charlotte hits a back-breaker out of nowhere, followed by a toss into the corner. Bayley hits the suplex for two, but Dana pulls the ref out and the chase is on.
When they get back in the ring, Charlotte rolls up Bayley and Dana counts three immediately. Bonus points for having the feet on the ropes. I still don’t get why Bayley wouldn’t be DQ’ed after the first suplex. *1/2 More of an angle than a match.
Braun is MULTI-TASKING backstage, destroying people and talking to Stephanie McMahon. Strowman wants both Rollins and Zayn, so Stephanie gives him a Last Man Standing match next week against Zayn…and a pep talk for tonight’s main event.
Recap of Neville’s awesome promo last Monday.
Match #4: Neville vs. TJ Perkins
Neville now does the slow saunter out to the ring. I love it…this guy’s a natural heel. TJ Perkins could actually be a great heel, too…the “Video Game Dork” thing just doesn’t work, so he should consider it. “Let’s go Neville!” chants early in the match.
TJ with a running knee gets an early two-count, and catches Neville with a headscissors and a corkscrew plancha. Perkins with a cross-body gets two. Perkins has taken this entire match so far. TJ misses with a dropkick from the tree of woe, and Neville hits a SWEET Ghetto Blaster in the corner. Neville takes control with elbows and a sleeperhold. TJ fights out, but Neville crushes him with an elbow. Great sequence leads to Perkins hitting the wrecking ball dropkick in the corner.
Back inside, Perkins hits a gutbuster for two. Neville gets out of a slam and just LEVELS Perkins. “Let’s go TJ” and “TJ sucks!” chants. Detonation Kick by TJ gets two! Neville counters the kneebar and GRABS THE TIGHTS for three. I love it. Vile. **1/4 Neville cuts an angry, insecure promo after the match. Then the crowd gives him the “What?” treatment.
Recap of “Sensitivity Training” last week. Enzo and Cass are on their way to the ring. Oh no…Enzo is in a wheelchair. I have visions of Zack Ryder (circa 2012) dancing in my head. When they make their entrance, Enzo does a spin in the chair, which is hilarious. The leopard skin on the chair is a nice touch, too.
Enzo makes a mess and spills Haterade everywhere. Cass cleans up and hits the ring, calling out Rusev. This brings out both Rusev and Jinder Mahal, who has new music. This means he’s about to get a push, you know. Mahal slaps the piss out of Enzo, and Enzo leaps out of his wheelchair to attack Mahal. Mahal gets propped into the wheelchair. This leads to a Rocket Launcher on a prone Mahal outside the ring. Question: Why would Cass toss Enzo if he’s hurt? I don’t get it.
Match #5: Shining Stars vs. Darren Young and Bo Dallas
So wait, is Bo a face now? Darren blasts Epico with a right hand, but Epico hits him with a drop kick…and again we get BRAUN STROWMAN, and he’s in full Snitsky mode. No stars for the match.
He comes out with a Christmas Tree and lays out Primo with the Christmas Tree. I’m already laughing out loud, and the guy hasn’t even got started yet. Strowman drops Bo with a sick haymaker. Then he drills Epico with a clothesline after Epico hits him with a chair. I don’t think he’s done yet. Braun throws Darren Young into Bob Backlund outside the ring. Finally, he throws the steps at everyone and they fall like bowling pins.
Holy crap, the fans chant “Stroowwwwwwmannnnn” like they would for Goldberg. They MIGHT have something there, ya think?
Match #6: Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins
I guess they’re going to have the match now! Braun mows down Seth into the corner, and beals him across the mat. Seth hits some quick strikes, and dumps Braun over the top rope. Strowman immediately comes back in and shoulder tackles Seth, launching him about 5 feet in the air. He drops Seth with a huge forearm, and then stomps him. Seth counters with speed, moving out of Braun’s way and dropping two knees from the top rope. On the third try, Braun catches him and drives him into the corner. Seth catches Braun with a quick kick, and even hits a Block Buster on Braun! Strowman counters the Pedigree attempt and throws him to the outside. While outside, Braun mauls him with a lariat.
Speaking of interruptions…Sami Zayn’s music plays! He attacks Braun from behind and throws him into the post, as the ref calls for the bell and the DQ. I guess Strowman wins by DQ. ** while it was going…good ‘big guy vs. smaller guy’ dynamic.
Sami and Braun play cat and mouse to the backstage area, as Chris Jericho shows up and DROPS Rollins with the Codebreaker. Actually, make that two. Does this make Chris Jericho the “Angelo Pappas” of Monday Night Raw? UTAH…GIMME TWO.
Kevin Owens is backstage celebrating Rollins’ destruction. Jericho joins him backstage and calls Charley “Chuck”, because…well, why the f*ck not?
Match #7: Anderson and Gallows vs. The Golden Truth
Apparently, Truth’s opponents are going to be “Stuck like Chuck.” What does that even mean? I want to say this…if you’re Goldust, and you can’t stay upset over what Anderson did, you’re not selling the emotion of that moment. Instead of seething, Goldust puts Truth on his knee while Truth raps. Get serious, guys.
Goldust attacks Anderson early on, tagging in Truth as they double-team in the corner. Truth with a hiptoss and a legdrop to Anderson. Gallows tags in, but gets leveled by Truth. Anderson catches Truth and Gallows smokes him with a boot. Anderson gets a sleeperhold on Truth, as the crowd gets behind him. Truth breaks out, but immediately gets kicked in the mouth for two.
Gallows tags in and clubs Truth. They trade blows and Truth hits a heel kick, leading to a HOT TAG. Goldie comes in and lays out both guys. Powerslam to Anderson, and he rolls outside but Goldust follows him and throws him into the corner. Inside, Gallows distracts Goldust and Anderson catches him for a rollup and the three count! *1/4
Graves with a great sarcastic Dusty reference at the end, telling the viewers that Anderson and Gallows are going to the “pay winduh.”
The Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann is on his way out to the ring!
Match #8: Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daiviri (non-title)
Ariya attacks early in the corner, but Swann recovers and catches him with an incredible counter. Daiviri misses a frogsplash, and Swann drops him with clotheslines and a double stomp to the back! Awesome! Back leg round kick finishes this in less than 2 minutes. Well, that was worth taping the ropes purple again. Not. *
After the match, Rich Swann calls Neville a “Royal Sourpuss”. The crowd turns in this promo immediately. Neville then ambushes Swann to the delight (apathy?) of the crowd. Neville hits Swann with the Red Arrow. They will square off tomorrow night on 205 Live.
Ariya is backstage being interviewed, when JACK GALLAGHER shows up to a massive pop. Gallagher is called a scoundrel TWICE, so Jack challenges him to a duel. Then, for good measure, Jack bitchslaps him with a black glove. The crowd erupts in laughter. Apparently, this duel will take place tomorrow night on 205 Live.
Recap of Goldberg’s return to WWE. This run has already smoked everything he did in 2003-2004.
Main Event: WWE US Championship Match
Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns (c)
Byron claims that with Jericho in the shark cage, Owens will become an “endangered species” at the Rumble. I don’t even know how to respond to that. I liked it better when Byron never made analogies. They’re just plain dumb.
Owens backs out of a wristlock. That’s pretty remarkable…how did he even pull that off? It just feels like KO is trolling everyone at all times. It reminds me of Owen Hart. KO with a headlock, but Reigns throws him into the ropes. Roman hits a shoulder tackle, and Owens retreats again. He is a classic staller…reminds me of Rick Rude. Not by body frame, just by stalling.
Roman and KO trade blows and Owens kicks him in the chest. Reigns returns serve with a clothesline. Jericho’s entrance music hits! They fake out the commercial break as Owens gets two near-falls. After the break, Owens stomps on Reigns’ fingers. Reigns serves up some clotheslines, and then gets kicked while trying the clotheslines in the corner. Cannonball by Owens gets two.
KO puts Reigns in a sleeperhold as the “CM Punk” chants start. Ooo…they die just as quickly as they arrive. Well, Mr. Brooks has his money so I’m sure he’s happy. Actually, I don’t think he’s ever happy. Reigns breaks out of the sleeper with…you guessed it, more right hands. Owens throws Reigns to the outside, and throws him into the guard rail. Reigns comes back with a drive-by and a throw into the guard wall. Roman gets the clotheslines in the corner and a Samoan Drop for two.
Owens hits a neckbreaker on the ropes and a Back Stabber for two. Reigns hits a power bomb, but that only gets two as well! Pretty good back and forth. Owens counters the Superman Punch with a rollup for another two! Finally, Roman hits the punch hits for one, two, no! Reigns goes for the Spear, but Jericho distracts and KO hits a Codebreaker on Reigns for two! Rollins comes out and hits the Pedigree on Jericho. KO walks right into a spear for the one, two, three! Reigns retains the US Championship. **3/4
Rollins and Reigns shake hands as KO is laid out in the ring. Rollins does the DX crotch chop and hits the Pedigree on Kevin Owens. Reigns nails Jericho with the Spear on the outside. The former Shield members celebrate to close the show.
There will be three title matches on Smackdown tonight, the last Smackdown for the year 2016.
The WWE championship will be on the line as AJ Styles will defend against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin in a triple threat match.
The Smackdown Women’s title is also up for grabs with champion Alexa Bliss defending against number one contender Becky Lynch.
The Wyatt Family, with Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt as the Smackdown Tag Team champions, will take on Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Usos, and American Alpha in a four corners elimination match.
Plus tonight, John Cena will make his first WWE televised appearance since the No Mercy pay-per-view back in October. Cena returned to the ring last night at a non-televised live event at Madison Square Garden and took on AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match.
With Raw in Chicago, it was inevitable that the fans inside the Allstate Arena would chant for CM Punk. And that didn’t take long to happen as in the opening segment as soon as Stephanie McMahon welcomed everyone to Monday Night Raw, the fans started the usual CM Punk chant.
This time, however, Stephanie was ready to respond and acknowledge the crowd.
Looking at her watch, McMahon hilariously fired back. “So if you guys could keep that up for two minutes and 15 seconds, you’d last one second longer than Punk did.” And cue to collective “Ooooooooooh” burn from the crowd.
Knowing that the crowd would chant for Punk, Stephanie did her homework before coming out and had the response ready just in case the crowd started the chant…and they did not disappoint. McMahon was obviously referring to the UFC fight that CM Punk had against Mickey Gall, where he tapped out after 2 minutes 14 seconds in his Octagon debut.
Raw and Smackdown will have their own change in rosters as Superstars move from red to blue and vice versa in upcoming storylines and drafts, but Triple H hinted at another brand that might get in the mix – NXT.
Speaking to ESPN.COM, the man behind NXT said that you can’t really consider NXT as a developmental because they did 200 shows this year and they have one of the most popular shows on the Network.
“I think over the years you’re gonna begin to see Raw is its own brand, SmackDown is its own brand, NXT — you’re gonna see people move around. It’s no longer gonna be just, this guy got called up, it’s gonna be maybe ‘this guy got moved over, she got moved here,’ and see that transference of talent,” he said.
Triple H brought up an example with Shinsuke Nakamura, who he says fans are waiting for him to be called up. He said that he might go to what we now call the main roster, but after that he might even go back to NXT.
“At the end of the day, it’s all content; it’s all product that our fans wanna see. The difference in those products is big, but there’s something there for everybody. I think that’s what’s exciting about it,” he continued.
