Kmart and WWE are launching the first-ever exclusive children’s apparel line called Never Give Up by John Cena, set for debut this fall in Kmart stores nationwide as well as online at Kmart.com.
The Never Give Up clothing line will feature shirts, hoodies, pants, shorts, outerwear, headwear, and accessories all “inspired” by the current WWE champion.
“I am excited to announce WWE’s relationship with Kmart and bring the Never Give Up by John Cena collection to all of our young fans,” said Cena. “For the first time ever, young shoppers will be able to go to Kmart and find a new line of apparel that expresses my lifestyle and my never give up attitude.”
Dwayne Johnson’s first reality TV show The Hero will debut tomorrow night on TNT starting at 8PM EST.
The former WWE champion will host the reality show featuring a competition testing the strength, courage, and integrity of a diverse group of nine contestants. The players will be tested physically, mentally, and morally, before the American public votes on who will be The Hero.
TNT has released the first five minutes of tomorrow’s show online and it looks pretty good with some wicked challenges, fighting, insults, money, and a whole lot of drama. You can see it below.
The NBA game going head to head against Monday Night RAW pummeled the WWE show in the ratings, with RAW getting only a 2.6 rating with an average of 3,640,000 viewers, down 300,000 viewers from the previous week.
The show had 3,620,000 viewers in the first and second hour and 3,800,000 viewers in the third, giving RAW the lowest rating in months. WWE were bracing for the hammering and the show was rumored to have been rewritten during the day to try and soften the blow by putting the McMahons on the broadcast. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
Following last week’s ending, who will Curtis Axel pick on next to elevate himself? (He needs to now have a legitimate win, other than Sin Cara from Smackdown two weeks in a row! As long as Paul Heyman cuts a promo tonight with him, that’ll be good enough for me to sell the repackaged man for another week! Also, how will Chris Jericho get involved with his new feud with Paul Heyman and “Paul Heyman’s Guy,” C.M. Punk?
What will Ryback do next to intimidate WWE Champion John Cena leading to their 3 Stages Of Hell match at Payback? Or can Cena get some retaliation and gain momentum?
Plus, World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler is allowed to be back on the road, but not wrestle. Will “The Show Off” make his long, long awaited return? (I hope so!)
Monday Night Raw Report for June 3rd, 2013 – “The Weakest Or Strongest Link?”
Segment #1: Arena Promo
In a surprise return I was not expecting, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley walks down the aisle with smiles on her face. She is happy to be back, even though she wishes it was under “better circumstances.” Stephanie is talking about Triple H, and removing him from tonight’s planned rematch with Curtis Axel, due to his medical condition even though he has been cleared. The crowd are not fans of this decision, but pop loud when her daddy, Mr. Vince McMahon struts out.
He is also happy to see the fans and makes a personal request. He asks them not to boo Stephanie, to which of course, they respond with loud boos. He cites that he and Stephanie care more about HHH than they do, and backs up Stephanie by “emphatically” pulling Trips from the card.
He calls WWE “family entertainment,” not a “blood-sport.” (Nice shot at the UFC!) He asks what more do they want, as they also chanted “one more time, one more time” when Ryback slammed Kofi Kingston through a table last week and “injured him.” (In reality, a way to write him off for elbow surgery.)
McMahons are now shocked (as I was again surprised) at the sound of The Shield’s music blaring the arena and Tag-Team Champions Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, and United States Champion Dean Ambrose approach through the crowd. Cole wonders what’s going to happen.
Commercials.
Match #1: 6-Man Tag-Team – The Shield (Tag-Team Champions Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns, and United States Champion Dean Ambrose) VS. “The Viper” Randy Orton and “Team Hell No” (Kane and Daniel Bryan) (Non-Title)
Back live, “The Hounds Of Justice” are alone in the ring, as Cole says that during the break, Vince and Stephanie were able to leave unharmed. (Blasted WWE App – seriously, not airing that is really stupid!) Ambrose and Bryan begin, with Daniel vicious with kicks in the corner and on the mat right off the bat. (Hey, that rhymes!).
He tags in Kane, who delivers a kick-to-the-face of Ambrose and slams him down for a quick one. He and Daniel double-team Rollins, and Kane takes over with a huge sidewalk slam. He ascends the turnbuckle but is cut off with a high dropkick by Seth. He covers for two before the break.
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Back live, Rollins is in control, gripping Kane with a grounding rear chinlock, and running into him in “The Shield’s” corner. Dean is tagged in and repeatedly headbutts Kane. He and Rollins try to double-suplex Kane, but “The Big Red Machine” reverses with one of his one, then manages to get the hot tag to Randy Orton.
He takes out all members of “The Shield,” even double-slingshot-DDTing Ambrose and Rollins, then tries to plant Roman, but Seth nails him in the back-of-the-head with a jumping kick. He covers for 1 – 2 – kickout by Randy!
Ambrose is back and continuously stomps on Orton’s stomach, then wraps around him with a rear chinlock. Both Rollins and Reigns are switched in and out, dominating over Randy. Reigns locks in a grounding full-nelson. Off the ropes, Reigns delivers a hard right hand into Orton’s gut and Ambrose takes over again. He methodically wears Orton down with small stomps and punches around the canvas.
Orton finally reverses Reigns into a backdrop and begins the long crawl to his corner. Rollins is measuring Orton from the top rope, but as he flies off, Randy counters with a dropkick, then gets to slap hands with Bryan! He is on fire (figuratively!), taking out all members of The Shield, with kicks and a hurricanrana on Rollins from the top rope ONTO Ambrose!
He locks Dean in the “Yes Lock” crossface but it is broken by both Tag-Team Champions. Reigns drives Kane down with a spear, but Rollins gets RKO’ed by Orton. He tries the same on Roman, but Reigns shoves Orton into Daniel and takes him out of the ring. Ambrose capitalizes with his bulldog/DDT move on Bryan for the victory!
Winners via Pin Fall: The Shield (Tag-Team Champions Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns, and United States Champion Dean Ambrose)
Post-match, Kane and Bryan are frustrated with their most recent loss.
Later tonight, Big E. Langston will face Alberto Del Rio in their 5th match, with both tied at two wins each.
Commercials.
Segment #2: Locker Room Promo
Daniel Bryan is yelling at Randy Orton about the results, but Orton just wants to drop it and beat “The Shield.” Bryan continues with his insecurities, accusing Randy of not apologizing because he is “the weak link.” He claims that both Kane and Randy don’t respect him, despite them trying to convince otherwise. Bryan wants to prove it again and wants to have another match. He storms off as Kane and Orton look confused.
Segment #3: Office Promo
Triple H is in the building and barges into Mr. McMahon’s office. He wants to know what’s going on and why he’s not competing. Stephanie tells him how worried their family was when he collapsed two weeks ago. “The Game” doesn’t listen and demands to wrestle Curtis Axel. Vince warns him not to do anything that he won’t regret. (Ooooh!)
The Usos, complete with new face paint, perform their awesome entrance and are out for a bout next.
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Match #2: Tag-Team – The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) VS. The Primetime Players (“Mr. No Days Off” Darren Young and “The Big Deal” Titus O’Neil)
Honestly, standard tag-team match with the heels controlling most until Jimmy and Jey make their comeback. Jimmy/Jey hits a Samoan Drop and superkick, and a “Superfly” splash for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pin Fall: The Usos (Jimmy and Jey)
Up next, it’s Big E. and Alberto!
Commercials.
A promo for WWE’s partnership with the Special Olympics is aired, then some of the athletes are shown at ringside as guests tonight enjoying the festivities. (Sincerely, awesome!)
Match #3: Single – Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) VS. Big E. Langston (with A.J. Lee)
Big E. is all over Alberto first, until Del Rio counters an Irish Whip with a front dropkick. Del Rio flies through the ropes but misses, and subsequently gets run over with a shoulderblock by Langston. He rolls him back in the ring and clamps on a grounding half-camel-clutch. Langston catches Del Rio in a backbreaker and drops him three times on his ribs for a two-count!
Alberto attempts a comeback with some kicks in the corner and an enziguri. He kicks him square in the jaw off the ropes, then gets the crowd riled up then locks on the Cross Armbreaker. Langston manages to power out, picking up Del Rio in that position and hanging him over the ropes! Del Rio clamps it on again in the middle of the ring, and puts even more leverage on, pressing Big E.’s shoulders against the canvas for the 3-count finish!
Winner via Pin Fall: Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez)
(And sadly, no Dolph appearance – yet.)
Up next, Sheamus will take on Cody Rhodes!
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Match #4: Single – Sheamus VS. Cody Rhodes (with “The Intellectual Savior Of The Unwashed Masses” Damien Sandow)
Even at first until Sheamus clotheslines a running Cody. He chucks him over the ropes and tries to hammer against as per normal, but Rhodes catches him and slams his leg against the second turnbuckle. In the ring, Cody clamps on a grounding reverse facelock, but Sheamus gets out of it by tossing Cody across the ring.
He runs into him with a shoulderblock and smacking knee. Sheamus climbs the top rope and dives off with the Battering Ram shoulder-tackle. Sheamus goes for the White Noise drop, but Rhodes rolls him up for two!
Rhodes tries the CrossRhodes but Sheamus gets out of it. Cody leaps onto the top rope and soars off with a beautiful moonsault, although he does miss and gets dropped with the White Noise. Sheamus then polishes Cody off with the Brogue Kick!
Winner via Pin Fall: Sheamus
Post-match, Sheamus gets Sandow’s face (who was on commentary the whole time) and offers to shake hands, but Damien refuses. Sheamus slaps him into the corner and walks off to the glory of cheers.
Later tonight, Chris Jericho and Paul Heyman will engage in the contract signing for Payback.
Commercials.
Segment #4: Backstage Promo
Triple H (or Paul as Stephanie talks to him), is marching toward a waiting car. He proclaims that he is leaving, feeling extremely angry with Vince, and says that instead, next week he will be on Raw as it kicks off to face Curtis Axel. He chucks his luggage into the vehicle and drives off.
Segment #5: Backstage Promo
Daniel Bryan is also frustrated, kicking objects while walking through the hallway. Ryback confronts him and warns the “little puke” that he put Kofi in the hospital for surgery (he notes it was last Thursday, but my Dad pointed out, correctly, that the show didn’t air until FRIDAY – oops!). Ryback calls him “the weak link” but challenges him anyway to a match tonight. Bryan accepts.
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Segment #6: Office Promo
Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel are in Vince’s office when the boss walks in. He congratulates Axel on his success so far, but completely ignores Heyman, even when Paul E. offers his hand for a shake. Heyman tries to slide out, but McMahon informs them that Curtis will not be taking on Triple H tonight, or next week, but instead be facing John Cena tonight in a rematch, and it will be a no-disqualification match with the WWE Champion. Axel seems fine with this.
Up next, Fandango with Summer Rae will be in action!
Commercials.
Match #5: Single – Fandango (with Summer Rae) VS. The Great Khali (with Hornswaggle and Natalya)
Khali controls all of this bout with his usual repertoire of slow punches, until Fandango escapes to the stage, not wanting to get Double-Chokeslammed. He wants to go further, but is cut off by The Miz, who is in turn cut off by a Bullhammer blow from Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett. They are schedule to wrestle after the break!
Winner: No Contest due to Non-Finish
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Match #6: Single – “The Awesome One” The Miz VS. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett (Non-Title)
In the midst of this bout, Fandango returns and interrupts by dancing on the stage with Summer Rae. This distracts Barrett and allows Miz to lock in the Figure-4 to force Wade to tap!
Winner via Submission: “The Awesome One” The Miz
Segment #7: Arena Promo
Jerry “The King” Lawler is in the ring and is presiding over the contract signing between “Y2J” Chris Jericho and Paul E. Heyman. The ring is decorated with the usual big leather chairs and table. Lawler presents the contract in front of them after they sit down.
Prior to signing, Heyman cuts a promo, telling Jericho that when he wrestles “my client, ‘The Best In The World’ and the longest-reigning WWE Champion….” Jericho cuts him off and says he doesn’t “give a damn about all that. All I care about is you delivering C.M. Punk on June 16th.”
Heyman signs the document, then asks “Y2J” if he is honestly ready to face “The Straight-Edge Superstar” in his faithful hometown of Chicago, where Punk “can do no wrong.” Jericho mocks Paul’s threats by naming other cities to wrestle in, before of course going for the cheap pop of wanting to have the match “right here in Hartford, Connecticut.”
Paul responds with a blatant “no,” and Jericho agrees to have it in Chicago. He says that “when you act like a ‘jackass,’ like C.M. Punk acts, you get treated like a ‘jackass.'” Jericho wonders where to file this contract though, his lawyer’s or Heyman’s. He gets up and approaches “Mr. Walrus.” Chris knows exactly where the contract should be put, and shoves it down Paul’s pants. “See you in Chicago” Jericho gleefully gloats and walks off.
Commercials.
Match #7: 6-Woman Diva Tag-Team – The Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki) and A.J. Lee VS. The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) and Divas Champion Kaitlyn
A.J. and Kaitlyn start out, with Kaitlyn clutching Lee’s hair. A.J. backs out quickly, tagging in a Bella Twin as Kaitlyn tags in a Funkadactyl. The Bella Twin takes control after Naomi makes a mistake and misses a crossbody, springing herself back off the ropes.
Both Twins now dominate Naomi, but she battles back with quick punches and a smacking enziguri. She gets the tag to the Divas Champion. Kaitlyn (sloppily) drops a Twin with a reverse DDT, but is shoved down. The Twin goes to tag A.J., but Lee hops off the apron, not wanting to wrestle with Kaitlyn. This allows the Twin to turn around into a spear and receive the loss for her team!
Winners via Pin Fall: The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) and Divas Champion Kaitlyn
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Segment #8: Locker Room Promo
Daniel Bryan is psyching himself up for his second match when his “Team Hell No” partner walks in. Kane calls what Bryan is doing crazy, because he has never seen anyone with more heart “night, after night, after night, after night…” Bryan shakes his head and still is defiant, ordering Kane to stay away from him tonight. Kane obliges, telling Bryan to call him when he’s “found his mind, because you’ve clearly lost it.”
Segment #9: Video Promo
The second airing introducing The Wyatt Family is shown, which is similar to last weeks, complete with “lamb masks.” Bray is preaching that parents should not tell their children there are not monsters under their beds, because there ARE monsters. Other people are holding their hands out up to Wyatt, and Erik Rowan and Luke Harper are walking around. This footage is all filmed in a forestry-type area with a cabin. (very different and could go over very well!)
Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring and his contest with Ryback is next!
Commercials.
Match #8: Single – Daniel Bryan VS. Ryback
Bryan holds his own, kicking away at Ryback until the “Human Wrecking Ball” puts him down with a big boot. Daniel comes back with knees and kicks, but Ryback catches him and tosses him over by the legs. He takes control for a bit, but Bryan ties him up in a half-crab submission and hammers away with fists when he turns it around to the front. Bryan launches himself over Ryback out of the turnbuckle, but gets tossed over the ropes.
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Ryback is back dominating, running himself into Bryan against the turnbuckles. He holds on to the top rope and stomps away on Bryan’s arm, then his stomach and taunts him by shouting “you are a weak, little man.” He grips on a grounding rear chinlock, then hurls Bryan across the canvas with a choke-toss. He goes to ram Bryan in the corner, but misses and nails the ring post instead!
Daniel gets fired up again, even soaring across the ring with a diving headbutt off the top! He slaps himself awake and kicks at Ryback again, but gets caught on the last one and slammed down with a powerbomb! Ryback is “waking up,” but gets locked in the Crossface “No Lock, middle of the ring!
He is struggling to find the ropes and does manage to after at least thirty seconds in the submission! Ryback falls to the floor, and Daniel follows up with a suicide dive, however Ryback sees him coming and tosses him into the front of the announce table. Ryback now runs Bryan’s back into the ring post three times and goes for the table.
Referee Mike Chioda warns Ryback not to do this, but Ryback sets up the structure anyway. He high-powerbombs Bryan through the wood, resulting in a dq for Ryback!
Winner via Disqualification: Daniel Bryan
Post-match, Ryback sets up another table against the corner of the barricade, but before he can try again, WWE Champion John Cena runs out to stop Ryback to a massive pop. He faces off against “The Human Wrecking Ball,” threatening him with the WWE Championship.
Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman takes this opportunity to walk out and begin their match with the WWE Champion.
Commercials.
Match #9: No-Disqualification Single – WWE Champion John Cena VS. Curtis Axel (with Paul Heyman) (Non-Title)
Cena runs off the ropes but is quickly tripped up by Heyman. Axel takes advantage with a high dropkick. Cena lands a few punches back, but gets driven down with a sidewalk slam coming off the ropes. Heyman gives a chair to Axel, but Cena grabs it and instead slams Curtis in the back. He chucks Axel over the commentator’s table, but the count reaches eight from referee Scott Armstrong, so Cena brings Axel back into the ring.
Curtis swings another chair, but hits the ring post instead. Cena looks worried as he sees a loaded-weaponed-Curtis. Heyman is licking his lips (disturbing!), but Cena counters with a dropkick to Axel’s face with the chair in front! Curtis gains control again, whipping Cena hard into the corner and ripping at his face with his hands.
Axel puts the boots to John’s head, but Cena powers up with his common spin-out backdrops and shoulder-tackles. He runs at Axel in the corner, but Curtis moves and Cena rams a chair that Heyman had placed. Axel viciously pounds away on Cena, then brings another chair back in the ring. He whacks Cena across the back, but only gets two with the cover! Axel repeats the process many times, then measures him and delivers a running swinging neckbreaker on the chair! 1 – 2 – Cena kicks out!
Axel sets up the WWE Champion for the Perfect Plex, but Cena reverses into the STF submission, right in front of Paul E. Axel struggles for the ropes, but Heyman helps him out by giving him a computer from the announce table. Axel nails Cena with the device to break out of the STF.
On the outside, Cena sets up Curtis for the Attitude Adjustment and walks over to the corner table. Heyman gets in the way, begging Cena not to put Axel through the table, saying “he’s a human being.” Out of nowhere, Ryback assaults Cena, running him through the table. This allows Axel to get his third-straight Raw victory by count-out!
Winner via Count-Out: Curtis Axel (with Paul Heyman)
Post-match, Ryback stands over a laid-out WWE Champion, yelling “you can’t see me. Ryback rules at Payback” to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Tonight was a promo-heavy show that continued storylines/angles, decently enough. However, the crowd in Hartford was awesome, and helped make Raw even better! On to the analysis.
Excellence: As has been the theme the last few weeks, the wrestling! Some of the matches tonight were great again, especially the 6-Man opener. “The Shield” seem to have the all-around cliche “package” right now – can get “over,” wrestle, and cut awesome promos! Also loved the Daniel Bryan/Ryback match (mainly because Bryan is turning into the man that can have a great bout with anybody and make them look good, even if they can’t wrestle very well.), as well as Sheamus/Rhodes. Definitely into the Bryan “weakest link” storyline and absolutely loved the passionate locker room promo he had with Kane (and Kane’s delivery/intensity too) and Orton. Really putting in some new “fire” (no pun intended) into “Team Hell No.”
Glad to see The Usos get a “fresh” start with a long-awaited “W.” I hope they will be moved up in the ranks of the tag-team division from now on, as they bring me back to the days of the 80s/90s of “golden era” tag-team wrestling – an actual team that dress/look alike, and have specific move-sets and/or perform actual double-team moves. (“The Shield” can definitely be classified here too)
The match tonight between Miz and I.C. Champion Barrett felt like just a “write-off”/quick one for the sake of continuing the angle, but the way they and Fandango have been interacting lately has been very entertaining. Since it’s a triple-threat storyline, I can see this continuing until Summerslam, with the big blow-off match then.
Anytime Paul Heyman is on screen is gold! Whether he is trying to weasel (reference, great Bobby Heenan!) is way out of a situation, or boldly pontificate his client’s abilities to put them over, Paul E. can do no wrong. And right now, his rivalry with Chris Jericho is a masterpiece of microphone work banter between the two, and Jericho is the perfect guy to both get C.M. Punk back and put over Curtis Axel.
Bogus: Triple H/McMahon storyline. This formula is tried, tested, and in this case, will not be true. I think Trips should’ve taken another extensive leave of absence, as this angle is really there just to put him back in the spotlight, since it did take most of the show! Not good.
And I slagged it initially in the show recap, but man is this “WWE App” thing stupid! I mean, stuff like “The Shield” coming down to the ring and McMahon’s leaving only being shown on the app and not TV is wrong. I was in a little suspense after the first commercial break, because I thought Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns, could’ve done something decent and cut a promo with Vince and Stephanie. But nope, they just made their entrance and went into the match. Same with Zeb Colter, would’ve like to actually hear what he is saying instead of it being a visual in the corner of the television. Also, much like the twitter feeds at the bottom of the screen, it is very distracting and I sometimes find myself paying more attention to them instead of the match I’m supposed to be typing about!
Hated the ending – love everything character/wrestling-wise about Curtis Axel, but he needs to get a real pin fall win over a big star to get a reputation. These three count-outs don’t cut it. First one is a pass, but three weeks in a row is WCW-esque – yikes! Also, they didn’t even show him at the end of the night. The camera was just focused on Ryback and a downed Cena. I think that hurt Curtis a little. Alright, this and the above paragraph are my two rants for the week!
Quickly, in the don’t care file belongs the Divas storyline with Divas Champion Kaitlyn/A.J. and Bellas, as well as Big E./Alberto – only because they are without World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler, who adds an exuberant amount of “spice” into this storyline. Please come back next week, “Show Off!”
In general another good show overall, but I really do hope it isn’t going to be HHH-dominated again for the next long while! Keep the young guys (Bryan, “Shield,” Usos, Axel) at the forefront for interest. Until next week, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
PWInsider.com is reporting that TNA announcer Todd Kenely has been let go and will no longer form part of the announce team.
Kenely was hired in October of last year by Eric Bischoff and was added to the Taz and Mike Tenay announce team. Before joining TNA, he worked for NWA Hollywood as a backstage interviewer and then served as the ring announcer for the short-lived Hulk Hogan Celebrity Championship Wrestling.
His last work for TNA was at the Slammiversary pay-per-view this past Sunday. PWInsider adds that his removal had nothing to do with his work but because the company wants to use a two man team going forward.
TNA Wrestling, Bellator, and Spike TV, today announced that former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, has signed a multi-year partnership with the three companies.
The announcement was made by Kevin Kay, Spike TV President, Bjorn Rebney, Bellator CEO, and Dixie Carter, TNA Wrestling President.
The landmark partnership includes Jackson competing in Bellator MMA, along with joining the superstars of TNA’s IMPACT Wrestling.
“Rampage is one of the best known MMA fighters competing today,” said Carter. “He is a true cross-over star and his talent, big personality and popularity among a wide range of fans make him an extraordinary fit for our company.”
Kurt Angle thanked the fans on Twitter for their support the day after he was announced as the second inductee in the TNA Hall of Fame.
“Thanks to all of you for your support in my induction into TNA HOF,” Angle wrote. “Couldn’t do it without you. Much love.” The former WWE and TNA champion also praised his match against AJ Styles from yesterday’s Slammiversary pay-per-view, calling himself “blessed.”
His ex-wife Karen also had good things to say about him for being chosen to enter the Hall of Fame later this year.
“Congrats to @RealKurtAngle on his win over @AJStyesOrg & 4 being the next inductee into the TNA HOF! Very well deserved! #champion #machine,” the now Mrs Jarrett wrote.
Jeff Jarrett also sent in his congratulations via Twitter, saying that in the ring “there’s never been anybody better.”
Several other TNA Superstars joined in with their congratulatory remarks as well on the social network website.
Here are the results from last night’s Slammiversary XI pay-per-view which took place from the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.
Chris Sabin defeated Kenny King and Suicide to win the X Division title in an Ultimate X match; Magnus, Samoa Joe, and Jeff Hardy defeated Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff, and Mr Anderson in a six-man tag team match; Jay Bradley defeated Sam Shaw in a TNA Gutcheck tournament match; Devon defeated Joseph Park via forfeit to retain the TNA Television title; Abyss defeated Devon to become the new TNA Television champion; Gunner and James Storm defeated Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, and Austin Aries and Bobby Roode to win the TNA tag team titles in a four-way elimination match; Taryn Terrell defeated Gail Kim in a last Knockout standing match; Kurt Angle defeated AJ Styles; Bully Ray defeated Sting in a no holds barred match to retain the TNA World title.
Kurt Angle was announced as the second inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame yesterday during the Slammiversary pay-per-view.
The 44 year old Olympic gold medalist joined TNA Wrestling in 2006 after an eight year stint with WWE.
He made his TNA debut in October, a month after TNA President Dixie Carter announced that Angle signed a deal with TNA. His first match took place on IMPACT in November and then defeated Samoa Joe at the Genesis pay-per-view to end his undefeated streak.
During his time in TNA, Angle divorced from his wife Karen and she ended up marrying Jeff Jarrett, a scenario which created some real-life drama behind the scenes.
Angle had a successful run in TNA in terms of winning titles, becoming the TNA World champion on five separate occasions, the tag team champion twice – with Sting and AJ Styles – and even won the X Division title.
The former champion will be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame the night before Bound For Glory pay-per-view.
You can see his tribute video from the Slammiversary pay-per-view below.
World Heavyweight champion Dolph Ziggler returned to be a part of the non-televised live events yesterday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, however did not wrestle as he is still not cleared to get physical in the ring.
Ziggler took the mic to address the fans about his concussion and told them that he can’t wrestle but his friend Big E. Langston would be taking his place to wrestle Alberto Del Rio.
Ziggler has been out for a few weeks due to a concussion received thanks to a kick from Jack Swagger during the Smackdown tapings. He had to be taken out of the Extreme Rules pay-per-view because of his injury.
Live from the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, TNA Wrestling presents Slammiversary XI on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
Bully Ray vs Sting for the TNA title in a no holds barred match with the stipulation that if Sting loses he can no longer wrestle for the TNA title; AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle; Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez vs Gunner and James Storm vs Christopher Daniels and Kazarian vs Austin Aries and Bobby Roode for the TNA tag team titles in a four-way elimination match; Devon vs Joseph Park for the TNA Television title; Kenny King vs Suicide vs Chris Sabin in an Ultimate X match for the X Division title; Taryn Terrell vs Gail Kim in a last Knockout standing match; Magnus, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy vs Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff, and Mr Anderson in a six-man tag team match; and Jay Bradley vs Sam Shaw in a TNA Gutcheck tournament match.
Dwayne Johnson got his co-star for his upcoming Hercules movie in the form of Russian model and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl Irina Shayk.
This will be Shayk’s first feature film, a massive role where she will play the wife of Hercules in the Brett Ratner-directed movie, currently titled Hercules: The Thracian Wars.
“Excited to work w/ @theirishayk Making her big screen debut as the wife of Hercules. #SheMakesBaklavaToo,” tweeted Johnson.
The former WWE champion is currently in Budapest, Hungary, to work on Hercules throughout the Summer.
Speaking of The Rock, his latest movie Fast & Furious 6 is at an estimated $146,340,000 at the box office chart in the United States and over $259 million in foreign revenue for a total of just over $400,000,000 worldwide.
The Associated Press is carrying an article which was published yesterday about former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura toying with the idea of running for the U.S. presidency in 2016.
The WWE Hall of Famer has been out of politics since 2003 but he said that the 2016 presidential elections is “an opportune time” for an independent like him to run since there will be no incumbent.
Ventura said that he approached Howard Stern to be his running mate and the America’s Got Talent judge and radio host has expressed interest. Really.
“The Body” is now 62 years old and in 2004 at WrestleMania XX he dropped a hint at running for President, asking Donald Trump – whom he was interviewing live on PPV – about lending his support, and money!
Earlier this week, WWE’s Chief Financial Officer George Barrios attended the Citi Global Consumer Conference to discuss the WWE business.
Barrios talked how WWE “launched the pay-per-view business” with WrestleMania I and now they are going to”re-imagine” the same business with the WWE Network.
“We are going to take 11 of our 12 pay-per-views – Wrestlemania will continue to be a pay-per-view – and move it to a subscription network,” Barrios said.
The CFO listed the price between $12.99 to $14.99 a month for the network, making their PPV broadcasts more available to people because as he said, today’s pay-per-views are “pretty expensive…and frankly we know that kind of narrow caps our audience because of the high price point.”
Barrios said the price will be easy to afford and they have received a lot of good feedback from their research. The company plans to produce new shows from their 100,000+ hours of library footage as well as airing classic shows.
“At two million subscribers on a steady state basis, it would be fairly transformational for WWE,” Barrios said, saying that that would bring in the range of $50 million to $100 million incrementally.
“At 3 million to 4 million subscribers it really changes the business completely. So there is a lot of focus within the company on bringing this to fruition.”
This year’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view will be coming to you live from the Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University in San Diego, California on October 20.
This will be the first time that TNA has done a show in San Diego, choosing their biggest pay-per-view of the year for their debut in the city.
“I’m really looking forward to bringing our biggest pay-per-view event of the year to San Diego for the first TNA show ever in this great city,” said TNA President Dixie Carter. “Since 2005, Bound for Glory has brought fans from across the world together to enjoy a jam-packed weekend of fun and intense competition, and I’m thrilled that we will have the sunny Southern California coast as our backdrop.”
Apart from the pay-per-view, TNA will also host a weekend full of activities including the TNA Fan InterAction event the day before the PPV as well as the Hall of Fame induction ceremony later that Saturday night.
Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, June 7, at the Viejas Arena box office and at Ticketmaster.com.
Impact begins with a look inside the Aces and Eights Clubhouse. Bully Ray says that AJ Styles is their first order of business tonight. Last week AJ declined an invitation to join Aces and Eights by attacking them with a hammer.
D Lo tells Mr. Anderson he’s sorry that his plan to recruit AJ didn’t work out and pats him on the arm sympathetically. Anderson then attacks D Lo from behind and leaves him lying unconscious in the back.
Bully Ray and Devon head to the ring. Bully Ray asks if Bully Ray really thought through the no holds barred stipulation for their upcoming match at Slammiversary. I don’t think he did; in a no holds barred match, ALL of Aces and Eights can come out and help Bully Ray and they won’t get disqualified.
Match #1: Bully Ray and Devon versus Sting and Joseph Park.
All four men start brawling right away and the action spills out of the ring. Eventually Sting and Bully Ray face off on the middle of the ring to start the match. The two men exchange punches and then Sting clotheslines Bully.
Commercial
Devon hits Park with several punches. Park responds with a hip toss and a bodyslam. Joe climbs to the second rope but is cut off by Bully Ray. Devon slams Joe to the mat and tags in Bully Ray. Bully lands several strikes and tags in Devon.
Devon mimics Hogan’s pose routine in the ring and then puts Park in a chin lock. Joe gets to his feet and Devon hits him with a back elbow. Devon tags in Bully and Bully hits Joe with a dropkick. Bully Ray pounds Joe into the mat and tags in Devon. Devon and Bully try for a double team clothesline but end up hitting each other as Park ducks out of the way.
Sting gets tagged in and lands several punches and a clothesline. Sting puts Devon in the Scorpion Death lock (AKA the Sharpshooter here in Canada) and Park tries to put the same hold on Bully Ray. Bully kicks Park off of him and into Sting, freeing Devon. Sting takes Devon and Bully down with a double clothesline. Sting hits Ray and Devon with Stinger Splashes.
Bully and Devon hit Sting with a double team suplex/neckbreaker. Bully hits Park with a scoop slam as Devon climbs to the top rope. Bully Ray holds Park down so Devon can attempt a top rope headbutt to his groin.
The entrance music for the Monster Abyss starts while Devon is perched on the top rope. Sting takes advantage of the distraction and yanks Devon off the top rope and then finishes him with the Scorpion Death Drop for the win!
Commercial
When we return, Kurt Angle is complaining about AJ Styles. Angle is glad AJ didn’t join Aces and Eights, but he still thinks AJ has done a lot of unforgivable things lately, including attacking Angle with a hammer. Angle will face AJ at Slammiversary and promises to make him pay.
Dixie Carter makes her way to the ring to talk about Slammiversary, but she is interrupted by Aces and Eights. Garret Bischoff, Wes Brisco, and Doc enter the ring and surround Dixie menacingly. Before anything happens, Samoa Joe and Magnus come out to the rescue. Joe then challenges Garrett Bischoff to a match.
Match: Joe versus Bischoff.
Bischoff attacks Joe from behind before the bell. Joe hits Bischoff with several strikes and an enzuigiri.
Commercial
Joe hits Bischoff with a front kick. Outside the ring, Briscoe and Doc attack Magnus, and then Bischoff joins in the attack. Joe does a suicide dive into all three members of Aces and Eights. The match gets thrown out as all 5 men brawl outside the ring.
After the match, Joe announces that at Slammiversary, Bischoff, Brisco, and Doc (who he calls a big shaved ape, which inspires a “big shaved ape” chant) will have to face Joe, Magnus, and the returning Jeff Hardy!!
Commercial
When we return, Hogan is asking his daughter about the look she gave Bully Ray when he said he still loved her. Brooke admitted it tugged at her heart strings. She’ll probably turn heel soon. And suck at it.
Commercial
Match #2: Bad Influence and Aries and Roode versus Chavo and Hernandez and Storm and Gunner.
Gunner and Daniels start the match off. Daniels pushes Gunner and Gunner connects with a series of strikes. Gunner backdrops Daniels and Daniels tags in Aries. Aries tags in Roode before even trying to do anything.
Aries looked like he might have been a little scared of Gunner. Roode and Gunner exchange hammerlocks. Roode slams Gunner into the corner and hits him with a chop and a punch. Gunner responds with a kick and a clothesline and then tags in Chavo.
Chavo stomps Roode in the corner and then tags in Hernandez. Hernandez bodyslams his partner Chavo onto Roode and then hits Roode with a big splash. Hernandez tags in Chavo. Chavo lands a couple kicks and then the three Amigos. Chavo climbs to the top rope but is cut off by Aries. Aries hits Chavo with a slingshot elbow and tags in Kaz.
Kaz hits Chavo with a neckbreaker and tags in Roode. The heels isolate Chavo until Chavo is able to fight his way out with an elbow. Kaz rakes Chavo’s eyes. Chavo lands a dropkick and tags in Hernandez. Hernandez hits Roode with a clothesline and a shoulder block.
Hernandez hits Aries with a press slam. Hernandez tries a double clothesline and takes down Kaz, but Daniels ducks. Hernandez tags in Gunner and Kaz tags in Aries. Gunner puts Aries in a backbreaker and then the torture rack. Aries submits!
Commercial
When we return, Mickie James walks to the ring to celebrate her recent championship victory over the injured Velvet Sky. Mickie is concerned that a small number of people think her victory was tainted. Mickie clipped Velvet’s knee hard as she was clutching it in pain.
Velvet comes out and they still seem to love each other, but I suspect Mickie is slowly turning evil. Gail Kim comes out to say she wants the next Knockouts title shot. Velvet says she’s next in line for her rematch. Gail attacks Velvet and Mickie doesn’t do anything to help. Taryn Terrell comes out to save Velvet and attacks Gail.
Commercial
Match #3: Gail Kim and Kenny King versus Taryn Terrell and Chris Sabin.
Taryn and Gail start things off and Taryn starts off hot. Taryn lands several forearms, a clothesline, and a neckbreaker. Taryn hits Gail with a suplex and then a flying crossbody from the top. Gail tags in Kenny and Taryn tags in Sabin. Sabin takes King down with an armdrag and then a hammerlock.
King gets out and slams Sabin to the mat. King hits Sabin with a wheel kick and then puts him in a headlock. King hits Sabin with bodyslam and then misses a springboard legdrop. Sabin hits King with a forearm, a clothesline, and a kick.
Gail pulls Sabin’s hair as a distraction. Gail tries to hit Sabin with a kick but Sabin catches it and then Taryn spears Gail. Sabin hits King with an enzuigiri and then finishes him with the Cradle Shock.
After the match, King hits Sabin from behind and stomps him into the mat. Suicide comes out to make the save and hits King with a double underhook gutbuster.
Commercial
Match #4: Ken Anderson versus AJ Styles.
Anderson attacks AJ before the bell, but AJ quickly responds with punches and chops. Anderson puts AJ in a headlock and then shoulder blocks him. AJ trips Anderson up and then stomps him. AJ takes Anderson down with a bodyslam and then hits him with an elbow drop.
AJ hits Anderson with a suplex and then they exchange punches. AJ snaps Anderson’s neck on the top rope and Anderson falls out of the ring. AJ hits Anderson with a baseball slide dropkick.
Commercial
AJ tries to suplex Anderson into the ring but Anderson blocks it. Anderson DDT’s AJ onto the edge of the ring apron and then slams him into the side of the ring. The two men exchange punches and Anderson backdrops AJ.
Anderson looks like he’s trying to get AJ in a kimura lock. The two men exchange a lot of punches. AJ goes to the top but Anderson cuts him off and hits him with a rolling fireman’s carry slam. AJ turns things around and beats on Anderson in the corner. AJ has Anderson hanging upside down from the top turnbuckle and hits him with a big dropkick.
Kurt Angle runs out into the ring and attacks AJ. AJ hits Angle’s injured leg with a kick and then both men get attacked by Aces and Eights. Sting, Samoa Joe, Magnus, and Joe Park all come out to join the fight.
After a little chaos, Sting and Bully Ray, the two men that will fight for the TNA title, face off in the middle of the ring. The two men exchange a lot of punches and Sting puts Bully in the Scorpion Death Lock. Devon runs into the ring to save Bully Ray and the former partners take Sting out with a 3D. All the members of Aces and Eights stand triumphantly in the ring as Impact goes off the air.
WWE Superstars John Cena and Daniel Bryan along with WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat will be appearing at Wizard World, Philadelphia’s Comic Con in the next few days.
Cena is appearing at the convention today from 3:30PM till 7:30PM while Daniel Bryan will be there on Saturday, May 1, between 12:30PM and 3:30PM. Steamboat will also be there on Saturday from 1PM till 4PM. The two will do a Q&A together between 3PM and 3:30PM in room 108.
The WWE champion is featured on the main graphic of the Wizard World website along with Stan Lee, William Shatner, Henry Winkler, and others.
TNA IMPACT will go back to its old time slot of 9PM EST starting with tonight’s episode on Spike TV. The change was announced earlier this month.
TNA and Spike moved IMPACT to the 8PM time slot a year ago on May 31 to try and increase their viewership however the move didn’t really work with the first hour of the show often getting less and less and viewers. The time slot change was announced when IMPACT moved live every week.
So starting tonight, TNA fans can catch the show from 9PM to 11PM on Spike.
Former TNA champion Jeff Hardy will be returning this coming Sunday at the Slammiversary pay-per-view after more than six weeks off television.
Hardy was last seen on TNA TV on the April 11 edition of IMPACT, losing to Bully Ray in a Full Metal Mayhem match for the TNA title.
His return was announced by TNA President Dixie Carter on Twitter, who said that she’s happy to announce that he’ll be back on the pay-per-view and urged fans to tune in tonight on IMPACT for more information about Hardy’s role on the show.
