Here’s your news for October 29, 2019
We're starting off news from RAW today as it seems Rusev
and Lana aren't getting back together.
The pair met in the closing segment of this week's show, after
the Ravishing Russian told Lashley she wanted to go to the ring by herself.
In a divorce court special of Jerry Lawler's King's Court, Rusev hoped that terminating
their marriage wasn't the answer and felt that his wife's mind had been poisoned along the way.
In response, Lana said she didn't want to air their dirty laundry or embarrass
the Bulgarian, as she's already dealing with comments by fans.
Despite this, Lana did say their marriage was all about what Rusev wanted
and even accused him of being a quote "sex addict", allegedly wanting
to do the deed as much as possible, even at WrestleMania.
Saying that all Rusev wants is to put a baby inside her, Lana claimed that Rusev
knew more about her monthly cycle than she did, and said she wants to make
money from being ravishing, not the momma of a bunch of little Rusevs.
Bringing up the third-person in the equation, Lana said it was Lashley
who told her about Rusev's apparent affair with Maria, but when the Bulgarian
denied the claims, the destroyer made his presence known at ringside.
After brawling both outside and in the ring, Rusev would shove his wedding ring
in the mouth of Lashley, but after a distraction from Lana, the former
ECW World Champion would down Rusev with a low-blow and punches
followed by another kiss from WWE's new power couple.
Interestingly, Lana spoke with her American accent during the segment, and
to that one fan in the crowd who yelled "this is weird", we're on your side buddy.
During the show, Lana and Lashley were spotted hanging out backstage, as it seems
the new couple are already pretty committed to each other, despite the Bulgarian Brute.
Last night's show also saw Drew McIntyre face Ricochet for what feels like the 100th time
but to be fair, the pair do work really well together with their opposing styles.
A rematch from last week, the angle behind this was the same, with McIntyre
representing Team Flair and Ricochet repping Team Hogan ahead of Crown Jewel.
Recently returning from injury, McIntyre was his usual confident self, getting in
Hogan's face after a leg-drop, and posing in Hogan's style after a crucific buckle bomb.
All his taunting did allow Ricochet the advantage though, and after the former
US Champion went for a splash, McIntyre moved, though Ricochet landed on his feet.
After this, the match was cut short thanks to the interference of Randy Orton
who leveled the high-flyer with one of the all-time greatest RKO's for the DQ,
and after taunting Hogan, shook hands with McIntyre much to the ire of the crowd.
It was a good match, but didn't really do much for Ricochet, who took the beating for
far too long, and despite using underhanded tactics early on, got taken down very easily.
Also, Ric Flair was practically a ghost for this segment, as though Hogan didn't
get physical during the match, the Hulkster did a lot more than the Nature Boy.
Whilst Ricochet and McIntyre will battle again at Crown Jewel, Universal Champion
Seth Rollins will defend his title against Bray Wyatt in a Falls Count Anywhere match
and got some first-hand experience of the match type this week when he faced Erick Rowan.
For a nothing match-up where the winner was never in doubt, the two gave a great
performance in Rowan's first match on RAW since getting a decent push on SmackDown.
A contest that went all over the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri,
the finish was a nice nod to The Rock and Mankind's halftime heat match
as a forklift helped tip the match back in Rollins' favor.
Whilst he may have defeated one of Wyatt's former protege's last night, Rollins will face
the Fiend himself on Thursday, in what fans should expect to be a hard-hitting contest.
Over to women's division news now, and Asuka and Kairi Sane have clearly outgrown Paige.
To be fair, the British manager never really gelled with the Japanese stars,
and after several months away rehabbing from an injury
Paige returned this week only to be dumped by her clients.
In the opening segment of RAW, Paige got a hero's welcome, and introduced the
Kabuki Warriors, which was the beginning of the end for the former Divas Champion.
As Paige attempted to cut a promo on how much she has helped the pair
Asuka and Sane were having none of it, and the Empress of Tomorrow ended the
promo by blasting their ex- manager with the dreaded green mist.
She may not have wrestled in nearly two years, but that hasn't stopped Paige's amazing selling
as she writhed in agony from the burning mist like no-one else has done before.
It's clear that the Kabuki Warriors don't feel they need a manager now that they hold the WWE
Women's Tag Team Champion ships, but fans will have to stay tuned to see who
they target next, though Paige has responded on Twitter.
Replying to a tweet from the WWE on FOX account, Paige said that the attack
by the champions will give them plenty to talk about on WWE Backstage, as it seems
the raven-haired warrior isn't taking this attack lying down.
Later on in the night, Kairi Sane would come up short against
RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch, and whilst Paige may not have been able to
see the match, the knowledge of Sane's defeat must have been music to her ears.
From RAW to SmackDown and despite plenty of excuses, such as the World Series, the
new NBA season, Bellator and a replay of AEW Dynamite, the No.s don't look good for WWE.
For the one-off-show on FS1 on October 25th, just 888,000 people tuned in to the show
the lowest rating of all time, with the last record-holder being the New Years' Eve 2015
edition of the show, which was also the last smackDown on Syfy, which did 1.6 million.
What makes this worse is that the company promoted names like Cain Velasquez
Brock Lesnar, Hulk Hogan, and Ric Flair well in advance for the show,
so hopefully the number will rise this week when SmackDown is back on FOX.
WWE Backstage on FS1 didn't do much better either, as the October 22nd edition
did 426,000 viewers according to Showbuzz Daily, down from the 597,000
who turned in on October 15th special preview episode.
Though it was bad news for SmackDown's viewing figures, yesterday was
good news for The Miz, who celebrated his 15th year with the company.
After being told that he'd never make it, the self-professed "most must-see Superstar
in WWE history" has been proving folks wrong for years, and WWE celebrated
with a special look at the Miz's A-List evolution from the beginning of his career.
In a post on his Instagram and Twitter, Miz would thank his
doubters for motivating him, saying:
"For a guy that was told that he’d be fired within 3 months of stepping into WWE
that his 15 minutes of fame are up - Today is a day I celebrate saying thank you
to all the doubters. Your hate motivated me. It lit a fire in me to prove you wrong.
Raise your glasses because today we celebrate 15 years at WWE.
I rarely look to the future because I live in the present but
if you thought those 15 were good..just wait. The best is yet to come. Be Miz."
One man who knows all about being in the company for a while is Bray Wyatt, who will
be sporting some new ink when he next hosts the Firefly Fun House.
One look at the demented Fiend will tell fans he already has a ton of tattoos, but
now he has a new one on his hand, which must definitely have hurt. Online, Wyatt said:
"Major props to my dude @scarboroughtattoo for this amazing piece
I already feel more badass than I did yesterday"
The tattoo is very badass and hopefully any soreness will heal in time for the
Eater of Worlds to make the long trip to Saudi Arabia for this Thursday's Crown Jewel.
Another tatooed behemoth who will be competing in Riyadh is Cain Velasquez
who recently spoke on the Not Sam Wrestling podcast about his new WWE career.
After signing a lucrative multi- year deal with WWE, Velasquez will in theory
have a few WrestleMania matches to his name, but said he didn't want to fight
anyone specific at the show of shows, but only who he feels is best. He said:
“I see the sport like I did MMA. Now there’s a lot more things and a lot more
techniques that I can use in this sport that I really couldn’t have in MMA.
So I wanted to showcase my fighting style. I wanted to show case the pro wrestling side
and also the lucha side as well. I wanna do everything and just have more tools in the tool belt.”
“I never really thought of opponents, you know. Who ever is the toughest task at hand
you know that’s who I want to go against. I want to challenge myself.
I want to get better. I never really thought about — I never really chosen opponents
it’s not like I wanna fight against this guy it’s like who’s the best guy
I can fight against and that’s who I want to fight.”
Given that Velasquez will be taking on WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in his first match
in WWE, the former UFC star is already getting a huge opponent from the get-go
though these two could always cross paths at the show of shows.
When asked about if he feels Daniel Cormier is jealous that Velasquez is a WWE Superstar,
Cain said:
“He’ll get his time, he’ll get his time. He’s just a big fan and he loves this sport
I see him getting into it if he chooses and you know, later on down the road when
he’s done with fighting. But, yeah he’s a big fan. Him, my wife kinda like put that little thought
in my head of starting to do this and from then on it’s like Hell yeah this is what I want to do.”
This is a very interesting comment by Velasquez, and does make us wonder
what WWE's roster will look like in five years time.
Stars of MMA have become more regular sightings in WWE, with Velasquez,
Ronda Rousey and Matt Riddle all having success after coming from the Octagon
and if Cain does have a nice succesful WWE career, this could open up the door
for more fighters who want to make some serious money, without getting seriously hurt.
Also at Crown Jewel, boxing star Tyson Fury will step in the ring to battle Braun Strowman
but has spoken to the Telegraph newspaper about his plans afterwards.
In the interview, Fury said that as of right now, he has no WWE plans
past this Thursday's show, but that doesn't mean he'll never be back. He said:
“I’m an entertainer and fast learner, so I’ve been getting the best out of it
It’s taken my mind off boxing completely.”
“I wouldn’t be in training camp at the moment, anyway. But it gives me something to do
I didn’t want October and November off.
I knew this would be a month- long job and I knew I would be busy.”
“Never say never, but I’ve got nothing planned for the future with wrestling.”
With this seemingly being Fury's only match in WWE, the boxing star should
definitely make it count when he faces the Monster Among Men at Crown Jewel.
Whilst Fury may be finished by the end of this week, one person who has just
gotten started is Catalina Garcia, who made her RAW debut teaming with Sin Cara.
Facing Andrade and Zelina Vega, the 19-year-old star did great in her debut
but eventually fell to El Idolo and Vega.
Competing under the name Jessy at the 5 Luchas - Clandestino earlier this year
Garcia made her NXT live event debut on October 10th against Santina Garrett
and after wrestling three matches in NXT, its unknown whether
she'll stay on RAW or move back to the gold brand
We've got some Hall of Fame news now, as the WWE has confirmed that
next year's ceremony will be on a Thursday due to SmackDown now airing on Fridays.
This move will still make up WWE's five-day-Mania week, with the Hall of Fame
Fame on Thursday, SmackDown Friday, NXT on Saturday, WrestleMania
on Sunday and ending with RAW on Monday.
One person fans may get to see over the week is JoJo Offerman, who recently
returned to WWE after having her baby with partner Bray Wyatt.
The former-Total Divas star was at tonight's RAW in St Louis, and it's great
to see she's doing well after maternity leave.
More Crown Jewel news now, and thanks to the oodles of cash WWE are being paid
to produce the show, the company can now experiment with some new technology.
A recent video from the @WrestlinClub Twitter showed the new tech in action,
as it seems Crown Jewel will have a huge WWE logo hovering over the show.
It's a pretty impressive display from WWE, so hopefully the effect comes
off well for both the fans in Riyadh, and those watching at home.
Fans will get to see some of the top names in Sports at Crown Jewel, but one person
they shouldn't expect to see is Jinder Mahal, who is still out with a knee injury.
Recently, FanBuzz ran a story where the Modern Day Maharajah said
that he won't be back until at least the new Year,
leading to some speculation of Mahal returning at the Royal Rumble
Since losing the WWE Title in November 2017, Mahal has slid
down the roster into mid-card status, but winning the Men's Rumble match
could launch him back into a top spot in the company.
With that said, missing the Rumble may be the best option for Mahal,
as he doesn't want to risk a premature return, and if they can work out a proper
comeback for him, spending a few more months away could be what's best for him.
As we know, the Royal Rumble matches start the road to WrestleMania,
and tickets will now go on sale a bit earlier than expected.
Ticket's for WrestleMania 36 will now go on sale on November 15th at 10am Eastern, and the show
will air from the Raymond James Stadium on April 5th next year. In a statement, WWE said:
“Ticket prices range from $35- $1,000. There will also be a limited number of “Gold Circle”
VIP Packages available ranging from $2,000-$2,500. The Gold Circle packages include
seating in the first nine rows ringside, access to a Gold Circle VIP Stadium Entrance
and a commemorative WrestleMania take-home folding chair.”
And finally we're rapping up with some RAW results, as US Champion AJ Styles
defeated Humberto Carillo in non-title action, but after a post-match
beatdown by the OC, was sent packing thanks to the Street Profits.
Charlotte Flair and Natalya also teamed up to defeat the IIconics, with this victory
surely helping them raise a case for a WWE Women's Tag Team Title match down the line.
Also in Tag Team action, the Viking Raiders defeated Rizzo and Bryant in non-title action
whilst Buddy Murphy defeated R-Truth, though Truth nearly had the win.
One could make the point that the rapping Superstar would have defeated
the Australian if he hadn't been distracted by 24/7 Champion Sunil Singh
but after pursuing the Bollywood Boyz, ran into a lights-out-knee
by the former Cruiserweight Champion who got the win.
It seems Truth won't rest until he once again holds the 24/7 title,
but he's not the only person looking to capture the coveted green title.