UFC on FOX 5 will take place tonight at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. The main event will feature Benson Henderson defending his Lightweight title against Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter and The Ultimate Fighter season 5 winner Nate Diaz.
The light heavyweights will co-main event the card as former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua take on white hot Alexander Gustafsson. The event airs live on FOX at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. You can also tune in to FX for six televised prelims at 5pm ET / 2pm PT, and for those who “like” the UFC on Facebook can see a prelim bout at 4:20pm ET / 1:20pm PT.
MAIN EVENT – UFC LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Nate Diaz (155*) VS Benson Henderson (154.6)
FOX MAIN CARD
Alexander Gustafsson (205.4) VS Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205)
Rory MacDonald (170.2) VS BJ Penn(168.2)
Matt Brown (170.2) VS Mike Swick (170)
FX FIGHTS Prelims
Jeremy Stephens (155.8) VS Yves Edwards (155)
Mike Easton(135) VS Raphael Assuncao (136*)
Joe Proctor (154.6) VS Ramsey Nijem(155.4)
Henry Martinez(158.8*) VS Daron Cruickshank (155)
Abel Trujillo (155.4) VS Marcus LeVesseur (155.4)
Nam Phan(145.4) VS Dennis Siver(146)
ONLINE FIGHT
John Albert (136) VS Scott Jorgensen(135.2)
* Diaz (initially 155.6, then 155.2), Martinez (158.8), and Assuncao (136.4) all missed weight. Martinez will not make 156, so he is forfeiting 20 percent of his purse and the fight will go on as scheduled. Assuncao made weight on his second attempt. Diaz made 155 pounds on his third attempt.
Tickets for the Lockdown 2013 pay-per-view from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, went on sale today at Ticketmaster.com.
Prices for the pay-per-view are $15, $20, $35, $50, $60, $125, and $150, although the $150 are already marked as gone and none are available.
W-O reader Rudy sent in word that if you use the promo code TNA40 you will save $40 if you buy a family four pack which translates to one person getting in for free.
While the Alamodome holds over 60,000 fans, TNA will be using a very small corner of the dome in a setup usually used for basketball and boxing events although for Lockdown, half the ‘arena’ that is usually setup for those two events will be used.
Dana White officially announced Ronda Rousey as the first ever UFC women’s champion during the UFC on FOX 5 press conference and immediately put her in the main event of an upcoming show.
Rousey will headline UFC 157, the February 23 show in Anaheim, California, against Liz Carmouche with the title on the line.
White also announced that the next fight for Rousey after this one will be the much talked about fight against Cris Cyborg at 135.
When asked why Rousey is fighting Caramouche and not someone else, White said that people are not knocking Zuffa’s door saying they want to fight Rousey and Caramouche stepped up and said she wants it.
All WWE Superstars and Divas are currently in Virginia for three days visiting the troops and preparing for the Tribute to the Troops television tapings.
Yesterday, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, AJ Lee, Ted DiBiase, Hornswoggle and others visited the Wind & Sea Recreation Center at Naval Station Norfolk, meeting the troops and their families for autographs and photos.
This year Tribute to the Troops will be taped from The Scope Arena in Norfolk. Virginia is home to 125,000 active duty members, 830,000 veterans and many military families.
You can see the photo gallery from the visits below. (Photos courtesy of DVIDSHub)
Impact begins with Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels, and Kazarian making their way to the ring. They will face AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, and James Storm in the main event. Kazarian grabs a mic first and calls us all “Chodes” (don’t feel too bad, thickness is more important anyway.)
Roode grabs the mic next and guarantees a win this Sunday at Final Resolution against Jeff Hardy. He has apparently made some kind of investment that will ensure his victory. Daniels grabs the mic last and calls out his nemesis and opponent this Sunday, AJ Styles.
AJ comes out and claims Daniels has always been jealous of him. Daniels claims AJ has become a loser, and lists all the key matches AJ has lost this year. AJ responds by tackling Daniels. Daniels, Roode, and Kaz all beat AJ down until Storm and Hardy come out to save him.
In the back, Austin Aries says he’s mad at Bully Ray for attacking him last week and wants to fight him at Final Resolution.
Commercial
Match #1: TV champ Samoa Joe versus Devon for the title.
Joe’s TV title reign makes him a grand slam champion in TNA. (tag , X division, world, and TV titles) The two men lock up and Joe pushes Devon to the corner. Joe lands several punches; Devon responds with an eye poke. Joe hits Devon with a back elbow and then an enzuigiri.
Joe hits Devon with a forearm shot, a kick, and a knee drop. Joe charges at Devon, but Devon pulls down the top rope and Joe falls to the floor. Devon slams Joe into the steel steps and then rolls him back into the ring. The two men exchange punches and then Devon hits Joe with a back elbow.
Devon charges into Joe in the corner and then lands on him with a running splash. Devon tries a flying headbutt but misses. Devon throws a few punches but Joe ducks them and then Joe responds with a punch of his own. Joe hits Devon with a punch, an atomic drop, a kick and a backsplash. Devon charges Joe in the corner but Joe just slams him to the mat with an S.T.Joe.
Joe puts Devon in the rear naked choke and some anonymous blonde woman distracts both Joe and the ref. DOC takes advantage of the distraction and hits Joe with a hammer, allowing Devon to cover Joe and pick up the win. Devon is the new champ and he celebrates with Doc and some biker chicks.
Commercial
Al Snow and D Lo Brown are in the back talking about Al’s absence last week. Al doesn’t know what happened, but he woke up Friday morning in a hospital bed. Al thanks D Lo for filling in for him at last week’s gut check vote.
Mickie James makes her way to the ring wearing a lovely dress. Mickie thanks her friends, family, and fans for their support, and promises to win the Knockouts title from Tara this Sunday. Mickie is interrupted by Tara and her boyfriend Jesse.
Tara says she will keep her title, but she is also interrupted by the returning Velvet Sky. Velvet wishes Tara and Mickie luck, but promises she will become Knockout’s champ in 2013.
In the back, big Robbie E is having trouble with his computer. Bigger Robbie T explains that it’s a touch screen and teaches him how to use it. Kind of a useless segment, but they do look adorable together in their matching outfits. Commercial
Match #2: Robbie E and Robbie T versus tag champs Chavo and Hernandez.
Robbie E and Chavo lock up first; Chavo gets behind Robbie and takes him down with a snapmare. Chavo suplexes Robbie and tags in Hernandez. Hernandez puts Robbie in a bear hug then throws him backwards over his head. Hernandez tags in Chavo and Chavo bodyslams Robbie.
Chavo lands some more strikes before getting hit with a cheap shot from Robbie T. Robbie E tags T in and Robbie T beats Chavo down. Robbie T bodyslams Chavo and then flexes. T tags in Robbie E before dropping Chavo with a side slam. Robbie E hits Chavo with a forearm and then applies a headlock.
Robbie beats Chavo down, but Chavo retaliates with a suplex and then tags in Hernandez. Hernandez enters the ring with a flying shoulder block to Robbie. Hernandez hits Robbie with a backdrop and then a backbreaker. Hernandez clotheslines Robbie E to the floor.
Robbie T runs in but Chavo dropkicks him to the floor. Hernandez hits Robbie E with a backdrop and a Shoulder block and then tags in Chavo. Chavo hits Robbie with the frog splash for the win.
After the match, Joey Ryan comes out and says that he and Matt Morgan will beat Chavo and Hernandez for the tag titles at Final Resolution. As Joey speaks, Morgan enters the ring from behind Chavo and Hernandez and clotheslines them both.
Ryan calls his partner Matt Morgan “the Big Morgan” and himself as “the Big Organ.” I think he’s probably referring to his chode, or possibly his liver, but I think it’s most likely his chode.
In the back, Aces and Eights are celebrating Devon’s win with their newfound biker chick groupies. Devon is ready to throw a dart to find out who their next victim will be, but he’s stopped by the boss. The boss flashes a wad of cash; apparently they’ve been paid to attack someone specific.
Commercial
Match #3: Kurt Angle versus Doc.
Kurt starts the match of with a lot of punches and kicks. Kurt starts to focus on Doc’s knee, twisting it and chopping it from behind. Doc turns things around with a clothesline, and then proceeds to stomp Angle. The two men exchange strikes, and then Doc clotheslines Angle to the floor.
Doc whips Angle to the steel steps and then rolls him back in. Doc lands a punch, but Angle responds with a kick and a missile dropkick off the second rope. Angle hits Doc with three straight German Suplexes, releasing him with the third one. Angle goes for an Angle slam but it’s blocked by Doc, who follows up with a kick.
Kurt tries and Ankle lock, but Doc rolls out. Angle hits Doc with 2 more German Suplexes, but Doc grabs the rope to block the third one. As the ref calls for a rope break, Doc is able to get away with a kick to Angle’s groin. Doc hits Angle with a clothesline and then covers him for 2.
Doc tries for a choke slam but Angle blocks it. Angle hits Doc with an Angle slam but is too hurt to capitalize and Doc rolls to the floor. Doc rolls back in and hits Angle with a choke slam and gets a 2 count. Angle hits Doc with an Angle slam and then applies the ankle lock.
Aces and Eights runs in to attack Angle, but Bischoff, Briscoe, and Joe all come out to help. Angle challenges any 4 members of Aces and Eights to a match at Final Resolution against the 4 of them. (Angle, Bischoff, Brisco, and Joe)
In the office, Hulk Hogan is on the phone with someone named Joseph when he is interrupted by Bully Ray. Bully Ray wants to fight Austin Aries and he orders Hogan to give him the match. Hogan laughs at him and says no. Ray says he’s going to take over the show until Hogan gives him what he wants.
Commercial
When we return, James Storm and Jeff Hardy are talking. After they are done talking, Jeff Hardy keeps talking, in his head. We can still hear his inner monologue. I don’t know why, they must think it’s cool. I think it’s weird.
Match #4: Kenny King versus Kid Kash versus Zema Ion to determine the #1 contender for the X division title.
Thankfully, this is being decided by a match and not some painfully boring chat with Hogan and the three contenders in the back office. Hopefully they won’t pull that nonsense anymore. Kash starts off fast and hits King and Ion with strikes.
Zema dropkicks Kash to the floor and tries to roll King up. King hits Zema with a spin kick and Zema responds with an elbow. Kash yanks Zema out to the floor before being knocked back to the floor by Kenny King. Zema clothesline King but then is attacked from behind by Kash. Kash hits Zema with a series of crossfaces.
King hits Zema with a body slam and then a springboard legdrop. Zema shoulder blocks King in the corner. Zema and King exchange strikes and King rolls Zema up for a 2 count. Kash breaks it up and sends both men out to the floor. Kash hits Zema with an over the top rope hurricanrana; King springboards out of the ring onto Kash.
Zema flies over the top rope and takes out King and Kash. Zema rolls in King and climbs the top rope. King cuts Zema off and tries to set him up for something, possibly a version of a superplex. Kash re enters the ring and takes Zema and King out of the corner with the Tower of Doom.
Kash puts King in a Boston Crab and Zema breaks it up. King and Kash exchange kicks and Kash sends King flying out of the ring with a hurricanrana. Kash re enters the ring and takes Zema down with a springboard clothesline. Kash goes to the top rope and Zema pushes him off to the floor. King hits Kash with the Royal Flush (a fireman’s carry into a cutter) for the win.
Commercial
When we return, Bully Ray walks to the ring with a chair. Ray says he wants to fight Austin Aries, Austin Aries wants to fight him, and the fans want to see Bully and Austin fight, so let them fight! Ray sits in the chair and says he’s taking over the show until he gets what he wants.
Austin Aries comes out and claims Ray is only pretending he wants to fight Aries to impress his new girlfriend, Brooke Hogan. Austin Aries puts out a chair and says he’s going to sit there until he gets what he wants to.
Hogan comes out and Aries moves his chair, because he fears Hogan? Or maybe Hogan has really bad halitosis? Hogan says he isn’t going to be pushed around and orders them out of the ring before he kicks/fires their asses.
Brooke Hogan comes out to defend Bully Ray and calls him “Mark.” Hulk is horrified that his daughter is so familiar with Bully Ray that she uses his real name and angrily gives them the match they all wanted.
Commercial
Match #5: Bobby Roode, Kazarian, and Daniels versus AJ Styles, James Storm, and Jeff Hardy.
Storm and Kaz start the match off and lock up in the middle of the ring. Storm lands a punch and then takes Kaz down with a Thesz press. Storm lands a couple forearm shots and tags in Hardy. Storm and Hardy hit Kaz with a double back elbow.
Kaz tags in Daniels and Daniels slams Hardy to the corner. Hardy hits Daniels with a hurricanrana and then tags in AJ. Daniels runs away from AJ and tags in Kaz. AJ hits Jaz with a hurricanrana, a couple strikes, and then tags in Hardy. AJ goes down on all fours and Hardy springs off AJ’s back into Kaz in the corner. (they used to call that “Whisper in the Wind” in WWE when Matt and Jeff Hardy did it. The announcers at TNA called it that tonight; Dixie may be getting a call from Vince’s lawyers.)
Hardy is too close to the wrong corner and gets double teamed by Kaz and Daniels. Kaz puts Hardy in a front chancery as Hardy tries to make a tag. Hardy makes the tag, but Earl doesn’t see it and Hardy gets worked over by the heels some more. Daniels tags in Roode and Roode pummels Hardy. Roode hits Hardy with a vertical suplex and then tags in Daniels.
Daniels stomps on Hardy, slams him into the corner, and then hits him with a pair of knee lifts to the gut. Daniels tags Kaz and then picks up Hardy so Kaz can clothesline him down Kaz steps on Hardy’s throat and then kicks him to the floor. Outside the ring, Roode slams Hardy into the edge of the ring.
Hardy tries to fight back with an elbow, but Roode responds with an elbow of his own and then steps on Hardy’s chest. Roode tags in Daniels and Daniels puts Hardy in a front chancery. Daniels slams Hardy into Kaz’ boot and then tags in Roode. Roode goes to the top but Hardy cuts him off and takes him down with the Twist of Fate.
Hardy is too worn out to capitalize and Roode tags in Kaz as Hardy tags in AJ. AJ knocks down Kaz and Daniels and suplexes Kaz. Storm runs in and hits Kaz with closing time and clotheslines Daniels to the floor. Daniels slams Storm into the steel steps outside the ring; Roode and Kaz double team AJ inside the ring.
AJ simultaneously hits a DDT on Kaz and an inverted DDT on Daniels. AJ goes for a pin on Kaz but Daniels makes the save. AJ tries a springboard move, but Daniels knocks him off the ropes. Storm comes in to help AJ and throws Daniels to the ground. AJ and Storm start arguing.
Hardy tags himself in while AJ and Storm argue. Hardy hits Kaz with the twist of fate for the win!
After the match, AJ and Storm are still arguing as they make their way back to the locker room. Hardy stays in the ring to celebrate, but is attacked by several members of Aces and Eights. Aces and Eights beat Hardy down until Storm comes in to make the save.
Bobby Roode looks on and smiles at the beating Hardy just took, and then he gives them the thumbs up sign. Apparently Roode is the one that paid Aces and Eights off, and Hardy was the man he hired them to attack. Aces and Eights give Roode the thumbs up signal as Impact goes off the air.
The new version of the Wrestling-Online.com News app for iPhone and iPod Touch has been released on the Apple App Store.
Version 2.0 is a redesigned app compatible with iOS6 and makes use of the larger iPhone 5 screen as well. It also includes a new menu system, faster loading times, swiping left or right to go to next or previous articles and a retina display icon.
The update is free for current users or else it will cost 99 cents or the equivalent in your App Store local currency for new users.
Current users should perform the update ASAP since the old version of the app will stop populating news on December 14.
WWE issued a press release yesterday touting the success of their iPhone and iPad app and its second screen experience for RAW, Smackdown and Main Event television shows.
The app has been downloaded more than 2.7 million times in 215 different countries. For this past Monday’s RAW, the app had 20,000 downloads and moved to the Top 50 Free Entertainment Apps on the iTunes chart.
“No one else out there is executing an interactive experience at this level and we’re proud to be at the forefront of innovation,” said Perkins Miller, EVP Digital Media, WWE. “WWE is committed to enhancing the fan experience and we’re excited to unveil a revolutionary second screen experience with WWE Active.”
WWE has released a funny video with WWE Superstars and Divas singing a Christmas – but WWE-themed – song as they stand at the top of the ramp.
John Cena serves as the choir conductor with Randy Orton, CM Punk, Sheamus, Vickie Guerrero, AJ, Kane, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Rey Mysterio and others having their own lines to sing.
“The holidays are truly a time to be thankful for what we have. In the spirit of giving, we have made a donation on your behalf to the Save The Children fund. From our WWE family to yours, Happy Holidays!” says John Cena as everyone in the background wish happy holidays from WWE.
The video starts with a cartoon of CM Punk trying to press a button to light up a Christmas tree and then gives up. At the end of the video, a cartoon of John Cena comes next to Punk, punches him out, lights up the tree and does the “You Can’t See Me” hand gesture. Pretty funny.
Ric Flair’s problems with his wife are just one part of his headaches as the Charlotte Observer newspaper revealed that the former champ owes thousands of money to the government.
Flair has a federal tax lien for $237,436 in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties and owes the N.C. Department of Revenue $41,358 in taxes, penalty and interest.
That is on top of what his soon-to-be ex-wife is claiming she’s owed $14,000 in support and $15,000 in legal fees that were part of the separation agreement.
Meanwhile, Ric Flair’s attorney, Larry Hewitt, is saying that his client is denying all the allegations of misconduct that his wife is basing her complaint on. “He contends she committed acts of marital misconduct and domestic violence. The issues will all be resolved in the courtroom,” he said.
ESPN.COM has an interesting interview with Ryback, whose WWE ’13 character has just been made available for the first time via a DLC.
The interview was mainly in association with his new WWE ’13 playable character but Ryback talked about several other things including the fans’ association of him with Goldberg, where the “feed me more” originated, his travel partners, being in Nexus, and WrestleMania.
“Do you have a dream opponent for the event?” ESPN asked Ryback. “That’s easy. One of my goals, and I don’t know how many more he has in him, so we need this to happen soon, and that’s Undertaker,” Ryback said.
That would have been somewhat special if Ryback was still undefeated, playing the Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak against Ryback’s undefeated gimmick.
The injury to CM Punk leaves Ryback with the short end of the stick as his chance to capture the WWE title vanished as soon as Punk was announced as unable to participate in the pay-per-view.
Ryback will be on the card however and in a letter posted by Vince McMahon on WWE.COM, the Las Vegas native will join the current tag team champions Kane and Daniel Bryan to take on The Shield in a TLC match.
The TLC match will be different though as while tables, ladders, and chairs, will be available for use, the only way to win this match will be via pinfall or submission.
Monday Night RAW got killed in the ratings, getting the lowest total number of viewers since moving to three hours and the lowest rating in over a decade for a non-holiday show.
This week’s show pulled in 3,437,000 viewers and a 2.5 rating which is down 500,000 viewers from last week and down from the 2.7 rating.
Hour one did 3,580,000 viewers, hour two did 3,370,000 viewers and hour three did 3,360,000 viewers. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
WWE Champion CM Punk has been pulled off the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view due to the knee surgery he had to undergo yesterday.
Punk, who has been having knee problems for a while, flew down to Florida right after RAW was over to meet Dr. James Andrews and it was determined he should have surgery immediately.
The main event was supposed to be CM Punk taking on Ryback in a TLC match for the WWE title but now Ryback has been moved to a different match.
Subsequent to last week’s Raw and Smackdown (read that fine report on this fine website!), let us hope tonight’s show follows them up with WRESTLING! Both programs last week provided some excellent in-ring action, so I want to see more of that on Raw this week.
Of course, speaking of which, what will go down from Greensboro? Will WWE Champion C.M Punk get another upper hand on his T.L.C. challenger Ryback? How might The Shield impact the proceedings?
Scheduled for tonight is a tag-team match, pitting John Cena and Sheamus against Dolph Ziggler and World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show. What kind of match will these four bitter rivals have? And is there anymore scandal between A.J. and John Cena?
All this and much more, so read on!
Monday Night Raw T.V. Report for December 03, 2012 – “To Lie or Not To Lie?”
Introduction Segment: Recap
The now-usual montage of recent events of Raw and Smackdown previews the new show tonight, including the tag-team match and The Shield’s motives with WWE Champion C.M. Punk.
The only pyro is Kane’s to kick off Monday Night Raw, lead us into…
Match #1: Tag-Team – Tag-Team Champions “Team Hell No” (Kane and Daniel Bryan) VS. “The Primetime Players” (Darren Young and Titus O’Neil) (Non-Title)
Prior to the bout beginning, Kane takes the microphone and informs The Shield, who are standing in the box-seat section of the arena, that if they want to fight, come on down. They don’t respond, but just stare the Tag-Team Champions down.
Titus and Kane start off, with O’Neil pushing Kane into the corner until The Big Red Machine fires back with punches and sends O’Neil to the outside. Titus switches with Darren, as does Bryan with Kane, who hits a running knee on young. Quick kicks in the corner by Daniel, then he slaps hands with Kane for the tag, who delivers a low-running dropkick for a near-fall!
Kane works over Young’s arm, then switches again with Bryan, who dives off the top with a double axe handle. We quickly see that Roman Reigns has approached the ring closer, now standing in the steps between fans. They continue to control the Primetime Players, while Reigns keeps approaching ringside.
Commercials.
Back live, O’Neil has control on Kane with a standing-side-headlock and clothesline. A grounding rear chinlock is applied by Titus, but Kane battles out and reverses a suplex into one of his own, then gets the hot-tag to Bryan. Huge clothesline from Bryan, then a running-calf-kick in the corner. It later breaks down, with O’Neil breaking up a No-Lock submission. Kane takes him out, but gets distracted by The Shield, who are no inches away from the squared circle.
Darren tries the advantage roll-up, but it gets reversed by Bryan for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pinfall: Tag-Team Champions “Team Hell No” (Kane and Daniel Bryan)
Post-match, like a bunch of vultures, The Shield completely decimate Kane and Daniel Bryan, repeatedly kicking Kane’s arm against the ring post, using the steel ring steps. They triple-powerbomb Bryan and then leave, with Kane checking on his comrade.
Segment #2: Locker Room Promo
Sheamus and John Cena discuss their alliance and match tonight.
Up next, A.J. returns to the ring.
Ads.
Match #2: Single – Tamina Snuka VS. A.J.
A.J. ducks a clothesline and jumps all over Tamina, trying to bring the stronger woman down. A.J. climbs the top rope but is pulled down by her arm from Tamina. She stomps and knees away at the back of A.J., then props her backwards on the top rope, carrying her into a submission hold on her shoulders. A.J. does not give up and fights back with little kicks, but Sunka regains dominance quick.
Tamina drops A.J. with a jumping headbutt, then drags her to the corner. Tamina turns around, presumably setting up for the Superfly Splash, but A.J. surprises her with a roll-up from behind to receive the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: A.J.
Segment #3: Arena Promo
As Michael Cole and Jerry “The King Lawler” are discussing, WWE Champion C.M. Punk’s music plays. The “Straight-Edge Superstar” walks out with Paul Heyman behind him, clutching the WWE Title. What will he say? We will find out after the break.
Commercials.
Back live in the ring, Paul E. has the microphone. He puts down Greensboro for cheap heat, then refers to the WWE Encyclopedia book (cheap plug, although he says he is not “shilling out for your Christmas or Hanukah lists!”). Heyman despises the book because there is “not nearly enough in this Encyclopedia about your reigning and defending WWE Champion C.M. Punk.” Heyman cites that on December 5th at midnight, “C.M. Punk will surpass John Cena as the longest-reigning WWE Champion of the entire modern era.”
Paul says this means that C.M. Punk is the longest champion in the last 25 years, quarter century! Heyman says that “C.M. Punk should be front and center on WWE’s version of Mount Rushmore.” Punk trades his championship for the microphone and goes on his usual tirade. He totes his success and says that his face should be going above everyone else that has been a legend in the company for the last 20 years (The Rock, Stone Cold, The Undertaker, etc…).
“The Second-City Saint” wonders why he has to take on Ryback again, after defeating him at Hell In The Cell and both him and John Cena at Survivor Series. He says it is because the fans have turned their backs on him. Punk claims it was not because of Paul Heyman, Brad Maddox, or The Shield that he is still WWE Champion. It is because he is the best in the world!
An unexpected interrupter walks out to challenge Punk. “The Awesome One” The Miz struts out and disputes Punk’s claims that he is the “best in the world.” Miz says that at least when he was WWE Champion, he had the guts to admit when he lied and cheated to keep the title.
Miz dares Punk to come on “MizTV” and take a lie detector test to prove he is not in cahoots with anyone help him retain his championship. After some bantering back and forth, Punk relents and finally agrees. It is set for later tonight!
Up next, the tag-team match between Cena/Sheamus & Ziggler/Show
Ads.
Match #3: Tag-Team – John Cena and Sheamus VS. “The Showoff” Dolph Ziggler and World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show (Non-Title)
Sheamus and Ziggler begin, with a waistlock by Dolph, which is turned into a side-headlock takedown. Sheamus reverses a side-headlock into a whip and elbow-to-the-jaw. He tags in Cena, and they deliver a double-elbow, with Cena covering for a quick near-fall. Cena whips Dolph off the ropes with a hip-toss and armdrag. He clamps on a grounding armbar, which Ziggler punches out of then slaps hand with Big Show to switch.
Lockup between Cena and Show, with the World Heavyweight Champion shoving Cena down. Cena attempts a jumping shoulder-tackle, but it does nothing to the 7-footer, who just brushes him off. Big corners John and slaps him hard with his giant-sized hand. Show continues to dominate the former “Dr. Of Thuganomics,” falling on him out of a fall-away slam.
He tags Ziggler back in, who drops a series of elbows onto Cena. 1 – 2 – Cena kicks out. Ziggler measures up Cena, but misses the corner splash. This allows both to get their hot-tags, respectively, and Sheamus is the one on fire.
The Irishman punches away at Show, and rams his shoulder into his gut in the corner. Sheamus runs off the ropes and knocks show off his feet with a jumping flying-forearm. Sheamus ascends and dives off the top rope, but is taken down with a mid-air spear by Show! Both men are down and referee Mike Chioda begins the count.
Commercials.
Live again, Show headbutts Sheamus, then kicks him in the nose after a small comeback from Sheamus (who is now busted open). Ziggler is in and hits his picture-perfect dropkick, then grasps Sheamus with a grounding rear-chinlock with scissors. Sheamus manages to stand up and toss Ziggler aside, then hot-tag Cena again.
John explodes on Dolph, hitting his usual repertoire of moves, but is booted by Show prior to the Attitude Adjustment. Sheamus comes in illegally and goes for the Brogue Kick, but Show catches him by the throat. Sheamus counters that into the White Noise, while Cena does it the A.A. on Ziggler for the triumph!
Winners via Pinfall: John Cena and Sheamus
(Great match, wrong finish!)
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Segment #4: Arena Promo
“The Intellectual Saviour of the WWE” Damien Sandow is out, and wants to give another fan a chance to prove himself smart. He selects a man from the audience and asks him three questions (after first telling him to stand up straight – nice touch!):
“Question #1: H2O is the chemical formula to what?” “Water,” the fan answers correctly.
“Question #2: Who was the first president of the United States?” “George Washington,” he gets right again.
“Question #3: What famed English poet wrote, ‘much have I travelled in the land of gold?’ “Seriously?” the man wonders? Sandow confirms, but the fan doesn’t know. Sandow calls him an “ignoramos,” and leaves him with a quote “ignorance is curable, stupid is forever!” (How true, in some cases!)
Santino Marella interjects and has a question for Damien of his own. “How many sea-shells does she sell by the seashore?” Sandow dismisses this, since he is looking for an apprentice and he is asking him about “cru stations!” Santino says that actual answer is “conk,” then goes to nail Damien the head with the microphone, but Sandow beats him to it. A referee comes out and a match will happen next. (This part was lame)
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – Damien Sandow VS. Santino Marella
Santino begins by “powerwalking” then tripping up Sandow in a jackknife cover for a near-fall! Damien quickly takes control and hits a Russian legsweep, followed by the “Elbow of Distain.” Santino counters into a small package for another near-fall, then breaks out the Cobra. D
amien goats him into the ring and stomps away, taking the Cobra hand-sleeve and chucking it. Santino uses the ropes to jaw-break Damien, but misses a top-rope headbutt, allowing Sandow to finish with the “Termanuse” neckbreaker!
Winner via Pinfall: Damien Sandow
Segment #5: Backstage Promo
Dolph Ziggler is with Vickie Guerrero and demands a rematch against John Cena at T.L.C. He claims he can beat him and “look good doing it.” “I can steal the show like no-one’s ever seen.” He walks off following an attempted kiss, and Vickie walks into her office to “find that on one forgets the name Brad Maddox.”
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Segment #6: Office Promo
Brad Maddox is documenting his chat with Vickie, who ends up giving him a match against a mystery opponent, following A LOT of ego-boosting and sucking-up by Maddox!
Match #5: Single – Sin Cara VS. Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez)
Lockup into the corner, then Alberto kicks and stomps away. Scoop slam by A.D.R. for a two-count, but Cara turns into an armdrag and armlock. Alberto shoves Sin into the corner again and rams his shoulder into the gut, plus a harsh-kick for another 2. Cara comes back with a springboard armdrag, then a top-rope armdrag!
Sin kicks away at Del Rio’s left arm, but gets sling-shotted into the second rope. Del Rio chokes Cara on the second rope, but gets front-dropkicked and kicked off the apron to the floor. Cara runs off the apron with a hurricanrana!
Commercials.
Back live, Cara jumps on Del Rio’s shoulders again and brings him down with another hurricanrana! 1 – 2 – Del Rio kicks out! Outside, Alberto tosses Cara into the barricade and rolls him back in the ring for a two-count. Del Rio tries to rip off Sin’s mask, then measures him for a run-in-the-corner, but Cara moves.
Another smacking kick from Cara, followed by a Tornado DDT! Both get up and Cara hits a springboard back-elbow, then another hurricanrana. Resounding kick again, then a flying crossbody for a near-fall!
Cara with a backward-spinning reversed DDT, but misses a swanton. He tries to take Del Rio down with his spinning-jumping-armbar, but Alberto rolls through and manages to clamp on the Cross Armbreaker to force Cara to tap out!
Winner via Submission: Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez)
The rumors were true, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon walks through the backstage hallway and informs a technician he wants to have a talk with Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero, next! (That’s probably not a good thing!)
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Segment #7: Arena Promo
Vickie Guerrero introduces “The Boss,” (not Bruce Springsteen!) and out comes Mr. Vince McMahon. She tries to suck-up, calling him “handsome,” but he returns with a half-hearted compliment. He wants to talk to her about T.L.C., so she quickly books Dolph Ziggler VS. John Cena.
He urges her to make it more “epic,” so she tries a “no-disqualification” stipulation. He shoots down that one quickly, then whispers in her ear. She shouts out “a ladder match!?” Mr. McMahon loves that idea, but Guerrero says it doesn’t make sense, since they don’t have championship to hang above. Vince arranges something else, to put the Money In The Bank briefcase on the line. Vickie reluctantly accepts and tires to shoo the boss away quick.
Vince says that there is one more piece of business to deal with. He is aware of the lie-detector test tonight, and says that if WWE Champion C.M. Punk is found to have been lying all along, than there should be some punishment. Guerrero comes up with the idea of Paul Heyman facing Ryback next week. This delights Mr. McMahon as he exits.
Commercials.
Match #6: Single – Brad Maddox VS. “The Viper” Randy Orton
(I think you know how this one will go.) Randy polishes off Maddox with the sling-shot DDT and R.K.O. for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: “The Viper” Randy Orton
Post-match, The Shield assault Orton out of no where and leave him laying after their triple-powerbomb.
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Segment #8: Office Promo
Vickie Guerrero is yelling at referee Charles Robinson about The Shield, then Dolph Ziggler walks in and gives her a piece of his mind, regarding is newly booked Pay-Per-View match. He accuses Guerrero of becoming a “power-hungry amateur,” just like A.J. He walks off and Paul Heyman walks in, staring Guerrero down. Vickie warns him that he should hope Punk is telling the truth, then he walks off smiling.
Speaking of smiling, John Cena walks in happily. He is in a great mood because of his newly-booked match at T.L.C. He thanks her, as he claims that he will become champion when he takes the briefcase. She tries to frame Cena again, but he argues with her, calling it “crap” and walks off.
Match #7: Fatal 4-Way for the United States Championship – Wade Barrett (Challenger) VS. Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston (Challenger) VS. R-Truth (Challenger) VS. Antonio Cesaro (Champion)
(Note: This match was originally a tag-team, but changed due to the “Raw Active Fan Vote.”) All men brawl, leaving it to Cesaro and Kingston in the ring. Antonio slams Kofi down with a waistlock and runs at him in the corner with a spinning elbow.
He tries another run, but Kofi counters with a kick, then Barrett clotheslines Cesaro over the ropes. Wade gains control over Kofi with a pump-handle slam and whips Kingston off the ropes, but Kofi dives out of the ring with a dropkick to Cesaro!
R-Truth slaps Barrett out of the ring and faces off with his former tag-team partner R-Truth. Chain-wrestling by the good friends, but Cesaro and Barrett come back into separate. Cesaro runs Truth into the barricade and uppercuts a diving Kingston!
Commercials.
Cesaro spins Kofi around then locks on a half Boston Crab as we return to the bout. Truth comes in and drives Antonio down with the suplex-faceplant. Barrett sends Truth to the outside via pulling the ropes, and now the two European brutes slug it out. Kofi flies off the top with a crossbody, but Barrett breaks up the impending pin! Truth does the same to Barrett following a spinning-sideslam, then nails Wade with the scissors kick for a two-count!
Truth dumps Barrett off the middle rope, as does Kofi to Cesaro, but both Truth and Kingston take Wade off the top with a Tower Of Doom suplex/powerbomb combo. 1 – 2 – Cesaro breaks up with a headbutt! Down to Barrett and Kingston now, with Kofi all over Wade. Boom drop legdrop, but gets pulled out of the ring before the Trouble In Paradise.
Cesaro in and sets up Barrett for “The Neutralizer”, but Truth scissor-kicks him out. Barrett hits the spinning back elbow, but Kofi nails him with the Trouble In Paradise spin-kick. As he is covering, Cesaro comes back in and picks him up, dropping him with “The “Neutralizer” faceplant to prevail!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL United States Champion: Antonio Cesaro
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Segment #9: Arena Promo
The Miz is in the ring, all set up for the lie-detector test with Mr. Abramson. Miz waists no time and brings out the WWE Champion and Paul Heyman. C.M. Punk gets strapped in and mocks this procedure and The Miz’s antics. The test begins, with simple questions to get the “baseline.” Miz asks him his name, that he has been champion for 379 days, if Rey Mysterio shaved his head bald at Over The Limit 2010, and if he lost at Wrestlemania XXVII against Randy Orton.
He says yes to all, then gets the hard inquiries grilled at him.
He is revealed to be lying about being able to beat Ryback on his own, but as soon as he is asked if he worked with Brad Maddox at Hell In The Cell and The Shield to win at Survivor Series, the three men attack Miz, stopping this.
They tear apart “MizTV” and triple-bomb Miz, then “Team Hell-No” walks out and engage in a brawl. Loud “feed me more” chants, enticing Ryback to march out. The beast runs out and goes at The Shield. It’s all-out warfare as Kane and Daniel Bryan come back to help Ryback take Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns into the crowd.
Left alone, C.M. Punk stands over a defenseless (thanks Michael Cole) Miz. He kicks Miz out, literately, and poses happily, but turns right into a Shell-Shock from Ryback! He grabs a chair and ladder from under the ring, and beats down Punk with the symbolic objects. With a smile on his face, Ryback sets up a table and powerbombs the WWE Champion through the wooden structure!
Ryback steps over Punk and flexes to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Back to an “ok” show. There was some great wrestling – always a plus – but I thought some of the promos and ending were just average. Onto the analysis:
Excellence: The promo with Paul Heyman, WWE Champion C.M. Punk, and The Miz – awesome talkers, all three, and built up the ending segment beautifully. However, they will also be in my “bogus” for another reason. Tag-Team match with Sheamus/Cena & Show/Ziggler – awesome, awesome wrestling, even though I don’t think Dolph should’ve eaten the pin. However, I think they can “save” it by having (and better have) Dolph win at T.L.C., where he’d claim to losing “meaningless” tags, but succeeding when it counts, when something is on the line.
Del Rio/Cara, even though seen numerous times, was better and longer than I expected. Damien Sandow – on one hand, loving his new role looking for an apprentice, however do wish they team him back with Cody Rhodes when he returns from injury – they’re a great, old-school tag-team. (The bit with Santino was just dumb and unnecessary). Like the fact that Kane/Daniel Bryan have put their “issues” away and now can just act like serious tag-team champions.
Great 4-way match for the U.S. Championship and glad a significant bout like that was on LAST, before the main-event promo.
Bogus: The start to Raw just started. No hype, no nothing. Getting right into the match felt “bland.” The whole A.J./Cena storyline needs to end, especially since there was absolutely no interaction between the two tonight. (Nice to see her wrestling again). Even though I loved the promo between Heyman/Punk/Miz, it felt “out of no where” with Miz in there. At the moment, why would he be bothered with C.M. Punk, when the WWE Champion is already occupied with Ryback? It didn’t really make sense to insert another person into this rivalry.
Not sure where they’re going with the Brad Maddox character yet. Also, Vince being in town was really a let down. They need to now save him for “big” announcements, not to just entice already-made Pay-Per-View matches. While the actual wrestling was great, definitely did not like the way the Fatal-4-Way was set-up. The “fan-vote” as to which championship would be decided diminishes the belt in my opinion. At least it was with guys that were feuding with each other, and not a throw-away with wrestlers you know weren’t going to win the title anyway.
Overall, a “so-so” episode, so let’s hope they have much better plans for next week, when it will be the “go-home” show before T.L.C. Until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
A new match to the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view has was added to the card yesterday during Monday Night RAW.
Vince McMahon’s appearance on the show forced the RAW Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero to book John Cena vs Dolph Ziggler in a ladder match for the show with Ziggler’s Money In the Bank briefcase up for grabs.
Ever since the MITB scenario made its WWE debut in 2005, the briefcase only changed hands once in 2007 when Mr Kennedy lost his right to cash in after a match with Edge.
Coincidentally, John Cena is the only man who won the MITB ladder match and was not successful in cashing it in, winning his match against CM Punk via DQ on the RAW 1000 episode.
Previous winners including Edge, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk (twice), Jack Swagger, Kane, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, and Alberto Del Rio, all managed to successfully win the WWE or World title after cashing in.
WWE.COM is reporting that CM Punk underwent emergency knee surgery today in Pensacola, Florida, at The Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine under the care of Dr. James Andrews.
The story says that Punk took a flight to Florida right after Monday Night RAW went off the air for consultations with Dr. Andrews and it was determined that he has to do surgery immediately.
There was no timetable given as to how long this surgery will keep Punk on the shelf for and if it will effect the main event for the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view in 12 days time.
Punk is also scheduled to face The Rock at the Royal Rumble next year. He has been the current WWE champion for 380+ days.
WWE issued a press release announcing that they have teamed up with E! to broadcast the Rolling Stones live pre-show leading up to the band’s final performance of its 50th anniversary shows.
Titled “Live From the Rolling Stones,” the one hour special will cover all the action from the Prudential Center the hour leading up to the Rolling Stones pay-per-view. The special airs at 8PM EST on Saturday, December 15 only on E!
WWE will be producing and marketing the pay-per-view, the first deal of what they hope will be many. With 12 pay-per-views a year including the mega production behind WrestleMania, WWE touts themselves as the leader in PPV programming. Dainty Group and Endemol will also chip in with setting up the pay-per-view.
TMZ has a story covering Ric Flair’s fourth failed marriage after his wife filed for separation claiming that the former sixteen time world champion has been unfaithful to her.
The legal documents were filed by Jacqueline Fliehr earlier this month in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
“Husband has had numerous intimate relationships with other women during the parties’ marriage, to the embarrassment and humiliation of wife,” say the documents which were obtained by the celeb-busting website.
Apart from sleeping around with other women, the soon to be ex-wife also claims that the Nature Boy has ripped her out of tens of thousands of dollars in spousal support after he agreed to pay the sum back in October.
Flair is supposed to pay $4,000 a month in spousal support and a one-time fee of $15,000 to cover all the legal costs in addition to $14,000 in back payments after they split in July. She is claiming that Flair didn’t pay any of that money.
A press release for Steve Austin’s next movie The Package is making the rounds today even though it was released two weeks ago by Anchor Bay Entertainment.
The press release announced the Blu-Ray and DVD release date for the movie – which also stars Dolph Lundgren – for February 19, 2013. The movie is about Austin as a nightclub bouncer who works for a Seattle crime boss and has to hand deliver a secret package to another crime lord, played by Lundgren.
