In his first public comments since Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle shot down his request for a restraining order against TNA, Billy Corgan said that he’s “in no way disappointed” in the ruling, but grateful that the judge considered the case.
“It’s important to note is these proceedings have brought forth facts which illuminate business practices I have fought against for a reason,” he wrote on Twitter. “And I suggest that a careful reading on the judge’s ruling supports there can be no claim of victory by anyone in a position of authority.”
It seems that Corgan is not ready to give up in his fight to gain control of TNA and is moving forward with his lawsuit.
The man who is expected to lead TNA going forward is Jason Brown, the Chief Executive Officer of Aroluxe.
Despite the fact that Anthem Sports & Entertainment will own the majority of TNA, Brown from Aroluxe is getting the TNA CEO role on a three year deal according to documents revealed in court last week. Aroluxe is the company in charge of all the production for TNA and has the Harris twins on its staff. Aroluxe is an integrated marketing agency located in Brentwood, Tennessee which produces creative content and commercials, provides enterprise web and application development, strategic campaign development and execution, social media, digital advertising and management, and manages supporting services for its clients.
Brown has been with Aroluxe since March 2010 and attended the University of Alabama and the Los Angeles Film School.
Following today’s ruling in Nashville, it seems that Billy Corgan’s role within TNA is effectively over.
TNA announced Corgan’s hiring on April 27, 2015 and was appointed as Senior Producer, Creative and Talent Development. “I’ve known Billy for years and have always been blown away by his musical artistry, as well as his knowledge and understanding of professional wrestling,” said Dixie Carter at the time. “He has always impressed me with his creativity and passion for our business. Billy is truly gifted and understands the emotion tied to the psychology of connecting with an audience. The more we talked, the more I realized his perspective has the potential to make a huge impact on our brand.”
But a year later, things started to get more difficult. In mid June of this year it was reported that Corgan gave his first loan to TNA, one of three loans that in total amount to over 1 million dollars. Two months later, following additional funding from Corgan, Dixie Carter promoted him to TNA President, replacing her while she took the role of Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer.
“Billy is a visionary, an iconic artist and savvy businessman with an incredibly gifted creative mind. He has built a decades-long successful global brand, and also has a deep passion and understanding for professional wrestling,” said Carter upon the appointment.
Corgan’s money is expected to be returned by tomorrow, including interest. Corgan was fighting to get an additional premium fee apart from the money he’s owed but after today it seems that all he’s getting is what he gave to TNA plus a little more in interest.
The Tennessean investigative reporter Nate Rau reported just minutes ago that TNA President Billy Corgan lost his temporary restraining order case against TNA as Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle sided with TNA.
“Judge strikes down Corgan’s request for a temporary restraining order; Big win for Dixie and TNA,” he wrote on Twitter.
Corgan was trying to get an injunction against the company and its various stakeholders to prevent them from selling the company to other individuals without his approval. He is owed over a million dollars that he loaned to TNA and while TNA and Anthem Sports & Entertainment have offered to pay him out, he refused, and instead wanted Dixie Carter’s 92.5% share of the company after he said that TNA is insolvent.
TNA has until tomorrow, November 1, to repay Billy Corgan’s three loans as per their original agreement.
During the case last Wednesday, TNA attorney Travis Parham painted Corgan as a loan shark and whose sole objective was to oust Dixie Carter from power at all costs.
With this temporary restraining order lifted, Dixie Carter is free to sell TNA to whoever she wants without Corgan’s approval. There seems to be an agreement already between Carter, Aroluxe, and Anthem Sports & Entertainment where Anthem will 85% control, Aroluxe gets 10%, and Dixie remains on board with a 5% share.
Despite the outcome of this temporary restraining order, the separate lawsuit which was filed will still go forward so the fight between Corgan and TNA is not even close to being finished.
WWE issued a press release today announcing they won 5 Gold and 12 Silver W3 Awards along with the Best In Show award.
The WrestleMania 31 campaign won the Best In Show award for WWE’s efforts in social content and marketing.
The 5 Gold awards went to WWE.COM for all the features, WWE Network for visual appeal, the WWE App in mobile apps/sites under the sports category, WWE Social Media for the company’s social media massive presence, and the Connor’s Cure campaign in public service and activism.
WWE.COM won two Silver awards under the Sports and Entertainment categories, the WWE Network won three under the Entertainment, Sports, and Media Streaming categories, WWE on YouTube won one for Video Channels and Networks in the Variety category, WrestleMania 31 won two for social content and abm (account based marketing) under the Events and Entertainment categories, the WWE App won two under the Entertainment category in Mobile Apps/Sites and one for best user interface under the Mobile Features category, Superstar Ink won in the Web Series category, and under the Online Video-Interactive Video category, WWE won with the WrestleMania 32 entrance in 360 degrees.
The W3 Awards honors creative excellence on the web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning sites, videos and marketing programs. The W3 is sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts.
People nowadays bet on everything. They bet on MMA, they bet on boxing, they bet on football, and yes, they even bet on wrestling.
There were 8 matches on the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view card last night and based on the odds that were published yesterday before the show, the bookies got six of those matches correct. You can even say it was seven, since Cesaro and Sheamus didn’t actually win the titles but that depends on the terms and conditions of each betting website on how to interpret that result.
Kevin Owens was 1/12 favorite, Roman Reigns was 1/20 favorite, Brian Kendrick was 2/7 favorite, Bayley was 1/12 favorite, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were 2/9 favorites, and Alexander/Dorado/Sin Cara were 1/5 favorites. The payouts for these matches weren’t very high. Bet $10 on Kevin Owens and get 83 cents in winnings. It was a bit better if you bet $10 on Kendrick, with $2.86 in profit.
The bookies were wrong in two matches. They had Sasha Banks winning at 1/3 and Charlotte winning at 9/4. Those who bet $10 on Charlotte for the upset got $22.50 in profit. Sheamus and Cesaro were also the underdogs at 7/4 to win, meaning those who put a $10 bet on them got a profit of $17.50.
Odds often change before each pay-per-view starts because “smart money” comes in. That’s when those in the know of the outcome eventually leak information and a bunch of people start placing bets on for example someone who was the underdog. When betting companies see a wave of bets going the other way, the odds are revised to minimize loss. This also happened at WrestleMania XXX when Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker, with Lesnar being the big favorite just before the show where earlier in the day it was the other way round.
There are a ton of websites who offer betting services for different sports, such as Bet-UK, Sky Bet, Bet365, 888Sport, and many others. Not all websites offer wrestling betting though. And remember, bet responsibly and don’t let it get out of hand!
Charlotte and Sasha Banks made history last night – actually twice – by having the first women Hell In A Cell match and also main eventing the pay-per-view for the first time in WWE history.
While it was those two in the ring, their fellow female Superstars were excited and proud to see them in the main event spot.
“Congrats to @MsCharlotteWWE & @SashaBanksWWE on making history again & watching them make their dreams into a reality,” tweeted Lana, who earlier in the pay-per-view introduced her husband Rusev for his HIAC match.
The Bella Twins called their match an epic and historic moment. “You had Brie & I on our feet the whole time,” Nikki wrote.
The Smackdown Women’s champion Becky Lynch, one fourth of the Four Horsewomen, congratulated Charlotte on being a “history maker and ground breaker,” while Bayley, another one part of the Four Horsewomen, wrote that she was nervous, excited, and proud but both Sasha and Charlotte were right where they belong, “in the main event making history.”
Carmella seemed to have liked what she saw and tweeted, “Wow!! What. A. Match,” while Naomi said it was surreal what she just witnessed. “Hats off to @SashaBanksWWE @MsCharlotteWWE so proud from the entrances to finish they were amazing.”
Former WCW star Missy Hyatt was also watching the show and wrote how emotionally invested she was. “Like the story they are telling. They work as if they really hate each other. Makes me emotionally invested in the story in the ring.”
And Lita, who worked a lot with both women, got really emotional on the Raw Talk show following the pay-per-view and shed a tear when Renee Young asked her about her thoughts of the match.
The overall feedback online was a positive one for the women main eventing the show and considering how good the two were, it wouldn’t be a surprise if there’s another set of women main eventing another pay-per-view in the near future.
Monday Night Raw tonight will have the fallout from last night’s Hell In A Cell, a pay-per-view that crowned two new champions: Brian Kendrick and Charlotte.
With the last PPV before Survivor Series now out of the window, Raw needs to assemble three teams featuring five male, five female, and five tag teams that will wrestle their Smackdown counterparts.
Also tonight, Bill Goldberg will be live in attendance to continue his program with Brock Lesnar as the two headline the 30th annual Survivor Series. Hopefully Goldberg’s segment will go better than Lesnar’s and Heyman’s did last week.
In its Raw preview, WWE.COM is also suggesting that Sasha Banks is owed a rematch but most likely it will not happen tonight.
Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle will be giving her ruling today in Nashville regarding the temporary restraining order placed by Billy Corgan on TNA and if this temporary restraining order will be eventually replaced by an injunction.
Lawyers from both parties went head to head this past Wednesday in court with both sides presenting their case.
Should Corgan get his way and Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle votes in favor of the injunction, anyone who holds a stake in TNA will be unable to sell any part of the company without his approval. As it is now, Corgan is owed well over a million dollars by TNA for the three loans he provided throughout the Summer. TNA and Anthem Sports & Entertainment attorneys already offered to settle the bill plus interest but Corgan isn’t interested, and wants control of the company as stated by his agreement. That agreement, according to the TNA attorney, is illegal under the Tennessee laws.
If the Chancellor votes against Corgan’s request, things will probably get uglier. TNA are bound to pay Corgan back all his money by November 1 as per the contract the two signed. It’s highly unlikely that Corgan will ever step foot in a TNA office again after this legal war. If TNA gets their way, then Carter can do whatever she wants and is free to sell to whoever.
The lawsuit against several members of TNA’s upper management will still proceed irrespective of today’s ruling.
WWE invades the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts for Hell In A Cell, Raw’s second brand-specific pay-per-view of 2016. It’s a special night for the women, especially for Sasha Banks, who will be main eventing the first ever WWE pay-per-view in her home town.
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, LINCE DORADO AND SIN CARA VS DREW GULAK, TONY NESE & ARIYA DAIVARI
The Cruiserweights took the Kickoff portion of the show, with everyone on the Cruiserweight roster being part of Hell In A Cell. The faces won the match with Cedric Alexander pinning Drew Gulak.
The pay-per-view starts with a wicked opening montage featuring…a Oija board plugging the triple main event. 16,193 fans on hand inside the TD Garden.
ROMAN REIGNS VS RUSEV FOR THE UNITED STATES TITLE
The beautiful Lana comes out to introduce her husband for the first Hell In A Cell match. Then Roman Reigns comes out to boos. I guess some things never change. Rusev gets the “Let’s go Rusev / Rusev sucks” chants from the crowd. A few minutes later, Reigns gets the same treatment. Both men used the steel steps, kendo stick, and a chain as foreign objects, with Reigns landing some very stiff kendo stick shots on his opponent. The Bulgarian Brute kicked out of the Superman punch and right before Reigns hit the spear, Rusev superkicks him and then drives him into the steel steps which were placed in the corner. Reigns kicked out in the last second but then Rusev locked in the Accolade submission move. Reigns crawls out of the move. Rusev then locks in the Accolade on the steel steps with a chain wrapped around Reigns’ mouth however Reigns once again powers out and delivers a Samoan drop on the steps. With Rusev still on the steps, Reigns hits a spear and then covers him for the pin. And still United States champion, Roman Reigns.
A shot of Boston is shown as the commentators go over the events from last Monday when Rollins pinned Owens and Jericho. Backstage, Owens is interviewed by Tom Phillips.
BAYLEY VS DANA BROOKE
As Dana Brooke is introduced, the Brazilian, Japanese, and Russian WWE Network broadcast team are welcomed by Michael Cole. Bayley rams Brooke’s head to each turnbuckle in one of the corners. Haven’t seen that in a while. Bayley is sporting the Kinesio tape on her shoulder and Dana concentrates all her offensive moves on the injured shoulder. Bayley recovers and then goes for the Bailey-to-Belly suplex finisher and gets the win. Short match.
Backstage segment with Chris Jericho, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and Raw General Manager Mick Foley. Jericho is trying to convince Steph and Mick that he and Kevin Owens should be co-captains of team Raw at the Survivor Series.
Michael Cole plugs Raw Talk, which follows the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view only on the WWE Network. Roman Reigns and Bayley will be the guests of Renee Young, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, and Lita. Think Smackdown’s Talking Smack, but for Raw.
ENZO AMORE AND BIG CASS VS LUKE GALLOWS AND KARL ANDERSON
Enzo and Big Cass do their usual shtick. Bada boom, bada bing. They came to Bean Town to give “Big Gal and Andy” a beat down. After a brief upper hand by the faces, Gallows and Anderson take over the match with Enzo taking most of the punishment. Big Cass makes the hot tag and cleans house but eventually gets taken out as well. Enzo tags in again but it doesn’t end up well for him as he gets the Magic Killer for his trouble. Anderson then pinned Enzo for the win. How you doin’? The promo prior to the match seem to have lasted more than the actual match.
A Susan G. Komen promo for the More Than Pink campaign airs with Sasha Banks doing commentary followed by a WWE 2K17 promo.
KEVIN OWENS VS SETH ROLLINS FOR THE WWE UNIVERSAL TITLE
The second Hell In a Cell match for the Universal title takes place in the middle of the card. Kevin Owens makes his way out first. Big pop for Seth Rollins, who is also sporting Kinesio tape on his back. Rollins hit the cage head first a couple of times but did not bleed. Good to note that Chris Nowinski, the former WWE Superstar who heads the Concussion Legacy Foundation, is at ringside. Maybe not the smartest thing to do. Owens sets two tables outside. One at an angle with the legs of the table resting in the cage holes, and one beneath it. Owens gets a fire extinguisher and hits Rollins with it, then empties it on the referee! Smart plan, as with the door open to help the ref, Chris Jericho runs in and joins the party. Jericho saves Owens from a Pedigree however Jericho ends up getting Pedigreed himself. Rollins goes for a powerbomb but nearly botches it because of Owens’ weight. He eventually powers through and powerbombs him through the two tables waiting outside. He goes for a frog splash but Jericho breaks the pin. Rollins then beats up on Jericho and when he gets back in the ring, he’s welcomed by the Pop Up Powerbomb but Rollins kicks out at 2. Owens hits three vicious chair shots on Rollins and then hits a DDT on the chair. Owens then delivers a powerbomb through two chairs for the pin, retaining the WWE Universal title. Great match.
After the match was over, Chris Jericho hit the Codebreaker on Seth Rollins as Kevin Owens walked to the back.
The Kickoff show panel of Renee Young, Booker T, Jerry Lawler, and Lita get their usual segment. Lita liked the Owens/Rollins match. Booker liked Rusev/Reigns and Lawler was glad his picks Gallows and Anderson won. A recap of the Kickoff match is shown.
TJ PERKINS VS BRIAN KENDRICK FOR THE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE
No video package for this match. Probably the show running late already. The crowd was super dead, spent after that HIAC match. Brian Kendrick faked a leg injury and TJ Perkins went to help him. Kendrick head butted him and then locked in the Captain’s Hook and TJ Perkins tapped out. New Cruiserweight champion crowned.
A WWE Network promo airs. Best thing since sliced bread. Another outside shot of Boston as the Raw commentary team plugs the Network, NXT Takeover: Toronto, and the Survivor Series.
Backstage segment with Cesaro and Sheamus. Cesaro all decked out in a white jacket, bow tie, and red flower in his pocket. The two complain and argue with each other.
Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho are announced as joining Raw Talk immediately following Hell In A Cell on the WWE Network.
THE NEW DAY VS SHEAMUS AND CESARO FOR THE RAW TAG TEAM TITLES
The New Day comes out for another long monologue to start the match. Xavier Woods is wrestling today so probably no trombone playing during the match. Cesaro and Sheamus worked well together most of the time with Xavier Woods taking most of the punishment. Sheamus tried to hit the Brougue Kick on Big E but he moved and decked out Cesaro. Xavier tried to pin but Sheamus broke the pin. With Woods locked in the Sharpshooter, Sheamus hit Big E with the trombone and then tried to hit Kofi Kingston. Kofi ducked and then hit Sheamus. Unfortunately for him the referee saw him and rang the bell for the DQ. Cesaro thought he won as Kofi tapped out at the same time but the ref only saw Kofi interfering. Sheamus and Cesaro win however The New Day retain the Raw Tag Team titles.
Goldberg vs Lesnar promo for the Survivor Series airs. Brock says he doesn’t give a shit about Goldberg’s wife and kid.
It’s main event time and the video package for Sasha Banks vs Charlotte is played.
SASHA BANKS VS CHARLOTTE FOR THE RAW WOMEN’S TITLE
Charlotte comes out with a brand new beautiful robe and being carried out by four men, similar to a Triple H WrestleMania entrance. Fans chant “We want Sasha” as WWE keeps them waiting before hitting her theme song. Sasha comes out in a Cadillac SUV and bodyguards, similar to her NXT Takeover: Brooklyn entrance. Charlotte attacks Sasha before the Cell is even down and the action spills to the outside, fighting in the crowd. The two tried to climb up the cage from the outside but Charlotte powerbombs Sasha through the announce table. Sasha takes a long time and is helped by the referee and eventually EMTs come down to help Banks. They put a neck brace on her and put her on a stretcher. Just as Charlotte was about to be declared the new Raw Women’s champion, Sasha hulks up and gets off the stretcher, gets in the ring and unloads on Charlotte. Sasha took one hell of a beating with the focus being on her back. After recovering (sort of), Sasha hits the Three Amigos – or Amigas in this case – as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero and then hits the frog splash for the two count. Fans chant “Eddie! Eddie!” Charlotte finds a table under the ring and sets it up outside but the spot doesn’t go according to plan as the table quickly breaks when Charlotte falls on it. Charlotte locks in the Figure 8 but Sasha breaks it by smashing her with a chair which was in the ring. Sasha tries a running powerbomb through a table but her back gives out. Charlotte takes advantage and throws Sasha twice on the table, but it doesn’t break. She goes for the Natural Selection, covers her and gets the pin, winning the Women’s title once again. The referee checks on Sasha who’s still on the mat motionless as Charlotte doesn’t even try to celebrate winning the main event. Weird ending.
Three of the four titles on the line are expected to be successfully defended according to online bookies, with only the Cruiserweight title in danger of changing hands.
Kevin Owens is at 1/12 to retain the Universal title while his opponent Seth Rollins is at a distant 11/2. Sasha Banks, the hometown favorite tonight, is at 1/3 to keep her Women’s title and Charlotte is at 9/4. Roman Reigns is at 1/20 to hold on to the United States title and Rusev is at 7/1 to recapture the title. The New Day are at 2/5 to keep their 400+ days title reign and the unlikely tag team of Sheamus and Cesaro are at 7/4 to win. TJ Perkins is the only underdog champion, with bookies giving him odds at 5/2 to retain while Brian Kendrick is at 2/7 to win the title.
In the other non title matches, Enzo and Big Cass are at 3/1 to win against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, who are at 2/9 to win. Bayley is the overwhelming favorite at 1/12 to defeat Dana Brooke who is at 6/1. And in the Kickoff match, the team of Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara are at 1/5 to win against Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, and Ariya Daivari who are at 100/30.
Odds are most likely to change as the event gets closer to bell time. These odds are correct as of 1PM EST.
Several industry insiders are reporting that the decision was taken late last night for the Raw Women’s title match to go on last tonight, becoming the first ever main event featuring two women.
Everything on WWE.COM, including the main graphic and even match listing, now puts Charlotte and Sasha Banks at the very top, suggesting that it’s a go that the main event will be for the WWE Raw Women’s title. Dave Meltzer of the Observer reported earlier this week that it seems that everyone wanted the women to go last except for the man who makes the final decisions, Vince McMahon.
A few weeks ago Mick Foley announced that the two would be the main event however then everything faded away and WWE started to promote a triple main event with the women, Rusev/Reigns and Owens/Rollins. Foley then wrote on his Facebook that no matter where the women end up on the card, they should feel that they are the main event.
The women have main evented Raw a couple of times over the years as well as NXT Takeover however this is the first time that they are headlining a pay-per-view event.
Those living in Europe and watching Hell In A Cell live tonight should take note of the end of Daylight saving time, which means that the WWE pay-per-view will start an hour earlier than usual.
The United States will end its DST a week from today so Hell In A Cell will start at Midnight GMT or 1AM for those on Central European Time. The same will go for Raw and Smackdown live on Monday and Tuesday with those broadcasts starting an hour earlier as well.
Live from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, WWE presents Hell In A Cell live on pay-per-view and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal title in a HIAC match; Roman Reigns vs Rusev for the United States title in a HIAC match; Sasha Banks vs Charlotte for the WWE Raw Women’s title in a HIAC match; TJ Perkins vs Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight title; The New Day vs Sheamus and Cesaro for the WWE Raw Tag Team titles; Enzo Amore and Big Case vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson; Bayley vs Dana Brooke; and the Kickoff show will have Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Sin Cara vs Tony Nese, Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari in a six-man tag team match.
Hell In A Cell is free for first time subscribers of the WWE Network. If you have never subscribed you can go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to get your first month free and you will also get to see the Survivor Series.
The Headbangers will get a shot at making the Smackdown Survivor Series team next week in Newark, New Jersey.
“Well, it looks like the Headbangers will have a chance to qualify for the #SDLive Survivor Series Team! Watch out Jersey, we’re coming home,” wrote Chaz Warrington, the man who plays the character of Mosh.
Two months ago, Mosh and Thrasher returned for one night only and took part in the tournament to crown the new Smackdown Tag Team champions. It was their first appearance on WWE television together since July 2000.
Smackdown will be having five tag teams that will square up against Raw’s best five tag teams in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match. Heath Slater and Rhyno and The Hype Bros have so far qualified for the match for Smackdown.
In an article on ESPNW.COM, the three leaders of the current WWE women’s revolution – Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch – wrote how the three of them are changing the landscape of women’s wrestling.
But perhaps the most telling is the situation that the company finds itself in this weekend. Will the women headline Hell In A Cell? After Mick Foley let it slip that Sasha and Charlotte will be headlining HIAC, WWE seemed to have made a U-turn and sources say that the two, as of now, will not be going last.
In her portion of the article, Sasha Banks had an honest assessment of their current situation. “I think once we get a women’s main event at a pay-per-view and you drop ‘women’s wrestling,’ that will prove we are on the same level,” she wrote, adding that a couple of years ago, women’s wrestling was seen as the popcorn match or the bathroom break for the fans.
Banks, who returns to her hometown of Boston as the champion tomorrow, continued, “We say things like ‘women’s wrestling’ and ‘women’s revolution.’ I hope one day it’s not ‘a good women’s match.’ I don’t want the women’s wrestling part. I just want to be equal to my partners. Why can’t we be treated equal?”
Dave Meltzer of the Observer reported earlier this week that it seems that everyone wants the women to go last except for the man who makes the final decisions, Vince McMahon.
Impact on POP this week drew 362,000 viewers, up 9,000 viewers from last week’s show. It’s the best number in a month for TNA. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
There was ton of drama on this week’s episode of Total Bellas. It began with Brie and Nikki discussing how much Brie’s habits have changed since being married to Daniel Bryan. Apparently, Brie used to be quite a party girl, and a drinker.
Now, Brie says, “Every time I order another drink, he gives me a look and makes me feel guilty.” Brie’s family was livid about Daniel’s causing Brie guilt of any kind. “He shouldn’t make you feel guilty,” Nikki said.
Later, both Nikki and JJ accused Brie of being “an adapter,” changing her views and ideas to fit Daniel’s believes. Brie insisted that her ideas had simply changed due to her maturing, not due to her meeting Daniel. However, the Bella clan wasn’t done accusing Daniel.
Nikki asked a seemingly innocent question about whether or not Daniel and Brie had heard anything about a certain piece of property that they are considering buying. When Daniel stated that their new home would have only four bedrooms, Nikki seemed to be outraged insisting that Brie and Daniel “really need five bedrooms.”
Her reasoning was that Brie and Daniel might have twins or triplets. Wow, does Nikki know something the rest of us don’t about Brie’s fertility?
I understand why Daniel was incredulous. Who plans for multiple births just in case? Daniel was also angry when his mother-in-law, Kathy, begged him to consider adding to his home, “for her”. Daniel simply replied, ”The house isn’t for you, Kathy.”
It also angered Daniel when Nikki insisted that she knew that her sister really wanted a bigger house. When Brie said that she was really fine with having a smaller home Nikki, didn’t believe her. I can’t blame Daniel for shouting at Nikki about how she shouldn’t butt in just because she lived in a palace. Daniel was clearly fed up because he decided to leave Nikki and John’s house for his home in Phoenix.
To my surprise, he didn’t ask Brie to go home with him, saying that he needed to be alone. This, of course, made Brie bummed. However, a girls weekend seemed to loosen Brie up, but Nikki maintained that Brie was able to loosen up only because Bryan wasn’t there.
When John Laurinaitis showed up in the middle of girls weekend, he explained to Brie that Nikki’s insistence on her changing is another way of saying that she missed her.
I hate to break it to you Nikki, but there are batter ways to say you miss your sister!
WWE returns to pay-per-view this weekend for Hell in a Cell – a stipulation that’s feeling really watered down this time around.
We’ve got three Cell matches, with every major singles title (sorry Cruiserweights!) happening in the structure… including, for the first time, a women’s Hell in a Cell match. Sadly, none of those matches have had feuds or storylines that’d traditionally befit the Cell, but it is what it is…
Hell in a Cell match for WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Seth Rollins
To think, if three years ago you heard that Kevin Steen vs. Tyler Black would headline a WWE pay-per-view, inside Hell in a Cell, we’d be clapping our hands. Sadly, this feud has been washed away by Chris Jericho’s list and his friendship with Kevin Owens.
Behind all that, we’re still waiting to find out why Triple H helped Kevin Owens win that Universal title, which means that this feud is essentially two people mad that they’re not the authority’s chosen one. I can’t really sense a title change here, especially if the long term plan is still going to be Triple H vs. Seth Rollins for WrestleMania. Prediction: Kevin Owens
Hell in a Cell match for WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
Historic? Yes. Pointless? Perhaps… Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (now with a surname) Flair has been the main storyline in the women’s division on Raw since the brand split, and given that this was something of a feud in NXT it does have longevity. Unfortunately on the main roster, we’ve got the bones of a story and very little in the way of meat.
Sasha Banks’ second reign with the women’s title has been largely the same as the first, with the unfortunate expectation that she’ll pick up another injury. The addition of the Hell in a Cell structure perhaps amplifies that fear. WWE have long trumpeted that Charlotte is undefeated in singles matches at pay-per-views (going 13-0). I don’t see that record changing, so I’ll for Sasha to end the night with a pair of short title reigns. Prediction: Charlotte Flair
Hell in a Cell match for WWE United States Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Rusev
Another feud that has been dragged on for little reason – it’s the WWE’s chosen one against Rusev. Yep, we’re still expected to cheer a man who since their last match has attacked his challenger with a chair and abused his family (verbally). Ah wait, it’s because Rusev isn’t American. As you were!
Although this feud feels like it’s been going on forever, it doesn’t in any way feel like it should be inside Hell in a Cell, much like the other two that are happening! Reigns only won the title at Clash of Champions a month ago, and there’s no way they’re going to take the title off him so quickly. So this is a foregone conclusion… Prediction: Roman Reigns
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: TJ Perkins (c) vs. Brian Kendrick
No matter how you spin it, the cruiserweights haven’t been a success since debuting on Raw With a barrage of characters thrown on screen with little character build-up, the main storyline seems to be TJ Perkins still being mad over Brian Kendrick for breaking his Nintendo 64 all those years ago.
This is another rematch from Clash of Champions, and this one could honestly go either way. Brian Kendrick’s still pushing that this is “his last chance”, but I honestly believe that putting the title on a veteran would hurt a division that’s already struggling. Ideally, Perkins should win this one decisively and move onto a fresh opponent for Survivor Series. Prediction: TJ Perkins
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) (c) vs. Cesaro & Sheamus
Remember that best-of-seven series that got rushed? Well, this is the result of it: Cesaro and Sheamus playing the “tag team partners who can’t get along” gimmick, and this is their title shot.
This is going to be one-way traffic, I feel. WWE’s not going to change the titles this close to the New Day breaking Demolition’s record. Expect hijinx, and Cesaro and Sheamus to come close, only for their arguments to cost them a title… and send them back into another feud. Prediction: The New Day
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
An odd pairing here; Gallows and Anderson have been firmly shunted down the card after numerous attempts to beat the New Day for the tag titles. Really, since the brand split, they’ve badly floundered without AJ Styles or any formation of the Club to play off of, and I can’t see things getting better for them here. Then again, as long as the New Day are champions, Enzo and Cass can’t really be viable challengers, so I’m going to go with a cheap result here. Prediction: Gallows & Anderson via DQ
Dana Brooke vs. Bayley
Oh dear. Since moving up to the main roster, Bayley has quickly become just another name on the roster – which is a hugely impressive achievement, given how big a star she was in NXT. This is a nothing happening match really; Dana Brooke is nowhere near a title shot, and the only thing I can see happen here is Bayley winning and getting a title shot on Raw before more obscurity. Such a shame. Prediction: Bayley
Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara vs. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari
Announced for the pre-show, this gives the ring crew a chance to use the purple tape twice in one show! This really is the epitome of the cruiserweights, as all six of these guys have been thrown into a match for no reason, with little in the way of a backstory. Lazy booking, and an even lazier usage of the cruiserweights, who seem to have been set-up to fail. I’ll pick the babyfaces to win, because does it really matter? Prediction: Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara
Notable from their absence on this card are the likes of Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman – who have been teasing a feud, but this is probably too early to match them up – whilst Chris Jericho, Nia Jax and Alicia Fox disappear from the billing after having some involvement last time out.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Ian Hamilton has been a wrestling fan since 1992, and when he’s not watching WWE, New Japan or his latest wrestling love, PROGRESS, he’s usually suffering through Sunderland AFC and the New York Jets. He’s got a couple of books out on Amazon – “Wrestling’s Sinking Ship” and “Gone Too Soon”, and can be reached via his website, BackBodyDrop.com, or on Twitter @theianhamilton
WWE will be taping a television episode of NXT prior to Smackdown following the Survivor Series next month.
The live Smackdown will be held in Ottawa, Ontario on November 22 at the Canadian Tire Centre and the NXT episode will be the first one to air after the live NXT Takeover: Toronto which occurs on November 19, on the eve of the Survivor Series.
Tickets for this show are still available, selling for CA $20, $30, $45, $55, $80, and $105 on Ticketmaster. The website is also offering a discount with a 4-pack offer.
