Former WWE tag team champions Primo and Epico are going to be repackaged as a new tag team – Los Matadores.
The Los Matadores “coming soon” vignette aired on RAW last night and it was immediately visible that the two Puerto Rican cousins were under the partial mask.
The two have been off WWE television for several months and had a run in NXT as well.
John Cena took a dig at the arrival of the duo in a tweet he posted after the show. “I leave. Los Matadores arrive…..I say….even trade.”
The last person to play the gimmick of a Matador was former Intercontinental champion Tito Santana, who wrestled under the name of El Matador between 1991 and 1993.
Sin Cara’s match against Alberto Del Rio was cut short after Sin Cara suffered a hand injury in the opening moments.
Sin Cara did a dive outside the ring onto Del Rio and landed on his finger, dislocating his 4th ring finger according to WWE physician Dr. Michael Sampson.
He is scheduled to have X-rays today to see if there are any fractures and if everything is clear Dr. Sampson said he’ll be able to finger splint him and would be allowed to wrestle again.
The fourth episode of Total Divas did a total of 1,349,000 viewers, down 322,000 viewers from last week’s show and the first episode not to grow over the previous week.
The show, airing at 10PM, went head to head with SummerSlam. It will be interesting to see what the show does in the replays to see if SummerSlam was the cause of the drop in viewers. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
John Cena announced that he would be taking time off last night on Monday Night RAW to heal from his several injuries.
“Tonight I leave the WWE,” said Cena, as fans erupted in “Yes” chants. Cena smiled, and said that he loved them and he was going to miss all of this, meaning the chants against him.
Cena’s elbow has ballooned due to fluid from a torn triceps and he revealed that WWE doctors advised him to go home before SummerSlam and cancel the WWE title match.
The former WWE champion has been going non-stop since returning from a torn pectoral muscle in January 2008. He suffered the injury just four months before and was expected to be out for seven months but returned as a surprise final entrant in the Royal Rumble.
With his win at SummerSlam yesterday night, Randy Orton became a seven time WWE champion in addition to the three World Heavyweight title reigns, joining Superstars such as Triple H, John Cena, The Rock, and others who have double-digit world title reigns.
Orton won the WWE title after he received some help from his former Evolution partner Triple H who just finished refereeing the Cena vs Bryan match minutes before.
Orton’s seventh WWE title win was probably his easiest, never landing a finger on Daniel Bryan since Triple H did all the work by blindsiding Bryan and giving him the Pedigree.
The Viper has to be careful however as he is already on two strikes with the company’s Wellness Program. He was punished for 60 days back in mid 2012 and missed the RAW 1000th episode which took place from his own home town.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson even sent a congratulatory tweet to Orton following his win. “Congrats my #WWE family for a helluva #SummerSlam. The boys (and gals) worked their asses off. Congrats @RandyOrton new @WWE Champ! #Viper,” Johnson tweeted.
The Reddit user who has been correctly predicting every single WWE pay-per-view match result since the Elimination Chamber PPV in February didn’t post the spoilers for all the matches for SummerSlam, but correctly predicted three matches that he decided to post.
Before the Kane/Wyatt, Punk/Lesnar, and Del Rio/Christian matches, the ‘Dolphins1925’ Reddit user posted the results of the matches on the Squared Circle Reddit board, making 41 consecutive correct guesses since February.
The user said that his source told him that multiple scripts existed for the whole card, including different outcomes of the main event which Vince McMahon changed during the day. He claimed that WWE is trying to do everything to ensure he doesn’t go “undefeated again.”
Joey Styles, who heads up WWE’s digital services, made reference to the user in a tweet he posted after the show. “What a @WWE #SummerSlam! @WWEDanielBryan was caught in a web of deception like a dolphin caught in a fishing net.”
PWInsider.com is reporting that Alberto Del Rio got into a real fight the night before SummerSlam in an Irish pub which is why he was sporting a bruised face during his match at the pay-per-view.
The site, getting the news from different sources, said that Del Rio got into it with a frequent visitor to the pub and his friends jumped in and attacked the World Heavyweight champion.
Del Rio was not alone and was accompanied by Drew McIntyre, who also apparently got his ass handed to him by the patrons.
It doesn’t matter how big and strong you are, once you’re outnumbered, all bets are off!
Ric Flair had a little too much of extra fun during the SummerSlam weekend, landing him in hot water for being, well, just the Nature Boy as always.
Flair was in Los Angeles to help WWE promote the WWE 2K14 video game and his involvement in the panel which was hosted by JR raised a few eyebrows and gave WWE management some headaches as well.
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer was said to be drunk and his alcohol levels contributed to some funny stories and words which should have never been said. WWE management were so annoyed about it that Flair was eventually pulled out from participating in another WWE 2K14 event.
The Nature Boy is said to be close to be given another job with WWE as an ambassador however his usual behavior might have caused an obstacle this time around.
Here are the results from last night’s SummerSlam pay-per-view which took place at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
Rob Van Dam defeated Dean Ambrose via disqualification in the Kickoff match; Bray Wyatt defeated Kane in a Ring of Fire match; Cody Rhodes defeated Damien Sandow; Alberto Del Rio defeated Christian to retain the World Heavyweight title; Natalya defeated Brie Bella; Brock Lesnar defeated CM Punk in a no disqualification match; Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn defeated Big E Langston and AJ Lee; Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena to win the WWE title but Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank and won the title after Triple H hit the Pedigree on Daniel Bryan.
Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was part of the WWE 2K14 panel yesterday for the launch of the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode roster.
The Nature Boy revealed a very personal story from his son’s funeral where he said that right before the casket was closed, he took his Hall of Fame ring that he received in 2006 and put it on Reid’s finger.
An emotional Flair then recounted how when he went to NXT a couple of months ago, he was called in by Triple H and was given another HOF ring with his son’s name engraved on it.
Flair put over WWE for taking care of him and others and said that he has now received a total of three Hall of Fame rings!
The former champion was hanging out with the WWE crew for the weekend and even participated at Axxess yesterday doing some autograph signings.
Veteran TV host Larry King was present for most of the SummerSlam activities during the week getting interviews for his Internet-only Larry King Now show.
The former CNN staple dedicated a full show to three of the WWE Divas – Nikki, Brie, and Natalya – to promote the SummerSlam pay-per-view and the Total Divas show on E!, as well as to talk about their lives in the WWE.
It was a pretty interesting 30 minute show where all three spoke candidly about their profession and the friendship between all the Divas in the locker room.
You can see the show (available to U.S. viewers only) below.
Episode four of Total Divas tonight will tackle some more love issues and fights between the Divas with the focus this time being Natalya and her now husband Tyson Kidd.
The Bellas fight (again) as Brie calls Nikki fat, Natalya flips on Tyson Kidd, Cameron tries some new boob implants and jumps in the pool with them (wrong idea!) and more.
You can watch the 30 second preview of tonight’s show which also has Natalya looking stunning in lingerie while Kidd completely ignores her on the sofa below.
It’s worth mentioning that the show tonight will air head-to-head with SummerSlam so it will be interesting to see if there’s any drop in viewers.
Live tonight from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, WWE presents the biggest show of the Summer, SummerSlam on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
John Cena vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE title with Triple H as the special guest referee; Alberto Del Rio vs Christian for the World Heavyweight title; CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar; Kane vs Bray Wyatt in a Ring of Fire match; Dolph Ziggler & Kaitlyn vs Big E Langston and AJ Lee; Cody Rhodes vs Damien Sandow; Natalya vs Brie Bella; and Dean Ambrose vs Rob Van Dam in the kickoff match for the U.S. title.
2K Sports today revealed the roster for the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode during SummerSlam Axxess, an event which was streamed live online.
42 playable characters – some appearing twice in retro modes as well – were announced including the likes of Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, Ric Flair, Yokozuna, and others.
The full roster for the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode consists of: Alberto Del Rio, Andre the Giant, Batista, Big Show, Big Show (Retro), Bret Hart, Brock Lesnar, Brock Lesnar (Retro), Chris Jericho, Chris Jericho (Retro), CM Punk, Diesel, Edge, Goldberg, Hulk Hogan, ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan, JBL, John Cena, John Cena (Retro), Kane (Retro), King Kong Bundy, Mick Foley, Randy Orton, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, Razor Ramon, Ric Flair, Ric Flair (Retro), Ricky Steamboat, Sgt Slaughter, Shawn Michaels, Shawn Michaels (Retro), ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Ted DiBiase, The Miz, The Rock, The Rock (Retro), Triple H, Triple H (Retro), Ultimate Warrior, Undertaker, Undertaker (Retro), and Yokozuna.
On September 12, Impact will be themed as No Surrender, the former pay-per-view which is now just a TV special along with 8 others.
This will be the third themed Impact – following Destination X and Hardcore Justice – since TNA switched to just four pay-per-views a year rather than twelve.
The show will take place from the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. Tickets are on sale starting at $15 from Ticketmaster.com.
There is one less Hogan working for TNA as PWInsider.com confirmed that Brooke Hogan was released from the company earlier this week. Her release is part of their financial restructuring.
Brooke joined TNA in May 2012 in an on-screen role to work with the Knockouts and was part of a big angle where she was set to marry Bully Ray but as everyone knows, weddings in professional wrestling always have a surprise or two.
A few months ago, 25 year old Brooke got engaged to Dallas Cowboys Center Phil Costa while the company was in Las Vegas for an Impact taping.
The Smack is being laid Down for us tonight in San Jose, California. The announcers for tonight are Michael Cole and JBL. Cole and JBL start to preview the show when they are interrupted by the entrance of the Wyatt family.
Bray Wyatt makes his way to the ring to tell us a story, a story about a special little boy. This boy was bigger than the other children, but he was hurt by the names they called him, and felt like a freak. Then this little boy got a new crutch, a mask he could hide behind, and he gave himself a new name: Kane.
Wyatt says Kane’s life is a lie, but Wyatt knows exactly who HE is. Bray Wyatt says he will walk on water just to prove he can, he will bite the head off a snake just to taste its poison. Kane’s music hits and Kane comes out through the crowd to pull Harper and Rowan out of the ring.
Wyatt waits alone in the ring for Kane and invites him in; Kane enters the ring and attacks Wyatt. Kane gets the upper hand but eventually Harper and Rowan enter the ring and the family overpowers Kane. After beating him down, Bray Wyatt hits the barely conscious Kane with his big move; a swinging reverse STO. Wyatt poses over the fallen Kane and tells him to follow the buzzards.
Commercial
Match #1: Damien Sandow versus Christian.
Damien lands a kick and a headbutt. Christian trips Damien into the ropes. Christian climbs to the top and hits Sandow with a missile dropkick. Sandow hits Christian with a punch and then suplexes him abs first onto the ropes.
Sandow hits Christian with a knee lift that sends him falling out to the floor. Sandow rolls Christian in and stomps on him. Sandow hits Christian with a forearm to the back and throws him back out to the floor. Damien slams Christian into the steel steps.
Commercial
When we return, Sandow has Christian in a chinlock. Christian fights out and Sandow trips him up. Sandow pulls Christian out over the edge of the ring apron and hits him with several knee lifts to the head. Sandow rolls back into the ring. Christian slingshots himself back into the ring and takes Sandow down with a sunset flip.
Christian slams Sandow into the corner, mounts him and pounds him ten times in the head. Christian slams Sandow to the mat and then climbs to the top again. Christian attempts a flying crossbody but Sandow sidesteps it. Sandow hits Christian with a neckbreaker. Christian hits Sandow with a back kick. Christian takes Damien down with a sunset flip from the second rope and gets a two count. Christian hits Sandow with a flying back elbow.
Sandow evades Christian’s next attack with a cartwheel and then takes Christian down with a side Russian leg sweep. Sandow goes for his elbow drop, the Cubito Aequet, which is Latin for “He doesn’t really know Latin,” but Christian rolls out of the way. Christian rolls Sandow up for the win!!
After the match, World Champion Alberto Del Rio attacks Christian from behind and tells him he will never be world champion again. Alberto tries to apply the cross armbreaker, but Christian reverses it and knocks Alberto out with the Kill Switch!
Commercial
Match #2: Kaitlyn and Natalya versus AJ and Layla.
Layla and Natalya start the match off and Natalya takes Layla to the mat with a headlock. Layla gets out of the headlock by wrapping Natalya’s head up in leg scissors. Natalya applies another headlock, transitions into a hammerlock, and then takes her to the mat. Layla rolls Natalya up but Natalya kicks out and then takes Layla to the mat with a double leg takedown.
AJ lands a kick to Natalya and Layla hits Natalya with her bum. I never liked the butt bump, it’s only funny when Colt Cabana does it. Layla tags AJ and AJ lands a couple kicks. AJ applies a sleeper to Natalya, wrapping her legs around Natalya’s waist.
Natalya tries to walk AJ into the corner, but AJ takes her down and re applies the sleeper hold. Natalya finally escapes and tags in Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn flattens AJ twice, then hits her with a splash in the corner, and then hits her with a backbreaker. AJ lands a kick, Kaitlyn responds with a fireman’s carry gut buster. Layla hits Kaitlyn with a cheap shot to the back of the knees while the ref was distracted. AJ hits Kaitlyn with the Shining Wizard for the win.
After the match, Renee Young interviews Ryback. Renee asks Ryback if the reason he doesn’t have a match at SummerSlam is because he’s too brutal to his opponents. Ryback mocks her voice and then starts bullying one of the staffers in the back. Ryback asks some random guy what he’s looking at and then punches him in the gut, and then says he’s sorry. Ryback smacks the guy upside the head and says he’s sorry again before throwing him through the air into some equipment. Ryback laughs that people are afraid of him.
Commercial
Match #3: RVD, Mark Henry, and the Big Show versus the Shield.
Mark Henry and Seth Rollins start the match. Henry slams Rollins into the corner, bodyslams him, and then tags in RVD. RVD hits Rollins with a flying side kick followed by a monkey flip. RVD continues the offense with a standing moonsault.
Dean Ambrose hits RVD in the back of the head after a blind tag. Ambrose clotheslines RVD and tags in Roman Reigns. Reigns bodyslams RVD and then puts him in a chinlock. RVD hits Reigns with an elbow, but Reigns knocks him down again. Reigns hits Mark Henry with a cheap shot. RVD lands a kick and Reigns tags Ambrose in; RVD tags in the Big Show.
Show flattens Ambrose twice and then launches him through the air with a backdrop. Roman Reigns pulls down the top rope as Big Show charges, causing Show to fall hard to the floor. Outside the ring, Mark Henry tosses Roman Reigns through the air over the announce table.
Seth Rollins flies out of the ring to take out Mark Henry, both men lay stunned outside the ring. Dean Ambrose is the only man left in the ring as the referee makes his count; Big Show gets back into the ring at 9. Big Show looks dazed and Ambrose attacks.
Big Show hits Ambrose with a big right hand and knocks him out but is too stunned to capitalize! RVD tags himself in and hits Ambrose with the frog splash for the win!
Commercial
Match #4: The Miz versus Jack Swagger with Zeb Coulter and Antonio Cesaro.
Before the match, Coulter tells the San Jose crowd he wants to hear someone sing about the way OUT of San Jose, because it’s become over run with illegals, criminals, and freaks. Zeb also calls the Miz a Hollywood phony before trying to lead the crowd to chant “We the people!”
Swagger and Miz start the match off exchanging a lot of punches. Swagger throws Miz off and Miz responds with a kick. Miz takes Swagger down and kicks him repeatedly in the back of the leg, possibly to set up for a figure four leg lock later. Swagger takes Miz down with a biel throw and follows up with a couple of clotheslines.
Swagger hits Miz with a pair of shoulder blocks; Miz follows up with knee lift into a backbreaker. Swagger hits Miz with a kick; Miz retaliates with a kick and a DDT! Miz hits Swagger with a running clothesline in the corner. Cesaro distract Miz and Swagger knocks Miz to the floor. The ref sends Cesaro and Coulter to the back. Swagger protests and then the Miz rolls him up for the win!
Commercial
Match #5: Zach Ryder versus Curtis Axel.
Ryder goes for a quick rollup and then takes Axel down with a pair of arm drags. Axel hits Ryder with an elbow and Ryder responds with a pair of punches and an elbow. Ryder hits Axel with a flapkjack and Axel retreats to the floor. Ryder pursues and Axel reenters the ring.
Axel stomps Ryder as Ryder reenters the ring. Axel suplexes Ryder, but Ryder lands on his feet. Ryder hits Axel with a missile dropkick and a running forearm. Ryder goes for the Broski boot, but Axel rolls out to the floor. Ryder goes for a flying crossbody but misses.
Axel stomps and pounds Ryder. Curtis Axel hits Ryder with a suplex as the crowd chants for CM Punk. Axel hits Ryder with a hangman’s facebuster for the win.
Commercial
After the match, Paul Heyman admits CM Punk outsmarted Heyman and Lesnar this week on Raw. But Heyman promises to have his revenge on Punk at SummerSlam at the hands of the Beast, Brock Lesnar.
A video package highlighting the feud between Daniel Bryan and John Cena is shown.
Commercial
Match #6: Daniel Bryan versus Wade Barrett, No DQ.
The two men lock up to start the match and Barrett pushes Bryan to the corner. Bryan hits Barrett with several kicks and then takes him down with a dragon screw leg whip. Bryan locks Barrett’s legs up with his own and then pulls up and back on Barrett’s nose.
Barrett escapes and whips Bryan to the ropes and follows up with a knee to the gut. Wade stomps Bryan in the corner and whips Bryan to the opposite corner. Bryan runs up the ropes and over Barrett and then hits him with two clotheslines, knocking him to the floor with the second. Daniel tries to hit Wade with a suicide dive but misses.
Barrett slams Bryan into the security barrier, and then into the opposite barrier. Wade goes for a running boot but misses and gets caught up on the security barrier. Bryan hits Barrett with several kicks knocking him off the security barrier into the timekeeper’s area. Bryan grabs a table and puts it in the ring.
Barrett pounds on Bryan and slams him first into the announce table and then the steel steps. Wade rolls Daniel in and then grabs a kendo stick. Barrett hits Bryan in the back repeatedly with the stick, but Bryan is able to land a kick, causing Barrett to drop the kendo stick. Bryan grabs the kendo stick and Barrett retreats to the floor.
Bryan hits Barrett with a suicide dive and then climbs to the top. Barrett reenters the ring and Bryan hits him with a missile dropkick. Bryan kips up and sees Vince McMahon strutting to the ring. Vince must have recently gotten some funding from the ministry of silly walks, because his walk has taken a decidedly silly turn lately.
Commercial
Barrett hits Bryan with a neckbreaker and then sets up a table. Barrett tries to powerbomb Bryan, but Bryan turns it into a hurricanrana instead. Bryan hits Wade with a running high knee right in front of Vince. Bryan lands several kicks as the crowd chants YES! Barrett hits Bryan with a suplex on the floor as Vince yells YES!
The crowd responds to Vince with NO! Wade slams Bryan into the steel post and then rolls him back in. Wade grabs a chair and pounds Bryan with it repeatedly. Barrett climbs to the second rope and comes off with the chair, but Bryan rolls out of the way. Bryan hits Barrett with a pair of running dropkicks in the corner. Bryan grabs the kendo stick and hits Barrett with several shots with the stick, alternating with several kicks to the chest.
Bryan finally tries a kick to the head, but Barrett ducks and tries to roll Bryan up. Bryan reverses and puts Barrett in the YES lock! Barrett taps out, but Vince McMahon pulls the ref out of the ring before he can call it.
Bryan angrily asks Vince what he’s doing, when Barrett suddenly knocks him out with the Bull Hammer elbow. The ref is still laying stunned on the ground where Vince yanked him, so no one is able to make the 3 count.
Vince calls Brad Maddox out to take over as ref, but by the time he gets there, Bryan is able to kick out. Vince and Wade both wish Brad had counted faster. Wade goes for a pump handle slam, but Bryan gets out of it and lands a huge kick to the head! Bryan covers the barely conscious Barrett, but Maddox refuses to count.
Vince sneaks around the ring and hands Barrett the kendo stick. Barrett swings at Bryan but misses and knocks out Brad Maddox instead. Bryan hits Wade with a dropkick and tries to apply the YES lock, but Barrett fights it off. Bryan slams Barrett into the table that was set up earlier.
We are without a ref once again, so Vince McMahon takes the shirt off an unconscious referee and starts to put it on when he is interrupted by HHH, wearing a referee’s shirt. HHH is scheduled to be the ref for Daniel Bryan’s title shot against John Cena Sunday at SummerSlam.
Bryan climbs to the top rope and hits Barrett with a flying headbutt for the win!
After the match, Bryan and HHH celebrate in the ring, chanting YES with the crowd. The celebration is cut short by Randy Orton, holding his Money in the Bank briefcase. Bryan sees Orton and starts shaking his head NO. Orton poses with the Money in the Bank contract over his head as SmackDown goes off the air.
Darren Young was on the Today Show to talk about coming out at the Los Angeles airport while he was being interviewed by TMZ.
“I felt like it was the right place and right time,” Young said, adding that he had been suppressing his feelings for so long and he just wants to be happy.
When he was asked if he was afraid about being outed by someone in the locker room, he said he was terrified but he has received unbelievable support, and yesterday he talked to Vince and Stephanie McMahon along with Triple H.
Young expects to get a “mixed reaction” when he steps into the ring the first time as the first openly gay wrestler in the WWE.
“At the end of the day I want to be a role model for people who are afraid to come out,” Young added, noting that he wants to help out by speaking at events and share his story which goes beyond being gay.
He revealed that he was often bullied as a kid and also had a speech impediment that didn’t help the situation. He said he got the help that he needed and is now living the dream, being in love and wrestling for the WWE.
You can watch the interview below.
Meanwhile, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon also publicly supported Young with a message on Twitter. “I respect @DarrenYoungWWE’s decision to come out and am happy to see the support from the WWE Universe.”
Former WWE and UFC champion Brock Lesnar did a very rare media interview with the Los Angeles Times to promote this weekend’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.
In the interview, Lesnar said that he missed fighting in the UFC but described what he went through the last few years as traumatic.
“I got back on the horse way too soon. Coulda, shoulda, woulda,” Lesnar said, adding that that chapter in his life is now closed and he’s comfortable with it.
His retirement from mixed martial arts led him to another run with the WWE and Lesnar said that the UFC boosted his brand enough to give him leverage in contract negotiations with the WWE to allow him to have plenty time off between appearances.
“I think I’ve earned all that. That was the only way I could make this happen,” Lesnar said. He said he does enjoy putting on a show and says it’s hopefully a win-win situation for both parties.
Lesnar said that with his new contract extension he will be “in at least a couple more WrestleManias.”
Bully Ray became a two-time TNA World champion yesterday after he defeated Chris Sabin in the main event of the Hardcore Justice Impact yesterday night.
As Sabin was about to walk out of the cage, Mr Anderson slammed the cage door in Sabin’s face but Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz ran out with Jackson throwing Anderson off the ramp way.
With his head turn away from Ortiz, the former UFC champion – and who will fight Jackson for real in November on Bellator – whacked him with a hammer as Sabin looked on.
Bully Ray recovered and hit a massive power bomb on Sabin, covering for the three count and the win. After the match was over, Ray celebrated in the ring with Ortiz and Taz.
You can see the final four minutes of the match below.
