VICE Sports has a fantastic article on WWE and its business, titled “Breaking Kayfabe: An Inside Look At WWE’S Unlikely Business Empire.”
The article details everything about WWE, from creative writing, the infighting and difference of opinions, to NXT, WrestleMania’s inflated attendance numbers, and everything in between, with quotes from former high-level employees and creative writers who endured the difficult task to work under Vince McMahon.
It notes how Stephanie McMahon was never really involved in creative writing and she was just in a management role, acting as a “buffer” between Vince McMahon and his creative writers. Vince never really wanted Stephanie to be involved in creative, said one former writer, which is why the Chief Brand Officer post was created for her as he prefers to have her as a strong woman the face of the company.
Another interesting tidbit was a surprise meeting that Vince called in 2012 at the WWE production office, where Shane McMahon and a friend who had a content creation company, attempted to take over WWE creative completely much to the surprise of Stephanie and Triple H. “When Stephanie found out Shane was going to be there, she went white in the face. And Paul freaked out,” the story goes, quoting an unnamed source.
The article also highlights the power struggle and tension that existed between Shane and his sister Stephanie, tension that “hasn’t gone away.” It also shows the ruthlessness when it comes to treating employees – new and old – and how you’re just a cog in a big wheel and nothing else.
The December 8 episode of Impact on POP drew 303,000 viewers, down 35,000 viewers from last week. Next week it’s the Total Nonstop Deletion which should spike up the numbers and possibly TNA getting the best rating since moving to POP. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
W-O reader Frank Smith sent in word that WWE is now selling WWE Network pre-paid cards in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well.
The pre-paid cards are available at GAME stores in the UK and include a 3-month subscription for the price of £29.97. In Ireland, they are available at GameStop for €38.97. With the pre-paid cards, you can sign up without inputting any credit card details on the website and you can apply the card by clicking on the Redeem link at the top of WWENetwork.com.
In the United States, the pre-paid cards are available at Best Buy, Walmart, 7 Eleven, and GameStop.
This week on Total Divas several Divas came out fighting. When so many women work together in one place, there is bound to be drama; but no one does drama quite like the Divas. With this bunch of girls, even friendly concern from one Diva to another can become cause for a massive war of words. WWE superstar Paige, showed us all to well how a friend’s concern can be easily misinterpreted as blatant gossiping.
It is no secret that Paige has always been determined to succeed in the wrestling business. She immigrated to the United States from England at the age of 18, and walked straight to the WWE Performance Center demanding to be considered for a contract. So, when Paige began missing live events, WWE interviewer Renée Young became concerned.
However, Renée wasn’t the only one, when WWE Superstar Natalia threw a going away party for fellow diva Trinity, she became concerned when Paige arrived at the party with WWE superstar Alberto Del Rio. Natalia described Del Rio as, “the bad boy of the WWE.”
Several days after the party, Paige continued to miss live events, and even missed a connecting flight from Dallas to Tulsa. It was later discovered that instead of attending live events in Tulsa, Paige took a flight to San Antonio where Alberto Del Rio has his home. In addition, Paige refused to answer any of her friends’ concerned phone calls or text messages. She was also late for Monday Night Raw, which is a very big mistake if you work for WWE. Since Renée Young and Paige are such close friends, Renée decided to talk to Paige privately to discover what was going on. Paige took offense when Renée explained that she several of the other Divas were becoming concerned about her erratic behavior.
This turned out to be a large mistake on Renée Young’s part. Renée’s mention of the other Divas infuriated Paige. She began to suspect that the other Divas were not concerned about her, but merely wanted to know about her situation with Alberto.
I understand why Paige would suspect the other Divas of merely gossiping, but should learn to count on her true friend, Renée Young. Another hint for Paige, it’s never a good idea to show up late for work particularly if the only excuse you have is wanting to spend time with your boyfriend. The same goes for missing work, and also the next time you decide to disappear let someone know where you are. Renée Young gets major points on the friend scale in my book, not only was she constantly concerned about her friend, but was the only friend who confronted Paige directly rather than just talking about her. Further, when Paige became enraged, shouting that, “the girls don’t need to know my business, and they don’t deserve to know my business,” Renée chose to calmly walk away from the situation. Once Paige was sorry about her behavior, Renée was sincere and honest about her concern, but accepted Paige’s apology.
Meanwhile, Nikki Bella and her sister Brie were having a little spat of their own. After a tumultuous first season of Total Bellas, where Nikki and Brie and their significant others lived in the same house, tensions were running high between Nikki and her brother-in-law, WWE superstar, Daniel Bryan.
Trying to mend fences between her husband and sister, Brie invited her sister to the couple’s new home in Aberdeen, Washington for the weekend. In an effort to try to make peace with her brother-in-law, Nikki chose to stop at a local nursery and purchase a tree for Daniel to plant in his brand-new garden. In my opinion, this was a good move on Nikki’s part. Bringing a peace offering showed she was truly sorry for her interference in Daniel and Brie’s business.
Early in the visit, Brie pulled Nikki aside and asked her not to mention wrestling around Daniel because it might make him sad. Since Daniel Bryan’s depression can get very bad, and has been a struggle for him of late, I understand Brie’s impulse to protect her husband. However, I feel that she was placing very little faith in Daniel’s ability to cope with his own feelings. She was also not considering how big a part wrestling has played in Daniel’s life since his entrance into the professional sports arena.
When Daniel asked Nikki about how her attempts to return to the ring were progressing, she said that she wasn’t allowed to talk about it. Then she mentioned that the ban on wrestling discussion had been Brie’s idea, and angrily left the restaurant where the trio had been dining. Daniel was as angry as Nikki at Brie for banning the talk of his favorite sport. He pointed out that her concern for him had caused her to overlook how much wrestling, and the discussion of it still meant to him. Daniel then spoke to Nicole regarding the incident and assured her that he wanted to hear about her come back and wished her well in all her future in-ring endeavors. So, it looks as though for now, all is well between the Bellas and their relations.
Yet another Diva was causing a stir in this episode. Eva Marie was still disappointed about her lack of television air time since her return from NXT. She consulted her new friend, Maryse, for advice. Maryse suggested that Eva Marie approach producers at WWE, and ask for more airtime. So Eva Marie flew herself out to the next WWE taping location in order to speak with producers. She approached them with the new entrance for her character, but while producers admired her tenacity, they told her that taking matters into her own hands was frowned upon.
However, her proposed entrance was taken back to producers and approved. So it looks as though the WWE universe will be seeing more of Eva Marie on this season of Total Divas.
Ever since Wrestlemania 32, Charlotte and Sasha Banks have been battling each other. Charlotte became the inaugural winner of the new Women’s Championship, which established her as the top female competitor in the company and Sasha wasn’t happy until she took this spot. The feud was fun and we got a great moment when Sasha won the title on RAW in July. This would be short lived though, as injury rumors saw her lose the title to Charlotte at SummerSlam in August. When that injury turned out to be minor, Banks regained the championship on RAW in October. People assumed the feud would end here but we were all surprised when Charlotte took the title back in the first ever Women’s Hell in a Cell.
Charlotte was now a three-time champion, with the title only existing for six months. Most accepted this though as rumors circulated of a program with Bayley, which would work better than a face vs face feud with Sasha. In another suspire, Sasha captured the title in a Falls Count Anywhere match on Raw on the 28th November, this time in Charlotte’s home town.
Both Charlotte and Sasha are incredible wrestlers but the feud has started to outstay it’s welcome. The last two meetings between the women have been declared the last times they would battle for the title and yet here we are coming into Roadblock: End of the Line. A Hell in a Cell, the first to ever feature women and the first time women have headlined a WWE PPV would have been the perfect end, but here we are months later. An Iron Man match will be definitive but is less spectacular, especially after Sasha and Bayley’s in 2015. It’s hard to predict the match’s winner after all we’ve seen, even with odds from Betway, so who will be Raw Women’s Chameleon by the end of the year and if we’ve seen the last of Sasha vs Charlotte could be anyone’s guess.
THE CHAMP IS GONE?
John Cena has been the face of the WWE for over a decade now, despite ups and downs. 2016 though has been a great year for him as hardcore fans have been finally warming up to him. There have been many reasons for this, with Roman Reigns being one of them. Cena’s rise to the top was quick but nothing compared to Reigns, who most feel was handed his opportunities. Compared to Roman, Cena was more appreciated and so by comparison, looked better. Of course, this year has also seen Cena finally lose major matches. LOLCENAWINS was becoming more of a sad joke but we have seen him be defeated cleanly to fan favorite A.J. Styles on multiple occasions, something most thought impossible.
What has done wonders for Cena this year though is his limited appearances. Cena was often pushed to the extremes and always given the spotlight, which made most bored of him. Between injuries and taking time off for other projects, Cena has missed large portions of 2016 and this has let people appreciate him more when he became a rare attraction rather than the norm, but this may had serious repercussions. Cena was due back soon from working on his new TV show American Grit, however, things have changed and he may be staying on to film more. This means Cena may not be back until WrestleMania at the earliest, which is disappointing for both fans and the company, especially if it hurts his rumored match with The Undertaker.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler will be traveling to the United Kingdom in March to do a spoken word tour with four stops in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Lawler, who is no longer appearing on WWE television, will kick off the tour on March 16 at the Leicester Square Theater in London. On March 17 he will travel to Manchester with a show at The Dancehouse Theater. Scotland is next on March 18 with an event at The Classic Grand in Glasgow and then it’s off to Northern Ireland with a show at The Empire Music Hall in Belfast.
Tickets go on sale on Monday, December 12. The tour is promoted by Eros Comedy & Tours.
Last night’s Total Divas fourth episode of season six, titled Gone Girl, drew a total of 563,000 viewers, down 32,000 viewers from last week’s episode. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions today announced that the movie The Wall, featuring WWE Superstar John Cena, will be released in theaters in March 2017. Joining Cena in the leading role is Aaron Taylor Johnson.
The movie is a deadly psychological thriller that follows two soldiers pinned down by an Iraqi sniper, with nothing but a crumbling wall between them. Their fight becomes as much a battle of will and wits as it is of lethally accurate marksmanship.
It is directed by Doug Liman, the man behind Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Edge of Tomorrow and the screenplay is written by first-time screenwriter Dwain Worrell from his Black List script.
PWInsider.com is reporting that former WWE Women’s and Divas champion Mickie James has put pen-to-paper and signed a new WWE deal that was offered to her following her match against Asuka at NXT Takeover: Toronto.
This will be James’ second stint with the company, having previously been employed by WWE between 2003 and 2010. During that time, she won the WWE Women’s title five times and the Divas title once. PWInsider adds that James will start in January 2017 and will be part of the Smackdown roster. Smackdown has a weaker roster of women with popular Superstars such as Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Charlotte all on the red brand.
James made a one-time appearance at NXT Takeover last month to challenge Asuka for the NXT Women’s title however was unsuccessful in her quest. The decision to go with James rather than someone already in NXT was due to the fact that none of the women were deemed ready for that level yet, especially in a match against someone like Asuka.
The trailer for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s upcoming action comedy movie Baywatch was released online today.
The movie features also Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, Priyanka Chopra, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. It will be released nationwide by Paramount Pictures on May 26, 2017.
The plot revolves around lifeguard Mitch Buchannon – played by Dwayne Johnson – and a brash new recruit, Zac Efron, who uncover a criminal plot that threatens the future of the bay. You can see the trailer below.
The main event at the NXT live event in Melbourne, Australia had a bit of a hiccup as the cage that was suspended above the ring initially failed to come down.
The cage match featured Shinsuke Nakamura taking on Samoa Joe and the match was taped for next week’s NXT television show on the WWE Network. It took around five minutes for the cage to eventually make it down to the ringside area with the usual WWE “cage lowering” music on loop as technicians figured out why the steel structure got stuck.
From photos posted online, the cage was not coming down straight and it was tipping over a bit to the side. The fans in attendance chanted “botchamania” and then roared when the structure finally started its descent.
You can see photos and the video of the cage lowering below.
To determine the new number one contender for the NXT title, four matches will be held with the winner of each match then entering in a fatal 4-way match. The winner of that match will then face the new NXT champion Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: San Antonio on the eve of the Royal Rumble.
The matches that will start next week on NXT include Eric Young vs Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong vs Elias Samson, No Way Jose vs Andrade “Cien” Almas, and Bobby Roode vs Oney Lorcan. Samoa Joe is completely out of the title picture now after spending most of the year carrying it.
Joe lost the title to Nakamura during last week’s non-televised live event in Osaka, Japan, a match which was featured on NXT last night.
All members of the McMahon family congratulated Linda on her nomination to run the Small Business Administration, a Cabinet-level position in the Trump administration.
The Trump transition team announced the nomination today via a press release.
“Congrats @Linda_McMahon on your nomination. I’m very proud and know you’ll do an excellent job,” wrote her husband Vince McMahon, CEO and Chairman of WWE.
Her two children, Stephanie and Shane, also congratulated their mother on the important nomination.
“Congratulations Mom, I am so proud of you! President-Elect @realDonaldTrump made an excellent choice for the head of @SBAgov,” wrote Stephanie, while Shane wrote, “So proud of my Mom @Linda_McMahon for her appointment to lead the SBA. #GoMom.”
Son-in-law Triple H added, “Congrats to @Linda_McMahon on being chosen to lead the #SBA! I know she’ll provide the same insight and dedication that helped build @WWE.”
Major news organizations covered the story, giving WWE some extra free publicity and McMahon’s name was trending on Twitter after the nomination was announced.
The Internet community also saw the funny side of the nomination, with a lot of memes and animated gifs from McMahon’s run in the WWE posted on social media.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Linda McMahon to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), a Cabinet-level position although not technically part of the Cabinet.
The Small Business Administration is a government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is “to maintain and strengthen the nation’s economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters”.
“My America First agenda is going to bring back our jobs and roll back the burdensome regulations that are hurting our middle class workers and small businesses. To help push our agenda forward, I am pleased to nominate Linda McMahon as the head of the Small Business Administration,” said Trump. “Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognized as one of the country’s top female executives advising businesses around the globe. She helped grow WWE from a modest 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees in offices worldwide. Linda is going to be a phenomenal leader and champion for small businesses and unleash America’s entrepreneurial spirit all across the country.”
There were rumors that McMahon would get the Secretary of Commerce Cabinet position however that position went to someone else.
McMahon was one of Trump’s largest donors, and the friendship between the McMahon and the Trump family dates back to the late 80s. Many expected that McMahon would get a position under the Trump administration.
“Our small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,” said Ms. McMahon. “I am honored to join the incredibly impressive economic team that President-elect Trump has assembled to ensure that we promote our country’s small businesses and help them grow and thrive.”
The press release from Trump’s transition team listed all of McMahon’s successes, from being the Chief Executive Officer of WWE to her latest venture, Women’s Leadership LIVE, LLC.
The post-TLC Smackdown drew 2,479,000 viewers, down 97,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did a 0.78 rating in the 18-49 demographic, good enough to be the second highest rated on cable television last night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
E! will air episode four of season six of Total Divas tonight starting at 8PM EST with an episode titled Gone Girl.
The synopsis for this week’s episode reads, “Renee must intervene after Paige behaves erratically and misses work, and Nikki asks Bryan to help with her comeback against Brie’s wishes.”
Saturday Night Live released the cool commercial for John Cena, who will be hosting the program this weekend for the first time ever.
The commercial starts with Cena running through an SNL banner backstage at the NBC studios with a title belt on his shoulder. He does the usual entrance salute, runs through the hallway and out of “Gorilla position,” slides on the stage and then holds the SNL title up to the camera. He then turns around to face the empty seats as a WWE-version of the SNL logo pops up on the screen.
Cena will be joined by musical guest Maren Morris on this particular episode of SNL. Previous WWE Superstars who hosted SNL include Hulk Hogan and The Rock.
Next week, The New Day will break Demolition’s record of 478 total days as Tag Team champions. The trio of Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods are currently at 472 days and won the titles from the Prime Time Players back in June 2015 at Money In The Bank.
To talk about the record, veteran wrestling journalist Bill Apter interviewed the legendary team of Demolition to get their thoughts while at the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance event last weekend.
“It is a new day,” Ax told Apter, although he admitted that he doesn’t know much about the current champions. “I understand they are very confident young men and well accepted by the fans,” Ax continued, before Smash interjected saying that they are “pretty good guys too.” Ax jokingly said that back in the day, they didn’t like good guys but they will change their ways a little bit for The New Day.
When Apter asked what would happen if Demolition decides to go after The New Day, Ax replied, “Well they better pack a lunch because it’s gonna take a long, long, long time…almost as many days to beat us than it did to beat our record!”
The WWE World Heavyweight title match between AJ Styles and James Ellsworth did not take place last night on Smackdown as AJ Styles is suffering from an ankle injury.
Styles received medical attention after the TLC pay-per-view went off the air and was then helped to the back. He was taken off the card from Monday’s non-televised live event in Tyler, Texas and then appeared on Smackdown yesterday with a boot over his left leg. He told the crowd that he wasn’t medically cleared to compete, which brought Ellsworth out, and later Ambrose who flattened him with the Dirty Deeds.
It’s unclear when he exactly injured his ankle during the match or how long he will be out for. The good thing for Styles is that there’s no other Smackdown pay-per-view till the Royal Rumble, so he has around six weeks to heal up.
A montage of Tables, Ladders, and Chairs with the WWE World Championship TLC match is recapped. The winner, WWE World Champion A.J. Styles, hobbles out in a boot on his left leg. He gets to the point, showing a picture of him trying to suplex Dean Ambrose from TLC, but it is a bait-and-switch. Instead of focusing on his leg, he objectified the hole in his spandex that was revealing a portion of his buttocks.
A.J. does say that he is “not medically cleared” to wrestle James Ellsworth the WWE World Championship tonight. James joins him in the ring, and accuses Styles of faking it. “The Phenomenal One” pokes fun at Ellsworth until Dean Ambrose marches out and delivers a Dirty Deeds DDT to James! He marches right back as A.J. looks on and laughs.
Later tonight, new Women’s champion Alexa Bliss will celebrate, and up next, the Tag Team championships will be up for grabs as Heath Slater and Rhyno challenge The Wyatt Family in a rematch!
Commercials.
Match #1: Tag Team for the Tag-Team Championship – The Wyatt Family (Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt) (with Wyatt Family member Luke Harper) (Champions) VS. Heath Slater and Rhyno (Challengers)
Heath and Orton begin with a lockup and waistlock by Randy, but it is reversed into a standing side-headlock. Heath hits Orton down, but “The Viper” hits back with a clothesline and tags in Bray! He runs at Slater in the corner but is hit with two boots. Heath switches with Rhyno who cleans house on Bray, but can’t land a Gore as Bray rolls out of the ring!
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Wyatt is now in control, hitting Rhyno with a clothesline and then landing on him with a Senton-splash! Randy tags in and stomps away on Rhyno. “The Man Beast” counters with a clothesline and gets the hot-tag! Slater overtakes Orton and almost takes this after a neckbreaker! He hits Bray off of the apron but turns around into a powerslam. 1 – 2 – Rhyno breaks up the pin!
Bray is back in but Heath punches him hard. Wyatt hits back with more force and sets up for Sister Abigail, but stares at Orton with a smile. He extends his hand and Orton accepts, and then R.K.O.’s Slater after Bray sent him into it. Randy covers and receives the victory!
Winners via Pinfall and STILL Tag-Team Champions: The Wyatt Family
Segment #2: Backstage Promo
Kalisto is interviewed about why he chose to go against Baron Corbin in a Chairs Match at TLC He quips about speed, and they will wrestle again later tonight. (Why!?)
Up next, Carmella takes on Natalya.
Commercials.
Match #2: Single – Carmella VS. Natalya
Prior to the bout, Carmella cuts a promo ripping on Natalya for her alleged actions against Nikki at Survivor Series and her alleged reasons.
Natalya charges the ring and sweeps up Carmella, pounding away. They trade a few punches, and then Carmella escapes to the outside and runs to the back. Natalya follows, but finds Nikki Bella back there. She tries to convince Nikki that Carmella is a “liar,” but Bella just glares and walks away.
Winner: No Contest due to no official start
Along with Alexa’s Championship Gala, Intercontinental Champion The Miz will have Dean Ambrose on MizTV tonight!
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Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Baron Corbin verbally puts down Kalisto, comparing him to a mosquito. “They’re fast, they buzz around, until they land on me – splat!”
Match #3: Tag-Team – The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) VS. The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder)
Zack and Viktor start-out, with Viktor hitting Mojo off of the apron. Ryder begins aggressive, but Konnor and Viktor kind of double-team to take over. Konnor goes for a suplex, but Zack reverses into a neckbreaker and then hops for the hot-tag! Mojo splashes Viktor a couple of times and then full-nelson-slams him! 1 – 2 – Konnor breaks it up!
Konnor is taken out of the ring and Rawley kicks out of roll-up! Zack is tagged in and they finish this with their HypeRyder double-team!
Winners via Pinfall: The Hype Bros
Commercials.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his wife, Maryse, saunter out. Miz puts himself over first on his victory over Dolph Ziggler at TLC, and then brings out Dean Ambrose. He claims not to be mad, but instead “surprised.” He was caught off guard by Ellsworth’s actions, but now gets infuriated with Miz, who aggravates him and takes Ellsworth’s side. Miz presents Dean with a “participation award,” which is a plaque with a ribbon on it that says “you tried.” Ambrose threatens to “shove it down your throat” until…
General Manager Daniel Bryan interrupts. He promptly books the two to wrestle in tonight’s main-event, and then with the crowd egging him on, makes it for the Intercontinental Championship.
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Match #4: Single – Kalisto VS. Baron Corbin
Kalisto waistlocks but Baron tosses him aside, and then runs at him with a shoulder-block. Corbin hammers away on both sides of Kalisto’s head. He tosses Kalisto to the floor, but “The Lucha Dragon” makes it back into the ring before ten. He clotheslines Baron to the outside, and then moonsaults from the corner!
Kalisto flies around him in the ring, but gets caught out of a tilt-a-whirl into Corbin’s End of Days flatliner! Baron gets the W!
Winner via Pinfall: Baron Corbin
Commercials.
Segment #5: Backstage Promo
Nikki Bella chats with a child-star/singer. (Who, I don’t know!)
Match #5: Single – Chad Gable (with American Alpha partner Jason Jordon) VS. Tyler Breeze (with Breezango partner Fandango)
Despite a small effort from Breeze, Chad polishes him off shortly with a German suplex!
Winner via Pinfall: Chad Gable (with American Alpha partner Jason Jordon)
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Segment #6: Arena Promo
NEW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss makes her way to the ring. She declares “this little ‘bitch’ now runs the Women’s Division!” Becky Lynch strides out and gets in Alexa’s face. She demands her rematch, and Bliss prepares, but then backs out. She goes to the top of the stage with her Championship while Lynch glares on.
Commercials.
Match #6: Single for the Intercontinental Championship – Dean Ambrose (Challenger) VS. The Miz (Champion) (with Maryse)
Miz hammerlocks and headlocks to begin, and then gives Dean a running shoulder-block. Ambrose counters back with a hip-toss and then a side-headlock-take-down. Dean clotheslines Miz to the floor and goes for a dive, but Miz places Maryse in front of him. Dean goes to the floor and is able to hit Miz anyway and then throws him into the barricade.
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Miz is governing, but Ambrose quickly fires up and is all over the I.C. Champ. He almost gets this with a La Majistral Cradle! Dean climbs the turnbuckle but has to roll-through as he dove off. Miz tries the Skull-Krushing Finale, but Dean avoids. He goes for Dirty Deeds, but Miz gets out of it and soon takes control.
Miz focuses on Ambrose’s left knee, trying to lock on a Figure-4 and kneedroping him. Dean misses a turnbuckle-dive, and Miz follows with the Figure-4-Leglock! Ambrose struggles but manages to clasp the bottom rope for a break. Miz runs at Ambrose, but “The Lunatic Fringe” pulls the ropes down and then follows with the Tope Suicida to the floor!
They go back-and-forth for a bit until Dean headbutts and punches Miz off of the top turnbuckle. The referee checks on Miz, allowing Maryse to trip Ambrose on the turnbuckle. Miz knees Dean but only gets two!
James Ellsworth now walks out, distracts The Miz, and ultimately Dean, and inadvertently allows Miz to plant Ambrose with the Skull-Krushing Finale! Miz covers for the victory!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL Intercontinental Champion: The Miz (with Maryse)
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