Jason Powell of ProWrestling.Net is reporting that Steve Corino will be leaving Ring of Honor next month to prepare to become a full-time coach at the WWE Performance Center starting in January 2017.
Corino recently was at the Performance Center as a guest trainer, spending a week there and called the state-of-the-art facility as “wrestling heaven.”
The 43 year old is a 22-year veteran in the wrestling business and was part of ECW between 1998 and 2001 where he won the ECW World Heavyweight title once. He wrestled for Ring of Honor on two different stints, between 2002 and 2006 and then from 2009 onward.
The post-Survivor Series Smackdown did 2,505,000 viewers, down 220,000 viewers from last week’s 900th special episode which featured appearances from The Undertaker and Edge. Taking last week’s episode out, it was the most watched show since September 13. It ranked #1 in the top cable chart in the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s newest movie, the Disney animated Moana, comes out in 3,875 theaters nationwide today and already took a massive $2.6 million at last night’s preview showings.
The $2.6 million represents a Tuesday record for a Disney animated movie, surpassing The Good Dinosaur from last year which did $1.3 million. The much-anticipated movie is expected to top the Thanksgiving holiday box office chart.
Moana is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker and features music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina. The film introduces Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson voices the character of Maui. The budget for Moana was $150 million.
The movie features an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder. Together they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds. Along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she always sought: her own identity.
Four more matches were announced for the TLC pay-per-view while one more will be made official on next week’s Smackdown.
The Intercontinental title will be on the line with the current champ The Miz defending against Dolph Ziggler – again – but this time in a ladder match. This match, according to Smackdown General Manager Daniel Bryan, will be the last one between the two for the Intercontinental title.
Becky Lynch will also be defending the Smackdown Women’s title against Alexa Bliss while Nikki Bella will take on Carmella in a no DQ match. Kalisto and Baron Corbin will face each other in a chairs match, a match that was announced on Talking Smack after Smackdown was over.
Meanwhile, next week the number one contenders for the Smackdown Tag Team titles will be revealed as American Alpha will take on Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt, with the winners taking on Heath Slater and Rhyno for the titles.
The second episode of season six of Total Divas airs tonight on E! starting at 8PM EST. The episode is titled Orlando Strong.
The synopsis for tonight’s show reads, “Trinity returns to Orlando to honor the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Nikki accuses Brie of sweeping Bryan’s depression under the rug while Lana annoys Nattie as she prepares for her championship run.”
Total Divas returned last week with 724,000 viewers to see the three new additions to the cast – Maryse, Renee Young, and Lana.
Conor McGregor’s agent Audie Attar said that McGregor would entertain the idea of a WWE appearance if an offer came along.
Attar made the comment when he was on the Five Rounds podcast on ESPN Radio. “If WWE is going to come with an offer, we are willing to entertain it, we are here. Have their people call his people…which is me! We can have a conversation.” Attar said that McGregor is all about business and this would be just another business opportunity.
Triple H was present for UFC’s debut at Madison Square Garden and saw Conor McGregor win his second UFC title, the only man to carry two UFC titles at the same time and had nothing but great things to say about McGregor when interviewed by the Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom.
McGregor caused some trouble with WWE Superstars a while back when he called them all “pussies” during a conference call to promote UFC 202. “For the most part, those WWE guys are pussies, to be honest. They’re messed up pussies, if you ask me. Fair play to Brock, he got in and fought, but at the end of the day he was juiced up to the f*cking eye balls, so how can I respect that?”
However he did show admiration to the McMahon family, Triple H, and The Rock, who he called dons of the wrestling industry.
After getting abused by wrestling fans for his comments, McGregor then said he meant no disrespect towards the fans but what he meant to say was that he’d slap the head off the entire roster…and twice on Sundays!
Introduction Segment: Video Promo, Welcoming, and Arena Promo
Survivor Series is recapped via video highlights, and then Shane McMahon’s music hits. The Commissioner sorely walks out, as announcers Mauro Ranallo, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, David Otunga, and Tom Phillips greet us.
McMahon apologies for not being himself due to the Team Raw VS. Team Smackdown! Live match at Survivor Series; he gives props to Team Raw for their efforts, but is happy Smackdown! won. He was “surprised” on how The Wyatt Family got along, but disappointed that Dean Ambrose and WWE World Champion A.J. Styles could not.
Dean interrupts and wonders what’s up with Shane. He then brings out James Ellsworth, who he touts as the “man who single-handily eliminated Braun Strowman.” He wants to tell everyone some news, but McMahon wanted to hold it in the office. Ambrose doesn’t wait and informs Ellsworth that he is now officially signed to Smackdown! Live. The Commissioner has some news of his own for Dean – “The Lunatic Fringe” has the night off, completely banned from the building because of his actions at Survivor Series.
WWE World Champion A.J. Styles interjects and is not happy about James’ new deal. He actually challenges Ellsworth to a Ladder Match tonight, putting Ellsworth’s contract on the line; James agrees!
Segment #2: Backstage Promo
Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his wife Maryse are being photographed. General Manager Daniel Bryan walks up and Miz assumes that there will be a big “celebration.” Bryan denies this and instead books him against Kalisto for the Intercontinental Championship, much to Miz’s protests.
Later tonight, there will be a Tag-Team Turmoil to determine #1 Contenders for the Tag-Team Titles!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single for the Intercontinental Championship – Kalisto (Challenger) VS. The Miz (Champion) (with Maryse)
They lockup and Miz ties Kalisto in a wristlock. Kalisto hops out of it and they trade wristlocks until Kalisto arm-flips Miz. He tries to take this with a couple of quick pin-combos, and then flies through the ropes with a Tope Suicida!
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Miz is in control for a short-time until Kalisto ducks and dives around. He continues to hit Miz with fast-moves but only get two-counts! Kalisto goes to the top, but is distracted by Baron Corbin. Miz takes advantage with his Skull-Krushing Finale and then covers fort he victory!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL Intercontinental Champion: The Miz (with Maryse)
Post-match, Baron plants Kalisto with his End of Days flatliner. As Miz is celebrating on the stage, Dolph Ziggler is behind and winds up for a superkick, which he hits and then walks away!
Segment #3: Office Promo
Shane and Daniel are discussing the I.C. Title picture; Bryan promises to handle that and leaves Alexa Bliss to Shane! She wants her Women’s Championship rematch, which the Women’s Champion Becky Lynch walks in and gives her at T.L.C. on December 4. Natalya joins and blames the Women’s Tag-Team Match loss on Becky. Shane books Natalya to face Becky tonight, and then Ambrose walks back in, offering pizza to both Lynch and McMahon. Shane orders him to exit again.
Commercials.
Segment #4: Backstage Promo
Bryan reprimands Baron for attacking Kalisto; he makes Corbin face Kane later tonight as “punishment.”
Match #2: Tag-Team Turmoil – The Ascension (Viktor and Konnor) VS. The Hype Bros (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley) VS. The Fashion Police (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) VS. American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) VS. The Vaudevillians (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) VS. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey)
(Stipulation: #1 Contender’s Match for the Tag-Team Championship; winners will face Tag-Team Champions Rhyno and Heath Slater at T.L.C.)
The Ascension dominate until Ryder reverses a double-suplex attempt into a double-neckbreaker. The Hype Bros finish Konnor and Viktor with their double-team HypeRyder.
Eliminated via Pinfall: The Ascension
The Fashion Police – Fandango and Tyler Breeze – charge out but are tossed over the ropes quickly.
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Fandango and Tyler gain a little momentum, hitting Zack with a slingshot-springboard-elbow and taking out The Hype Bros!
Eliminated via Pinfall: The Hype Bros
American Alpha run out and dispose of The Fashion Police very quickly!
Eliminated via Pinfall: The Fashion Police
Aiden English and Simon Gotch are quickly reduced from this contest, after a German-Suplex-Pin!
Eliminated via Pinfall: The Vaudevillians
The Usos stroll out and set this showdown up slowly.
Commercials.
Jimmy and Jey are controlling with grounding locks, wearing down Jason. They slip up by missing and Jordan makes the hot-tag! He cleans house on Jimmy with suplexes and punches in the corner. he dives off of the middle turnbuckle onto Jey, but can’t get this with a German-suplex Pin on Jimmy. He fights off Jey on the outside but Jimmy shoves him into the ring post. Jimmy tags in Jey but Chad gets his shoulder up after the dive!
Jey goes for a Samoan Drop but Chad slips out; he switches with Jason, who picks Jey up on his shoulder. Chad soars off of the top turnbuckle with a bulldog, but Jimmy just breaks the count! Jey rockets off of the top turnbuckle with a Samoan Splash, but Jason raises his knees and turns him into an inside-cradle for a near-fall!
The Usos try a double-team on Jordan, but Gable stops it and American Alpha completes this with Grand Amplitude!
The bell doesn’t ring however, and The Wyatt Family appear on the Titantron! Bray announces that they are part of this, and will meet Gable and Jordan next week on Smackdown! to determine the final #1 Contenders!
Winners: No Contest
Segment #5: Office Promo
Daniel is with James Ellsworth talking to him about the Ladder Match. Ellsworth clichés about heart, and then Dean Ambrose – dressed as a Mountie – enters. Bryan tries to get him to leave before Shane walks in, but McMahon sees him first. The Commissioner is not happy with Dean, but he leaves instead to refrain from “doing something I regret.”
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Match #3: Single – Natalya VS. Women’s Champion Becky Lynch (Non-Title)
(Note: Alexa Bliss is on commentary.)
Becky hits hard with forearms but is tripped on the top turnbuckle and given a sit-down powermbomb for two!
Commercials.
Natalya has Lynch in a modified abdominal-stretch! Becky elbows out of it and armdrags Natalya, but is taken down again quickly. Natalya sit-down scoop-slams the Women’s Champion, and then rips out one of Lynch’s hair-extensions. Becky small-packages her for two and then builds up! She hits a running-forearm and then tries to trap Natalya in her armbar finisher a couple of times, but Natalya reverses into separate roll-ups.
Natalya goes for The Sharpshooter, but Lynch reverses into The Disarmer, forcing Natalya to give in!
Winner via Pinfall: Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
Post-match, Alexa assaults Lynch, hitting her with a forearm and driving her into the canvas with a DDT!
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Segment #6: Office Promo
Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Maryse walk in on Daniel Bryan while he is on the phone. Miz demands that Dolph Ziggler “be suspended” after attacking him earlier. Bryan instead books him and Ziggler in an Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match at T.L.C., and this will be their last encounter.
Segment #7: Locker Room Promo
Nikki Bella Carmela argue over who attacked Nikki at Survivor Series. Bella tells Carmela that they will face-off at T.L.C. in a No Disqualification Match!
Kane and Baron Corbin make their entrances for their match, next!
Commercials.
Match #4: Kane VS. Baron Corbin
Kane tries a Chokeslam right away but Baron runs off of the ropes; Kane hits a big boot instead, but Corbin hits many punches. Kane whips Baron, but Corbin slides to the outside and back in the ring; he clotheslines Kane over the ropes but turns around into Kalisto, who sprung from the top rope with a seated-senton, although causing the dq!
Winner via Disqualification: Baron Corbin
Post-match, Kalisto rolls out of the ring and Kane chokeslams Baron! Kane leaves and Kalisto stands over Corbin; he grabs a chair but Baron escapes before Kalisto can whack him with it. Corbin runs back in, where Kalisto throws the chair at him and then kicks him!
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Match #5: Ladder Match Single – James Ellsworth VS. WWE World Champion A.J. Styles (Non-Title)
(Stipulation: If James wins, he gets a Smackdown! Live contract and future WWE World Championship Match.)
A.J. completely governs this until Dean Ambrose runs in. He helps Ellsworth until A.J. hits him with the Phenomenal Forearm. James comes back though, and superkicks Styles into the ropes, where A.J. gets tied up. Ellsworth climbs the ladder and grabs the contract for the victory!
Winner via Climbing The Ladder and NEW Smackdown! Live Roster Member: James Ellsworth
Post-match, Dean and James celebrate as A.J. looks on in disbelief to close the show.
Monday Night Raw with the fallout from the Survivor Series drew 3,002,000 viewers, up 125,000 viewers from last week’s show.
Hour one did 3,137,000 viewers, followed by 3,097,000 in the second hour, before dropping to 2,772,000 for the third and final hour which had the awesome Owens/Rollins main event.
This was the first time since the October 17 episode that Raw averaged over 3 million viewers, although this week it was just barely. Raw placed #4, #5, and #6 in the chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is bringing his RINGSIDE With Jim Ross show to San Antonio, Texas during the Royal Rumble weekend. Ross held a show in Toronto this past weekend coinciding with the Survivor Series.
The show will be held at the Improv Comedy Club at the San Antonio RiverCenter located at 49 East Commerce on January 29, the day of the Royal Rumble. It will start at 2:30PM with the VIP meet and greet sessions kicking off at Noon.
General admission tickets are $25 each while the limited VIP tickets are $75. You can purchase tickets now at https://t.co/BbgkUcxMkE .
Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, former WWE Heavyweight champion and MMA fighter CM Punk said that he’s confident that his next MMA fight will be under the UFC banner.
Following his quick loss to Mickey Gall, UFC President Dana White suggested that if Punk fights again, it will probably not be in the UFC’s Octagon but Punk said that following a conversation with White, that might change.
Punk said that White suggested him an idea, an idea that Punk did not want to reveal since it was a private conversation but he’s eager to get it confirmed and we might get an announcement soon.
CM Punk is back training at Roufusport to continue his quest for his first MMA victory. He added that if he gets cut by the UFC, he would still pursue MMA and fight for another organization.
Next week’s 205 Live premiere episode will have a main event for the WWE Cruiserweight title with Rich Swann taking on the current champion The Brian Kendrick.
Swann won a triple threat match against Noam Dar and TJ Perkins last night on Raw to get a shot at the title.
205 Live is a WWE Network-only live weekly show that will be taped immediately following Smackdown on Tuesday nights. It will start at 10PM EST. The cruiserweights will still be on Monday Night Raw so they will all travel the following day as well, adding an extra day of travel for them.
The Royal Rumble is still two months away, however, the first Superstar to put his name in the 30-men over-the-top-rope Rumble match was announced last night on Raw, and that man is none other than Goldberg.
Fresh off his 1 minute 26 second win over his rival Brock Lesnar, Goldberg announced that he will be participating in the Rumble match in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamodome. Goldberg agreed to a new WWE deal last week and his win against Lesnar was only confirmed after he put pen to paper as Lesnar was originally set to go over.
The former WCW champion opened Raw last night doing his traditional walk backstage as fans chanted “Goldberg, Goldberg.” Goldberg thanked his wife for putting up with the past seven weeks of training and his son for bringing back the desire to be the superhero again.
“All good things must come to an end,” Goldberg said, as the fans replied with a “No, no, no” chant. Goldberg said that he ran into Stephanie McMahon after the match last night and she asked him if he has one more title run in him.
“So, do I?” Goldberg asked the fans. “You can bet your ass I have one more title run in me.” Goldberg then said at the Royal Rumble match, “everyone is next!”
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Rory Karpf, the director of the upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the Nature Boy Ric Flair, has revealed that he has already interviewed over 40 people associated with Flair’s family and career.
All three of Flair’s living children, Sting, Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson, Jim Ross, Eric Bischoff, as well as Flair’s first wife, Leslie, were all interviewed among many others.
“It was great to hear from Ric’s family, mainly his three children, to get an entirely different side of Ric beyond the ‘Nature Boy’ persona,” Karpf said. “Ric’s first wife Leslie was interviewed and to my knowledge this is the first time she ever granted an interview on camera.”
Karpf added that Shawn Michaels and Triple H had the best stories on Ric in and out of the ring and described his out-of-character interview with The Undertaker as “awesome.”
The director is still running around doing more interviews however he’s still trying to get the interview that so far has eluded him: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
There’s still no release date on this documentary but it’s expected to be out in late 2017.
30 for 30 will tackle the XFL with a documentary that will air in February.
As of this writing, Goldberg is set to appear on Monday Night Raw tonight although his opponent from last night, Brock Lesnar, is already back home.
The former WCW champion was not originally set for Raw but then again, he wasn’t originally booked to win the match last week either. The change in booking came after Goldberg agreed to do further appearances for the company which will eventually enable Lesnar to get his revenge. It’s not known if Paul Heyman will be at the show representing Lesnar at this point.
Also scheduled for tonight is a tag team match for the Raw Tag Team titles with The New Day defending against Sheamus and Cesaro. The New Day got eliminated first from the Raw team yesterday while the unlikely team of Sheamus and Cesaro won the match for Raw.
AppMoji, Inc., today released WWEmoji, a $1.99 app available on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store containing hundreds of WWE emojis.
Superstars from Monday Night Raw, Smackdown Live and NXT, as well as WWE Legends, including “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Stone Cold Steve Austin, are included in the app. In addition to the large selection of emojis, animated icons depicting Superstars’ signature poses or moves, such as Randy Orton’s RKO, are also available. The app will be continuously updated each week with new Superstars and content that mirrors current events in WWE.
Founder & CEO of Moji, Oliver Camilo said, “We are so excited for WWE fans to download and use this app. A lot of time and thought went into creating a product that not only embodied the WWE brand, but was designed specifically for WWE fans to use. Although we will be frequently updating the app, users will find no shortage of emojis to use in their everyday conversations.”
Shane McMahon seemed to have been momentarily knocked out after getting speared in mid-air by Roman Reigns in last night’s “holy shit” spot of the night.
McMahon went to hit his coast-to-coast dropkick on Reigns but as he was flying across the ring, Reigns stood up and hit a vicious spear. Shane hit the mat hard and then kicked out of the pinfall when he shouldn’t have as that was his elimination spot. Eventually he was taken out and was declared unable to continue.
Shane’s family, including his sons, were at ringside to watch their father wrestle and it was not a pretty sight for the kids. Randy Orton went over to Shane’s sons and talked to them as the situation in the ring was being cleared. “I’m a father. I know what it’s like to have your kids ringside when shit goes sideways,” Orton wrote on Twitter after someone pointed out his gesture.
ProWrestlingSheet.com is reporting that Goldberg has signed another deal with WWE and will also be part of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January.
The Rumble next year is at the Alamodome stadium in San Antonio, Texas, and a rematch with Brock Lesnar is planned. Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar clean in under two minutes last night at the Survivor Series, a shock result to many but one that now makes a bit more sense considering there’s Goldberg vs Lesnar III in the future. Goldberg now holds a 2-0 record on Lesnar, beating him at WrestleMania XX and yesterday.
Betting odds for the main event heavily favored Brock Lesnar going into the night but then they swiftly changed in favor of Goldberg once the smart money came in before the pay-per-view.
Here are the results of last night’s Survivor Series which took place from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Kickoff matches: Noam Dar, Rich Swann, and T.J. Perkins defeated Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, and Tony Nese; Kane defeated Luke Harper.
Charlotte, Bayley, Nia Jax, Alicia Fox, and Sasha Banks defeated Natalya, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Naomi. Natalya replaced Nikki Bella after she was attacked backstage. Eliminations were Alicia Fox eliminated Carmella; Alexa Bliss eliminated Alicia Fox; Naomi was counted out; Natalya eliminated Sasha Banks; Charlotte eliminated Natalya; Becky Lynch eliminated Nia Jax; Charlotte eliminated Alexa Bliss; Bayley eliminated Becky Lynch. Bayley and Charlotte were the sole survivors.
The New Day, Sheamus and Cesaro, Enzo Amore and Big Cass, and The Shining Stars defeated Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Hype Bros, American Alpha, The Usos , and Breezango. Eliminations were The New Day eliminated Breezango; The Usos eliminated The New Day; Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson eliminated The Hype Bros; American Alpha eliminated The Shining Stars; Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson eliminated American Alpha; Heath Slater and Rhyno eliminated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson; Enzo & Cass eliminated Heath Slater and Rhyno; The Usos eliminated Enzo & Cass; Cesaro and Sheamus eliminated The Usos. Cesaro and Sheamus were the sole survivors.
AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, and Shane McMahon defeated Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Seth Rollins. Eliminations were Braun Strowman eliminated Dean Ambrose; Braun Strowman got counted out; Kevin Owens got disqualified; Randy Orton eliminated Chris Jericho; Shane McMahon was unable to continue after a spear by Roman Reigns; Seth Rollins eliminated AJ Styles; Bray Wyatt eliminated Seth Rollins; Bray Wyatt eliminated Roman Reigns. Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton were the sole survivors.
In the other three matches, The Miz defeated Sami Zayn to retain the Intercontinental title; and The Brian Kendrick defeated Kalisto via disqualification to retain the Cruiserweight title; Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in under two minutes.
Brock Lesnar is the favorite to win his match against Goldberg tonight at the Survivor Series, with odds for Lesnar at 1/4 while Goldberg is at 11/4 for the win. Goldberg is already 1-0 on Lesnar from their WrestleMania XX match and considering this is thought to be a one-match deal for Goldberg it’s no surprise that Lesnar is expected to win this one.
In the traditional Survivor Series elimination matches, the male Raw team is favorite at 2/5 while the Smackdown team is at 7/4. The female Raw team is also the favorite at 4/7 while the Smackdown female team is at 5/4. The Raw Tag Team group is at 1/3 as favorite versus the Smackdown Tag Team at 9/4. According to bookies, all the Raw teams are favorite to go over tonight.
Kalisto is at 1/4 to win the Cruiserweight title and bring the division to Smackdown while the current champ, The Brian Kendrick, is at 11/4 to retain. Sami Zayn is at 1/4 to win the Intercontinental title while The Miz is at 11/4 to retain.
Live tonight from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada, WWE presents the 29th annual Survivor Series, live on PPV and the WWE Network. The card is as follows:
Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg; Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Braun Strowman vs AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, and Bray Wyatt in a 5-on-5 elimination match; Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and Alicia Fox vs Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Naomi and Carmella in a 5-on-5 elimination match; The New Day, Enzo Amore and Big Cass, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Cesaro and Sheamus, and The Shining Stars vs Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Hype Bros, American Alpha, The Usos, and Breezango in a 10-on-10 tag team elimination match; The Miz vs Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental title; and The Brian Kendrick vs Kalisto for the Cruiserweight title.
The show will air for free for first-time subscribers to the WWE Network. If you have never subscribed, go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to start your free month now!
