TNA issued a press release officially announcing the addition of Josh Mathews to their broadcast team, replacing long-time commentator Mike Tenay.
The switch has been known for weeks now but was never made official by the company. Tenay will still remain with the company in a different capacity.
“Josh Mathews is a dynamic talent who brings great energy and experience to commentating,” said John Gaburick, TNA’s Executive Vice President of Television. “I’ve had the pleasure to work with Josh for many years and know he, alongside Taz, will captivate fans and enhance the viewing experience.”
Mathews worked with Taz when the two where on the WWE payroll. Mathews was surprisingly released from WWE earlier this year and quickly joined TNA once his 90 day no-compete clause was over.
“I’m elated to join TNA and be the new voice of IMPACT WRESTLING alongside my friend and three-time World Champion Taz,” said Mathews. “I’d like to thank Dixie Carter and John Gaburick for this incredible opportunity. Mike Tenay is a legend in this business and I am humbled to build on the body of work he has established over the past 12 years on IMPACT. To have my voice attached to the amazing athletes who do what they do better than anyone in the world is a dream come true.”
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that there are plans to officially announce the location of WrestleMania 32 next month when WWE rolls into Dallas, Texas, for the Raw Reunion show.
It’s been long rumored that WrestleMania 32 would be taking place at the massive AT&T Stadium (formerly known as Cowboys Stadium) in Dallas and with all the top WWE stars in town for the last Raw before the Rumble it would be the perfect place.
The stadium holds a record of 108,713 fans for the NBA All-Star Game in 2010 and WWE will no doubt attempt to smash the WrestleMania III record since the stadium will be able to hold tons of people.
The $1.3 billion stadium opened in May 2009. It would be the first time that WrestleMania would be held in Dallas, although not the first time in Texas. Both WrestleMania 17 and 25 were in Texas.
The live edition of Smackdown on Tuesday night on USA Network drew only just over 2 million viewers, significantly less than what the show has been doing over the past few weeks.
The show had an average of 2,027,000 viewers, down half a million viewers from last week’s show on Friday night on SyFy. This episode of Smackdown was the lowest rated since the July 4 edition. Smackdown will be replayed this Friday on SyFy in its usual time slot. (Ratings credit: PWInsider.com)
The American Airlines Center website is promoting the Raw on January 19, 2015 as Raw Reunion with several former Superstars appearing.
The Royal Rumble go-home show from Dallas, Texas, now features appearances from Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, and Shawn Michaels, plus a dark match between John Cena and Seth Rollins in a lumberjack match surrounded by 30 WWE Superstars.
WWE champion Brock Lesnar is also set to appear, just a week before he battles John Cena for the title on the first WWE pay-per-view of 2015.
The WWE.COM tickets website has also added the images of Hogan, Nash, HBK, and Hall as Razor Ramon for that particular Raw.
Tonight WWE will present Tribute to the Troops on USA Network as part of WWE Week at 8PM EST. The show was taped last week at the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia, and was only open for U.S. military personnel and their families stationed in Fort Benning.
The card for the show has The Usos vs Stardust and Goldust; Dean Ambrose vs Bray Wyatt in a Bootcamp match; Naomi, Emma, and Natalya vs Bella Twins and Paige in a Santa’s Helper match; Seth Rollins, Big Show, Luke Harper, and Kane vs Ryback, Erick Rowan, Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena.
Florida Georgia Line will also perform on the show and there will be a special appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan plus thank you messages from several artists.
Eastlink, a Canadian cable television and telecommunications company, today announced the launch of WWE Network in high definition on their network, becoming the second provider along with Rogers Communications to carry WWE’s service in Canada.
“Our customers have been asking us daily when we are going to carry this channel so it is extra special that our 200th HD Channel is WWE HD,” said Eastlink CEO Lee Bragg.
Rogers were only just recently able to resell the WWE Network to other Canadian providers after it was approved by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The post-TLC Monday Night Raw drew the lowest number since October 1, 2012, with only 3,522,000 viewers tuning in on average for the three hour show. That is nearly 200,000 viewers down from last week’s Slammy Raw.
Hour one started with 3,703,000 viewers, followed by 3,477,000 in the second hour, and then down even more to 3,385,000 in the third and final hour. The show lost 318,000 viewers from hour one to hour three. (Ratings credit: PWinsider.com)
In a post on his Facebook page, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley revealed that WWE contacted him about being the special guest for the Christmas episode of Monday Night Raw but had to decline, which is why the company went for plan B – Hulk Hogan.
Foley was addressing those who slammed WWE for not inviting him for the Christmas Raw, a holiday that Foley holds very close to his heart.
“But the truth is, I was asked by WWE if I would like to travel to Minneapolis for Raw, but had to turn the opportunity down, due to a prior commitment. I’ll miss it. I’ll watch, and probably wish I was there. But as important as appearing on Christmas Raw is to me, honoring a commitment means just a little bit more,” the hardcore legend wrote.
Foley added that he has enjoyed being part of WWE’s holiday season in his own small way and hoped to be part of the Christmas episode in 2016.
“So don’t hold it against the Hulkster or WWE, I wasn’t forgotten or disrespected in any way. Just previously engaged,” he concluded.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, Big Show, R-Truth, Alicia Fox and Summer Rae today left for the annual Tribute to the Troops tour, meeting U.S. military personnel who are serving overseas.
The tour with a couple of WWE staff and the boss has been going on ever since the company stopped going to Iraq and Afghanistan for their yearly Tributes show. When they took the whole production overseas in war zones, WWE Superstars and Divas lived with the troops for four days as they taped the show. With Tribute to the Troops moving back Stateside, WWE still makes an effort to go overseas with limited staff to meet the troops.
Usually locations of where WWE staff will visit remain a secret due to security and this year it’s no different as no locations have been revealed. Footage of the trip will make it to the Tribute to the Troops episode on NBC later this month. Tomorrow’s USA Network version of the show will be two hours and that was taped last week prior to Smackdown.
Smackdown will be airing live tonight on USA Network at 8PM as part of WWE Week with the same episode airing again on Friday night on SyFy in its usual time slot. Tonight’s episode will be the 800th one for Smackdown.
The live episode of Smackdown slightly messes up Main Event on the WWE Network which usually airs at 8PM EST immediately after the show finishes taping on Tuesdays prior to Smackdown tapings. Main Event, for this week only, will now air at 7PM EST on the WWE Network live.
Jim Ross’ broadcast partner for the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 pay-per-view will be Lucha Underground’s Matt Striker. The announcement was supposed to be kept a secret and revealed later tonight on JR’s podcast however his name was leaked 24 hours before.
Striker was not the first choice to tag team with the WWE Hall of Famer as TNA’s Mike Tenay was approached to do the show but TNA didn’t want it to happen so Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling – who is promoting the show in the United States – went for someone else.
JR talked about getting Tenay briefly on his blog last week saying that he texted TNA asking for permission to get Tenay with him, telling them that it would be “great exposure for the voice of their brand” and thought they could talk about Impact’s new home.
“Obviously, I would have treated Mike with the utmost respect but TNA brass declined the invite. That’s the truth of the matter. It’s a dead issue and no hard feelings but I can’t see the downside of Mike Tenay and I broadcasting the NJPW PPV as it relates to Impact Wrestling specifically as it relates to me,” Ross wrote on his blog.
Just over 27 hours ago, WWE’s last Pay-Per-View of 2014 went off the air. Once again, as I did not watch the show, there are many questions for tonight’s Raw: who remained champion(s) and who became champion(s)? Do we have a new #1 Contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, or did John Cena manage to hold onto to the coveted position? Were there any surprises in forms of returns or debuts? And….which I really hope, was Bray Wyatt VS. Dean Ambrose the main-event, as it sure deserved to be?
All this will be found out now, so read on!
Monday Night Raw Report for December 15th, 2014 – “The New Guy?”
Introduction Segment: Arena Promo
A familiar count-down begins as we are live in the arena right off the bat! The man who won the Slammy for “Extreme Moment Of The Year” and who will be running Raw tonight walks out to a huge ovation; Chris Jericho is in the house!
“Welcome to ‘Raw Is Jericho!’” he begins, then puts over the fans for making him “Extreme Moment Of The Year.” He is quite popular, as loud “Y2J” chants ring out. However, one person that is not popular to him is Fandango, who stole his Slammy Award last week. Jericho orders him to return his Slammy back, but instead he gets Paul Heyman!
The advocate for WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar slowly walks to the ring introducing himself and announces that he is a “Jericholic.” However, Heyman insists that he fits better in the role of Raw General Manager more than Jericho. He also is upset that Jericho got the “Extreme Moment Of The Year” award when it should’ve been him, as he invented “extreme” with Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Chris makes fun of Heyman, but Paul E. is not laughing. He wants to talk about how Seth Rollins did not unseat John Cena as #1 Contender (there’s result and disappointment one from Tables, Ladders, and Chairs.) Rollins joins the conversation and talks about the result to his match from last night. Seth reiterates that he’s been “hosed” twice now, at Survivor Series by Sting, and last night by Roman Reigns. He wants a rematch, but not tonight.
Before he can go further, John Cena marches out and doesn’t put up with Rollins’ statements. “You still haven’t learned what it’s like to be a man. Because a man does not whine, and complain, and make excuses for defeat. A man simply picks himself up, dusts himself off, and continues to fight,” he tells Seth. Cena tells us that he will defeat Brock Lesnar again at the Royal Rumble for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, facing Heyman. He turns back to Rollins and accepts challenge, but needs Jericho to officially book it. “Y2J” happily does it, and adds a Steel Cage to surround them.
Seth is irate with this decision, and starts to rip apart Jericho verbally. Paul E. remains in the corner laughing, until Rollins insinuates that Jericho can’t beat Heyman. This gives Chris an idea, deciding to put himself in a match tonight with the advocate. He then asks the fans to vote on what particular bout he and Paul E. will be in, so Heyman can “never, e-e-ever be the same again.” Jericho walks off happy while Heyman is puzzled and Rollins is ticked.
Commercials.
Match #1: Tag-Team – The Big Show and Luke Harper VS. Erik Rowan and Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler
(Note: Yes, Ziggler won his 4th I.C. Title at TLC) Show and Ziggler begin, with Big chucking Dolph into the corner. Dolph fights back with slugs and a high-dropkick, but Show gains control catching Dolph with a flapjack. He toys with Ziggler for a bit, then gives him a shoulder block and hurls him into the corner barricade.
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Former I.C. Champ Harper now dominating Dolph, giving him a harsh uppercut. Both he and Show take turns messing with Ziggler for a while until Dolph struggles but gets the hot-tag to Rowan. “Big Red” goes after Harper with clotheslines, a corner splash, and a full-nelson slam. Luke gets the tag, but Erik takes Show down with a kick. Harper does the same to Rowan, but then Dolph comes in and takes out Luke. Rowan turns around into a Knockout Punch by Show to get the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Big Show and Luke Harper
Segment #2: Backstage Promo
Rosa and Fandango are up close and personal with each other, when Chris Jericho walks up to them. He threatens that he will get his Slammy back later tonight.
Commercials.
It is announced that both Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt will be on Super Smackdown! Live tomorrow night, following their brutal TLC match at TLC
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Rene Young is with The New Day. Xavier Woods talks about positivity and wanting to “unleash the PH.D,” while Kingston declares they “ain’t afraid of the dark,” and Big E. says they will “feel the power of The New Day.”
The Bella Twins, which features Nikki still as the Divas Champion, make their entrance for a tag-team contest next!
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Match #2: Tag-Team – The Bella Twins (Divas Champion Nikki and Brie) VS. Alicia Fox and Natalya (with Tyson Kidd)
Nikki starts out with Alicia, but first knocks Natalya off the apron. She then gives Fox a hard spinebuster, and switchers with her sister. Brie clamps on a grounding rear chinlock to Fox, wearing her down. Natalya gets the hot-tag and quickly locks in the Sharpshooter, forcing Brie to tap-out!
Winners via Pinfall: Alicia Fox and Natalya
Up next, Chris Jericho will host his “Highlight Reel” Segment with United States Champion Rusev and Lana!
Commercials.
It is announced that Roman Reigns will wrestle for the first time since September on Super Smackdown Live!
Segment #4: Arena Promo
Jericho is in the ring, which is now donned with a black carpet and his Highlight Reel television screen. He takes a couple shots at both Lana and Rusev, then invites them to come out. Lana tries to get ahead of Jericho, not wanting him to make his “juvenile” jokes. Jericho does so anyway and gets under their skin when he insinuates they are a couple. “Rusev and Lana sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love…” He labels the couple as “the U.S. Champ and the communist tramp.”
Rusev stands up for Lana and warns Jericho he will just “crush you now.” Jericho accepts, only giving it someone from the locker room instead who wants to take him on. “Feed Me More” blares the speakers as Ryback charges out. He stares down Rusev, who then backs away and leaves to a chorus of boos.
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Segment #5: Video Promo
Another Ascension video airs, which features Conor O’Brian and Rick Victor from NXT. (These guys were awesome there, so hopefully they go over well on the main shows!)
Match #3: Tag-Team – The New Day ( Xavier Woods and Big E.) (with The New Day partner Kofi Kingston) VS. Gold and Stardust
Xavier and Goldust begin, with Woods getting the best of Goldust at first. He tags in Big E. who whips Woods into Goldust. Stardust is now in, but is caught off the middle turnbuckle by Big E, who delivers a couple rib-breakers to Stardust, then has Xavier kick him as he goes to the corner. Woods snapmares Stardust then gives him a low-front-dropkick. Big E. helps Woods splash Stardust for a two, then Xavier continues to work over Stardust with a wrist/arm lock. New Day chase Gold/Stardust out of the ring.
Commercials.
Big E. is still controlling Stardust, ramming his shoulder into him in the corner. He appears to try for the Big Ending, but Stardust slides out and tags his half-brother. Both Goldust and Stardust take control. Goldust knees Big E. repeatedly, and then catches him out of a run with a spinebuster. 1 – 2 – Big E. kicks out! Stardust is back in and stomps away, then holds him in a grounding front-facelock. Big E. eventually fires back with a big clothesline, then slaps Xavier’s hand for the hot-tag. He is all over both Stardust and Goldust with fast moves. He sends both Gold and Stardust to the outside, then uses Big E. to launch himself with a somersault over the ropes! Big E. holds up Goldust as Woods rockets from the top turnbuckle to deliver “The Midnight Hour” and finish this one!
Winners via Pinfall: The New Day (Xavier Woods and Big E.) (with The New Day partner Kofi Kingston)
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Segment #6: Backstage Promo
Rene Young interviews Tag-Team Champions The Miz and Damien Mizdow about their feud with The Usos. Miz insists that Jimmy Uso will only be around Naomi, his wife, when she is on movie sets and that’s the one time he will feel like an “A-Lister.”
Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Adam Rose is walking with his Party Posse. They will put on “the biggest after-party in history!” A man who is not your typical “party animal” walks up and tells Adam that his match is next against himself. That man is “The Big Red Machine,” Kane!
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – Adam Rose (with his Party Posse) VS. Kane
“The Big Red Machine” quickly polishes off Rose with a chokeslam, even after The Bunny interfered.
Winner via Pinfall: Kane
Post-match, Kane Tombstones The Bunny this time for good measure.
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Match #5: Single – Chris Jericho VS. Paul Heyman
Prior to the bout, Heyman walks out and cuts a promo. He wants to pay off Jericho what he owes him, $200, and have a “pass” from this match. Chris doesn’t go for it, and shows the app to determine this match a Streetfight!
Heyman reveals one more trick: “Br-ooo-ck Lesn-aaa-rrrr!” The WWE World Heavyweight Champion returns and stares down Jericho. He fends off a Codebreaker attempt and gives him a big F-5! Heyman holds up Lesnar’s hands then the two walk to the back.
Winner: No Contest
After a promo for the Royal Rumble and announcer’s comments, Fandango and Rosa are in the ring. He will be talking, next!
Commercials.
Segment #8: Arena Promo
Fandango is in the ring with Rosa, and proclaims that “Raw Is Jericho is now ‘Raw Was Jericho.’” He is quickly interrupted by the return of another superstar, Roman Reigns! He walks to the ring quickly through the crowd, then takes out Fandango with a harsh punch and a Spear! “The Superstar Of The Year (2014)” picks up the microphone and goes to talk before being interrupted by The Big Show.
While Show is on the stage, Reigns warns him that “I’m going to hit ya in the mouth,” if he meets him in the ring. show accepts the subtle challenge, and wants to “put him back on the injured reserved list.” Reigns quickly Superman Punches him, but it has little effect, as Show is still standing and throws the steel stairs around.
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Match #6: Single – Tag-Team Champion The Miz (with Tag-Team Champion Damien Mizdow) VS. Jimmy Uso (with brother/partner Jey Uso) (Non-Title)
Miz slides out of the ring a couple of times at first, then is caught by Jimmy with a tilt-a-whirl scoop-slam. It is shown that Naomi is watching backstage. Jimmy chops away on Miz in the corner, then sweeps him up and punches away. Miz turns the tide, using the top rope to jawbreak Jimmy. He leaps off the top turnbuckle, but is hit with an uppercut, giving Jimmy the advantage again. Miz regains control and kicks Jimmy in the head off the apron. He then shoves his own partner, Mizdow, out of the way. Miz works over Jimmy with a grounding front-facelock and bridge. Jimmy elbows out of it, but can’t connect with a Samoan Drop. Instead, he is driven down with a back/neckbreaker combo.
Jimmy regains momentum, clotheslining Miz over the ropes, then soaring himself with a body-splash! He follows with a crossbody from the top turnbuckle for two! Jimmy gives Miz a Samoan Drop, which Mizdow comes in and imitates. As the referee is rolling Mizdow out, Jey socks Miz off the ropes, allowing Jimmy to hit a superkick then a Superfly Splash from the top turnbuckle for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Jimmy Uso (with brother/partner Jey Uso)
Commercials.
Segment #9: Backstage Promo
Even though he lost, The Miz is still trying to convince Naomi to join the acting business. He then asks her to be on MizTV Tuesday night on Main Event. He lets her know that it is big, so do not let Jimmy know that she is taking his offer.
Segment #10: Backstage Promo
Rene Young is with Seth Rollins, Joey Mercury, and Jamie Noble. Again, he is not pleased with the decision to face John Cena in a Steel Cage. He says because of the wild decision-making, no one is safe around Raw. Rollins promotes that The Authority must be back to get back decent control of the company. “I am going to teach John Cena a lesson that he will not soon forget.”
The cage begins to lower and the main-event is up next!
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Match #7: Single (Steel Cage Rules) – Seth Rollins (with Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble) VS. John Cena
Right away, Rollins tries to escape but Cena yanks him back in the cage/ring. Seth quickly gains domination, using the cage walls to work over Cena. He is quickly sling-shotted into those walls however, but begins to climb. Cena rams his head off the mesh, then rockets him across with a bulldog! 1 – 2 – Rollins kicks out! Both Rollins and Cena try to escape but to no avail. Both try to use the door to leave, and struggle with each other. John pulls Rollins back in, then whips him into the corner. Seth almost gets this after an elbow and blockbuster neckbreaker from the middle turnbuckle! Rollins powerbombs Cena into the corner but still can’t put him away!
Commercials.
Rollins is still in control until Cena makes a big comeback! He counters a punch with a few of his own, then uses the ropes for a couple shoulder block tackles! Cena turns him around with a spin-out powerbomb, but Rollins kicks him in the head when he tried the 5-Knuckle Shuffle. Cena hits it again, and an Attitude Adjustment for a close two! He goes for the door, but Noble blocks him. Cena shoves Jamie off, but is grabbed back into the cage/ring by Rollins. Cena drops Rollins with a top-rope legdrop! 1 – 2 – Rollins gets his shoulder up!
They both trade climbs until Cena attempts the A.A. Rollins wiggles out, then dives off the top rope with a knee-to-the-face! 1 – 2- Cena rolls his shoulder up! Seth taunts and yells at Cena, “this is what you wanted!” He tosses him hard into the cage again, then measures him. This time, Cena reverses a whip and sends Rollins face-first into the mesh wall! Again, Cena goes to walk out the door but Mercury slams it shut on his head! Rollins covers but only manages a near-fall!
Rollins leaps over, but is caught in the STF! He crawls and kicks off Cena, then is almost out the door until Cena holds onto his legs. Both Mercury and Noble try to tug Rollins out, but Cena uses his strength to drag him back in. Noble tosses the Money In The Bank briefcase into the ring before the referee shuts the door.
Rollins picks up the briefcase, swinging at Cena! He misses and instead eats a clothesline! Both men slug back-and-forth until Rollins lands on his feet after another A.A. attempt. He grabs the briefcase and rams it into Cena’s head, but amazingly, only for two!
Seth manage to almost get out of the cage, but Cena pulls him back in a giant Attitude Adjustment from the top turnbuckle! Both men are down and are crawling toward the door. Just now, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar’s music plays. He and Paul Heyman walk down, with Lesnar entering the cage. He surveys both men, then decides on Cena by German-suplexing him three-times! Rollins gets up and realizes the opportunity. Heyman walks in and extends his hand, which Rollins shakes! He is then left alone with Cena, and gives him a Curb-Stomp. Rollins picks up his briefcase and approaches the door, then slowly walks out of it to get the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: Seth Rollins (with Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble)
Rollins is held up on the stage by Mercury and Noble to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
This was another pretty-decent Raw; even though it took a while to fill in the gaps from T.L.C., the show did flow pretty smooth and I really enjoyed the main-event! Onto the analysis:
Excellence: Great matches between Ziggler/Rowan/Luke/Big, Bellas/Alicia/Natalya, The New Day/Goldust/Stardust, and Rollins/Cena.
Loved Jericho’s promo with Lana/Rusev as it was back to his good ole comedy routine, with two people than can get the heel heat easy by not feeding/playing into it. Still liking The Miz/Mizdow’s and Usos feud; getting a little more interesting each week! Same with The New Day.
Like the potential new feud of Reigns and Show. Really happy that Reigns is back too; totally like his “Big Daddy Cool 2.0” mixed with “I don’t give a darn and will go through anyone to get to the top as quickly as possible” personalities.
The main-event was an awesome one, well-wrestled and told! It also sets up an intriguing point to the Royal Rumble with Seth winning over Cena and also having the Money In The Bank briefcase.
Bogus: I thought it took too long to get to a result of the T.L.C. Pay-Per-View for those of us who didn’t know what happened already. The promo that was cut really could’ve been done in the middle of the show, or next segment, and they should’ve had Cena/Rollins/Ambrose/Wyatt out to talk about their T.L.C. bout.
Not interested in Adam Rose and Posse anymore; I really hope Kane chokeslamming/tombstoning them is the end of the gimmick and they will be refreshed. Same with “the new” Fandango; warn out his welcome already.
Some key people were missing, notably A.J. and Jack Swagger, coming off hot-feuds from the PPV. This was not good!
While I’m looking forward to The Ascension’s debut, they really need to have a better build. The only highlight of their video is the tagline “Welcome To The Wasteland.” The rest just doesn’t work and they need to redo it fast, because they can be a great tag-team!
Overall, this was a pretty good Raw; looking forward to next weeks! Until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
The Royal Rumble main event was set at last night’s TLC pay-per-view as John Cena successfully defeated Seth Rollins in a table match with help from Roman Reigns to keep his number one contender spot.
With Cena the winner, he now moves on to face Brock Lesnar for the third time in five months and thanks to Lesnar’s very limited contract, WWE has opted to throw away the ’30 day rule’ to defend the title and it will be a total of 127 days since the last time the WWE was defended on a WWE show.
Lesnar and Paul Heyman are expected to return on tonight’s Raw to start the program with Cena.
TNA today announced that it will launch a web series titled Destination: Home which will air on ImpactWrestling.com for the next few weeks as the company prepares to reboot on Destination America.
The synopsis for the show reads, “As IMPACT Wrestling prepares to land on Destination America in 2015, we wanted to spend sometime with the superstars themselves and see where they go when they aren’t trying to win championships, pummel each other or find a good restaurant on the road. Where do they call home?“
USA Network kicks off WWE Week today with with several WWE shows and Superstars and Divas appearing on USA throughout the week.
The week starts with Monday Night Raw tonight from Detroit, Michigan, featuring the fallout from last night’s TLC. Live also tomorrow will be a special presentation of Smackdown at 8PM EST with a replay airing on Friday on SyFy in the show’s usual time slot.
On Wednesday, USA will air a two hour Tribute to the Troops show which was taped last week. A one hour condensed version of the show will air towards the end of the month on NBC.
On Saturday at 3PM, the movie The Game Plan with The Rock will air and then on Sunday at 8PM the new movie Jingle All The Way 2 with Santino Marella will air.
Throughout the whole week, Cat Greenleafon from USA Daytime will be interviewing Stephanie McMahon, Brie Bella, The Miz, Big Show, and Titus O’Neil.
Here are the results from last night’s TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs…and Stairs pay-per-view which took place from the Quickens Loan Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The New Day defeated Goldust and Stardust in the pre-show; Dolph Ziggler defeated Luke Harper in a ladder match to become the new Intercontinental champion; The Usos defeated The Miz and Damien Mizdow via disqualification with Miz and Mizdow retaining the Tag Team titles; Big Show defeated Erick Rowan in a stairs match; John Cena defeated Seth Rollins in a tables match; Nikki Bella defeated AJ Lee to retain the Divas title; Ryback defeated Kane in a chairs match; Rusev defeated Jack Swagger to retain the U.S. title; and Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose in a TLC match.
Live tonight from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, WWE presents TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs..and Stairs on pay-per-view and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
John Cena vs Seth Rollins in a tables match with the stipulation that if Cena loses he will no longer be the number one contender for the WWE title; Dean Ambrose vs Bray Wyatt in a TLC match; Luke Harper vs Dolph Ziggler in a ladder match for the Intercontinental title; Ryback vs Kane in a chairs match; Erick Rowan vs Big Show in a steel stairs match; The Miz and Damien Mizdow vs The Usos for the WWE Tag Team titles; Rusev vs Jack Swagger for the WWE United States title; Nikki Bella vs AJ Lee for the WWE Divas title; and The New Day vs Goldust and Stardust in the pre-show.
When the second half of season three of Total Divas returns on E!, one cast member who has been part of the show since season one won’t be returning.
Trinity Fatu, better known as Naomi, confirmed on Twitter her departure from the show.
“For many fans who’ve been asking I am no longer apart of the #TotalDivas cast,” she wrote, adding that it was not her choice to drop from the show. “I still support my girls and I’m excited for the new season.”
In the new promo for the return of the reality series, one person who was also absent from it was Summer Rae although at this point it has not been confirmed if she’s out as well.
Alicia Fox and Paige join the cast for the remainder of season 3, which returns on January 4.
TNA President Dixie Carter wrote in a tweet that the company will be having another show on Destination America titled Impact Wrestling: Unlocked.
The new show will air on Saturdays at 10AM EST starting January 17, the next day that Impact starts for the first time in its permanent time slot of Friday nights.
No other information has been released about Unlocked yet in terms of show format.
WWE has started slowly adding the Prime Time Wrestling series to the WWE Network, a show which originally aired on USA Network from January 1985 to January 1993, signing off to make room for Monday Night Raw.
Only two shows so far are archived online, both from mid 1986 with WWE Hall of Famers, the late Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan hosting.
Earlier this week, WWE’s Chief Financial and Strategy Officer George Barrios said that a lot new programming will be announced for the WWE Network. He was speaking at the UBS Financial Conference.
