Summer Rae has not been in action for nearly a year now
What’s the story?
Summer Rae has continued to deny the authenticity of the allegedly leaked photos of her.
In case you didn’t know...
Summer Rae began denying the authenticity of the leaks on March 19th,
when her twitter feed exploded with a screenshot of an alleged private
video of hers. However, it was confirmed that the image used was false.
Former WWE superstars Kaitlyn and Maria Kanellis are said to be the two latest victims of the private photo leaks.
The heart of the matter
Hours
after Summer Rae’s second tweet, more photos of her allegedly came out.
However, this time the woman in the pictures had the exact same case
that was seen in Summer Rae’s Instagram profile.
It could still
very well be photoshopped, as Alexa Bliss had alleged private photos
leaked, but they turned out to be clear cases of photoshop as well.
What’s next?
Hopefully,
Summer Rae won't become a victim of the private leaking scandals that
have been happening of late. Paige and several Hollywood actresses fell
victim to various leaks in the past month. As of now, Summer Rae will be
looking to get back into tip top shape and come back to RAW and join
the women’s division.
Author’s take
It
would be unfortunate for Summer Rae or any person for that matter to
have their private photographs leaked. She is an incredible talent who
has been severely underutilised throughout her time on the main roster.
Hopefully,
she can find herself right in the mix of the women’s division upon her
return and prove to everyone what she is truly capable of achieving. We
got to see some of her potential in NXT, where she was heavily featured
in some of the main women's division storylines during the rapid rise of
women's wrestling in WWE.
Now is the perfect time for her to come back successfully and put a stamp proving that the RAW
women's division is exactly where she belongs. The last thing she needs
is for her career to be tainted by leaking of private photographs or
videos which have not even proven to be real yet.
Natalya was full of praise for Ronda Rousey, in an interview
What's the story?
SmackDown LIVE’s Natalya recently spoke to Sports Illustrated at length about a variety of topics.
During
the course of her interview, Natalya was full of praise for MMA
Superstar Ronda Rousey, who has been vocal about her love for
professional wrestling and has also been involved in the proceedings of
WrestleMania in the past.
Natalya said that Rousey would be a
great addition to WWE and also mentioned that she would like to be the
first to face the UFC Superstar.
In case you didn’t know...
Ronda
Rousey was an integral part of WrestleMania 31, teaming up with The
Rock to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in an in-ring segment
that created much buzz across the world.
Following this, there was
much speculation about Rousey coming on board full time, with Stephanie
McMahon even expressing hope that Rousey would take up the offer.
Rousey
herself is a lifelong WWE fan, borrowing the ‘Rowdy’ nickname she uses
from Roddy Piper and calling her group of fighters the Four Horsewomen,
after Ric Flair’s iconic heel stable.
The Rock teams up with Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania 33
The heart of the matter
Natalya was quite hopeful of being the first woman from WWE to face Ronda Rousey if she joins the wrestling company.
In her own words:
“The
great thing about WWE is, you look at our entire women’s division, and
you see so many different women from so many different walks of life.
It’s just great because we have such a diverse group of women.
Ronda
represents someone that breaks the mold. She’s not your average girl.
She’s somebody that’s really unique and that’s what we’re all about in
is embracing our unique qualities.
I hope Ronda does sign with WWE, because I want to be the first in line to wrestle her.”
What’s next?
After losing to Amanda Nunes in her last fight, Rousey's future remains unclear.
Natalya
however, will be a part of a multi-woman match for the SmackDown
Women's Championship at WrestleMania 33 and will continue to be an
integral part of the blue brand.
Author’s take
I
definitely don’t see Natalya as the first opponent that WWE chooses for
Ronda Rousey. Rousey is too high profile a star to not be battling
Charlotte Flair or even Stephanie McMahon at a stage like WrestleMania
or Summerslam.
All of this can only happen if the mercurial Rousey actually decides to join sports entertainment.
As
revealed on last night's edition of Monday Night Raw, Brock Lesnar and
Goldberg will come face to face next week on the go-home show for
WrestleMania 33.
The two men will then compete against one another at the showcase of the immortals for the Universal Championship.
In case you didn't know...
The
two goliaths are set to write the final chapter in their storied
rivalry, which began all the way back at WrestleMania 20 when Goldberg
defeated Lesnar in a relatively poor bout.
With the Universal Champion currently
holding a 2-0 advantage over The Beast Incarnate in terms of wins, many
fans are expecting Lesnar to walk away with the belt in Orlando.
The heart of the matter
Not
long before the end of last night's Raw broadcast, it was announced
that Lesnar and Goldberg will appear next week in Philadelphia in a head
to head confrontation just six days prior to their championship bout.
Given
how the build has gone so far, nobody is expecting too many fireworks
when it comes to any kinds of stipulations being added.
What's next?
It's
time to sit back and watch the drama unfold, with the stage having
already been set for what is sure to be a fiery encounter at the Citrus
Bowl.
Given
the part-time nature of both men's contracts, there's a certain level
of anticipation in the air regarding how the match is going to finish,
especially given that there's no Money in the Bank contract in play this
year.
Author's take
There's probably not
going to be too much to shout about in terms of this confrontation, but
it'll be fun to see the two behemoths standing across the ring from one
another one last time before Mania.
Nobody knows what to expect
when it comes to their Universal Title match, and that's probably the
best thing that could've happened. The unpredictability, coupled
together with the expectation of a short bout makes Lesnar vs Goldberg
III a must see event.
Former-WWE NXT standouts Emma and Summer Rae on their way back to the ring, as Squared Circle Sirens has reported that they were going back to the WWE Performance Center this week.
In case you didn’t know...
Summer Rae’s time in the WWE hasn’t been anything special.
Years
back, her debut was alongside Fandango. When the duo split up, she
began a singles career, which didn’t materialise. Plenty of odd
rivalries and matches went by without anything sticking. Then, Rae
injured her shoulder and hasn’t seen any in-ring action since August
2016.
As for Emma, or Emmalina, her WWE career thus far can go down in the history books as one of the strangest.
She
was an accomplished wrestler on WWE NXT. Her match with Paige at the
first NXT TakeOver pay-per-view is still one of the best women’s matches
in NXT history. However, Emma never found her niche on the main roster.
Her
short-lived program with Santino Marella didn’t last long. Then, an
8-week vignette streak teasing a new character called,“Emmalina” had the
WWE Universe anxious for a big debut.
When she did have her debut, however, all she said was that she was going back to being Emma. The vignettes continued.
The heart of the matter
While both women have been gone from the squared circle for a lengthy period of time, the Squared Circle Sirens report states they could show up at WrestleMania 33.
“We’re
told that Summer Rae was flown down to Orlando, Florida in hopes of
being cleared in time for a WrestleMania return alongside Emma.
Sources
tell us that Vince McMahon has been pushing for Summer Rae and Emma to
return to possibly be apart of the SmackDown Women’s match at
WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida in a few weeks.”
What’s next?
If
all goes according to plan, Emma and Rae should appear at WrestleMania
33. What doesn’t match the report, however, is the fact that Emma is on
the WWE Raw brand and last checked, Rae isn’t even on a show.
So there
would have to be changes made in order to make the SmackDown LIVE
Women’s championship match more interesting. Unless McMahon changes his
mind on Emma, there won’t be big plans for either of them in the
foreseeable future.
Author’s Take
Emma and Summer Rae are good wrestlers who have the potential to be champions in the future.
The
Australian-born WWE Superstar Emma has had quality matches before. It
just doesn’t seem like anybody in Stamford, Connecticut cares about
either wrestler on television, however.
From a fan’s perspective,
if Rae and Emma weren’t to ever wrestle again, the casual fan may forget
who they even were. Hopefully, the rejuvenation of both Superstars
helps their respective careers. WrestleMania 33 would be a good start.
Charlotte and Ric have stood by each others side.If you've ever heard the name Ashley Fliehr then
you probably know who we are referring too. If we liberally change the
spelling of her last name to match the pronunciation, it would spell
Flair. Today, there is only one Flair that is getting all the attention, even though it is her father that made the family name. Ashley competes under the name Charlotte, and during her time with WWE, fans
have seen growth and progression in her as a professional and
competitor, which shows she is determined not to just get by on her
father's name. What we normally see on WWE programming
is the company boasting how a performer has had to overcome a number of
challenges to make it where they are today. Charlotte has had to work
twice as hard, being the daughter of a legend.
She
has seen a number of ups and downs in her life but has overcome these
obstacles to become the success that she is today. Here are a few things
the WWE won't tell you about Charlotte.
#5 Made some mistakes before finding herself
It has never come easy for the second generation wrestler. She has faced obstacles throughout her life.
We all make mistakes in life. We learn from them, grow, and move forward with our lives. Before her time in WWE, Charlottewas
arrested for an incident in 2008 in North Carolina. The reasons for the
incident are said to be tied to not only her but her father Ric and her ex-boyfriend. It
involved assaulting a police officer during a fight between her
boyfriend, and father. Whether she struck the officer in the midst of
the skirmish, or while defending her dad or attempting to fight off her
boyfriend, isn't quite clear. What is clear is that at the end of it all, Charlotte pled guilty to a lesser charge and as a result was sentenced to jail. Thankfully the sentence of 45 days in jail was reduced to supervised probation and a $200 fine. life. It is important to acknowledge how she has overcome that incident and not allowed it to define her moving forward. Today, Charlotte appears to be every bit the dedicated professional.
The WWE’s power coupleWhen
you’re a celebrity, your love life is under constant scrutiny. The
general public wants as much information as they can get their hands on
about what their favourite celebs are doing and it’s no different for
WWE Superstars.
And, when it comes to WWE Superstars, there is
nobody bigger than John Cena. Well, there’s The Rock, but I think we can
all agree that he’s more of a movie star than a WWE Superstar these
days. So, back to my original point, there is nobody bigger than Big
Match John in the WWE.
As one would expect, the leader of the Cenation has had his fair share of female companions over the years.
Right from his early days as a trainee
in WWE’s developmental territory of OVW to the superstardom he has found
in equalling Ric Flair’s record of 16 World Titles, Cena has had a
number of girlfriends and was even married at one point.
So, without further ado, let’s get into our list of 5 women John Cena has dated:
#1 Nikki Bella
We
start this list off with John Cena’s latest beau, Nikki Bella. One-half
of the Bella twins and The Face that Runs the Place have been an item
since 2013 and this relationship seems to be one where Cena finally
settles down with The One.
The two are currently working together
on-screen for the first time in their careers and are embroiled in a
heated feud with The Miz and Maryse where the heels have repeatedly
rammed home the point that Cena will never propose to Nikki.
The
obvious culmination of this angle should be Big Match John finally
proposing to the love of his life and for the two to be wedded in the
near future. In the days of reality television involving Total Bellas as
well as Cena and Nikki’s high-profile positions in the WWE, this is a
relationship which is meant to stand the test of time.
Regardless
of all the nonsense, the two seem to be genuinely happy together so we
wish the best for John Cena and Nikki Bella going forward.
Reby Hardy has been quite active on Twitter lately...
What’s the story?
Reby
Hardy has been on the offensive over the past few days on Twitter with
her vitriol directed at Anthem and Impact Wrestling. One tweet in
particular from this weekend was very interesting where she took a
screenshot of a statement from ProWrestling.net and accompanied it with a
thinking emoji as you can see below:
The
tweet mentions the WWE, and combine it with Reby’s emoji and you have
to think that there might be a connection as to where the Hardy’s are
going.
In case you didn’t know...
Reby
has had some epic rants on her Twitter account this past week. She has
included claims that Anthem is threatening pay per view providers who
show Matt and Jeff Hardy with their Broken characters, as well as
showing proof that Impact Wrestling’s Twitter is blocking fans that are
being critical of their handling of the Hardy situation.
The heart of the matter...
Anthem
is claiming that the Broken gimmick of Matt and Jeff is the
intellectual property of Impact Wrestling; however, Reby has said in
multiple tweets that she has proof that it isn’t the case and that
Anthem is fighting an uphill battle.
The comment from ProWrestling.net
states that everyone wins in the situation of letting the Hardy’s
continue. The key part to this is mentioning those merchandise sales
astronomically increase if they sign with the WWE.
What’s next?
This
weekend will have the next television tapings for Ring Of Honor, and
the Broken Hardy’s will definitely be involved as they are under
contract until at least Supercard of Honor on April 1st. It’ll be interesting to see if the Broken gimmicks are used, as they were not at the 15th Anniversary pay per view on this past Friday.
Sportskeeda’s take
The
way Anthem is treating the Hardy family is quite ridiculous. Blocking
the use of the Broken gimmick really benefits nobody. Anthem and Impact
Wrestling cannot use it any longer, and it is depriving the fans of one
of the best gimmicks in pro wrestling over the past decade.
Reby’s
attacks on Twitter probably aren’t helping a whole lot, but at the same
time, she is providing quite a bit of information regarding the
situation. There really isn’t a benefit for her to make this information
up, and hopefully, everything gets resolved quickly so we can all move
on.
The emoji that Reby posted with the screenshot is very
interesting as many think the Hardy’s are heading to the WWE after
WrestleMania. Is Reby showing her hand with that emoji and confirming
that it is the case?
Is Dana about to find herself presented with a huge opportunity?
What’s the story?
Cagesideseats.com
is speculating that there may yet be more changes to come with regards
to the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 33? Currently, the
bout is scheduled to see champion Bayley defend her title against
Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks in a triple threat match, but the site
(along with Wrestling Observer) is speculating that WWE is considering adding Dana Brooke or Nia Jax or even both to the match.
In case you didn’t know...
Bayley
won the Raw Women’s Championship in mid-February by defeating Charlotte
Flair in an excellent match on Raw and subsequently defended the title
against the deposed champion at Fastlane. Bayley retained the title in
controversial circumstances which lead to a triple threat match between
Bayley, Flair and Sasha Banks being booked for WrestleMania 33.
Dana
Brooke finally stood up for herself in the face of constant humiliation
from Charlotte Flair, and whilst that story could be over and done with
next week there is a chance Brooke could find herself in the title
match too. All the while Nia Jax has been running roughshod over the
women’s division on Raw, and despite her Fastlane loss to Sasha Banks,
she would be a strong addition to the match.
The heart of the matter
For
months it was rumoured that the Raw Women’s Championship would be
defended at the Ultimate Thrill Ride in a four-way match featuring
Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax, but when the match was
finally announced Nia was nowhere to be seen. After months of building
Jax up, this was somewhat surprising, and it isn’t entirely shocking to
hear that WWE officials may not be completely sold on the three-way just
yet.
The
potential addition of Dana Brooke is more surprising, however, given
her non-status on WWE television over the past few months. On the one
hand, this could be seen as a great opportunity for Charlotte’s former
protege, but equally, it could be interpreted as WWE trying to get as
many people on the card by any means necessary.
What’s next?
This
situation will surely be cleared up this coming Monday on RAW. The WWE
Universe will see where Dana Brooke and Charlotte are headed following
their fall-out last week, and Nia’s status will hopefully become clear
too. With just 16 days to go until WrestleMania 33, it is unlikely that
WWE will leave it to the last minute to set up the show, and WWE fans
can be forgiven for assuming Dana and Nia will know their roles sooner
rather than later.
Author’s Take
The
story should have been so easy to tell. Bayley defeating Charlotte Flair
for the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 33 and ending Flair’s
pay-per-view undefeated streak in the process was the lowest-hanging
fruit and a moment that everyone knows should have happened. Instead, we
are getting a messy multi-person match that feels like a non-event as
opposed to the next step in a true revolution.
Paige’s controversial situation could become the basis of a WWE storyline in the future...If
you haven’t been on the internet over the past 48 hours, news has
broken out that Paige had personal photos leaked onto the internet.
These photos, as well as an accompanying video, showed her in an
intimate situation with one of her co-workers. Ever since they have been
leaked, the IWC has, unsurprisingly, erupted.
It’s a dreadful
situation to find oneself in. You think that something you keep on your
phone or computer is locked away securely, only for someone you either
don’t know or might’ve trusted previously to access them and threaten to
release as much as possible to the public.
Right now, this issue
is being dealt with privately by Paige and her family, but one mustn’t
forget for whom Paige works. WWE has long been more than willing to
pounce on any high-profile happenings outside their sphere of influence
in order to use them for their own gain.
From
creating the Warrior Award in memory of the Ultimate Warrior to the
‘Eddiesploitation’ that lasted months and months after Eddie Guerrero
passed away, WWE has often sought to weave reality, no matter how
controversial, into its storylines.
While Paige’s current
situation with WWE remains complex, there is a chance that they might to
the same things they did in the past with her. Vince McMahon hasn’t
shied away from using controversy to generate interest in his product,
and actually, might do the same thing in this case. Sure, it might look
bad for him to be using real-life controversy to improve his ratings,
but he has done the same before and has gotten away with it.
Even
if today’s WWE is far more risk-averse, there’s a chance they could find
a way to use these recent developments to create more interesting
programming. If that’s what they decide to do, these are the five best
suggestions for how they should go about it.
#5 As Punishment For Xavier Woods
Woods’ image might be damaged by this situation...
New
Day member Xavier Woods is believed to have taken part in at least one
of the videos involving Paige, which definitely wouldn’t look good on
him. The New Day are supposed to be all about positivity, and when they
do engage in ‘bad’ activity, its under the guise of hijinks or mischief.
Being involved in a private video with one of his co-workers would
damage that image and could harm the New Day’s future.
But instead
of doing some harm to the group, this could actually be used to
revitalize the otherwise directionless New Day. They haven’t really done
anything since losing their tag team titles, so a storyline showcasing
one of them as doing something contradictory to the group’s mantra could
make for a compelling story.
Would Kingston and Big E turn on
Woods for his behaviour? Would Kingston, who has spoken publicly about
being a father, lambast his ally for his actions? Would it damage the
positive role model ideal WWE has been trying to cultivate for Woods for
years, ever since the ‘WWE 24’ video showing him wrestling while trying
to complete his Ph.D.?
Even if Woods ends up being an innocent
party in all of this, it would make for an interesting turn of events
for Woods, especially since these events are so contradictory with his
on-screen character.
Are we going to witness the second act in the storied rivalry of these two tremendous competitors?
What’s the story?
For
months, the WWE Universe has been clamouring for Sasha “The Boss” Banks
to turn heel and it looks like they will get their wish at this year’s
WrestleMania.
Cagesideseats reports that Sasha Banks will most likely turn on Bayley at WrestleMania 33 and will become a heel in the process.
In case you didn’t know...
Sasha
Banks earned her way into the Raw Women’s Championship match a few
weeks ago by defeating Bayley on Monday Night Raw. Ever since her
inclusion into the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 33, WWE has
been teasing some tension between the duo.
Sasha
Banks has been a stalwart friend of Bayley on the main roster until
now. But if one remembers correctly, they had the most heated rivalry of
the women’s division during their stay in NXT. The history between the
duo is well-known to the WWE Universe.
Their storied rivalry has
raised the bar of the women’s division in NXT and we can expect that bar
to be raised on the main roster too.
The heart of the matter
It
looks like the wish of Sasha’s fans might soon come true. In the latest
update from Cagesideseats, it is speculated that Sasha Banks will most
likely turn on Bayley at WrestleMania 33 and turn heel in the process.
For
weeks, the WWE Universe has been witnessing the mounting tension
between Sasha Banks and Bayley. With Sasha being added to the Raw
Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 33, the tension has reached
its breaking point.
It
is now widely speculated that Sasha might turn on Bayley at any moment.
According to the reports, we can expect Sasha to turn heel by attacking
Bayley either at WrestleMania 33 or at the night after WrestleMania.
What’s next?
On April 2nd,
Raw Women’s Champion Bayley will defend her title in a Fatal 4 Way
match against Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Nia Jax. Given the latest
rumours, we can expect Bayley to hold on to the championship and thus
inciting Sasha to attack her after the match.
In that case, the WWE Universe will be treated with both Bayley’s WrestleMania moment and Sasha’s heel turn.
Author’s take
With
Sasha turning heel soon, WWE is now devoid of any major babyfaces in
the women’s division on Raw. Considering how thin the women’s roster on
Raw is, this would create some major headaches for WWE in the upcoming
weeks.
Even though Dana Brooke has turned face recently, compared
to the heel trio of Charlotte, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks (if she indeed
does turn heel), the babyfaces face a serious disadvantage.
This
might also be an indication that Emma would indeed return on the night
after WrestleMania as a babyface. The status quo of heels vs babyfaces
in the women’s roster then may balance with Bayley, Dana and Emma on one
side and Charlotte, Sasha and Jax on the other side.
Who knows, WWE might even debut Asuka to the main roster on Raw to make things more interesting.
The WWE
Raw crew might have been in Brooklyn last night for the penultimate
episode of the flagship show on the Road to WrestleMania, but that
certainly doesn’t mean that the superstars of SmackDown LIVE had the
night off. The blue brand was in Worcester, Massachusetts for a live
event featuring a stacked roster and some top quality matches, as
SmackDown continues to make a compelling argument for being the best
show on WWE television right now.
The card featured three
championship matches along with a Worcester Street Fight, and the full
results and review can be found below.
#1 Randy Orton vs. The Miz
The
show opened with two former World Champions doing battle in the shape
of Randy Orton and The Miz. Whilst The Viper may well be towing the line
between heel and face on television, he was in full babyface mode here,
picking up the win over the former Intercontinental Champion with a
crowd-p
Result: Randy Orton defeated The Miz
#2 Kalisto, Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Curt Hawkins & The Vaudevillains
Could
there be a SmackDown LIVE team of three lower guys than Curt Hawkins
& The Vaudevillains? The babyface trio of Kalisto, Heath Slater
& Rhyno had little trouble putting away Hawkins, English and Gotch
in what was a throwaway match between six men with little direction.
Speaking
of SmackDown LIVE stars with little direction, Dolph Ziggler and Apollo
Crews continued their frustrating feud at the live event in Worcester,
with The Showoff picking up the win over Crews. Neither man has much on
their plate at WrestleMania 33 and will be hoping for renewed focus in
the post-WrestleMania landscape.
Result: Dolph Ziggler defeated Apollo Crews
#4 SmackDown Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Tamina Snuka
The
first title match of the evening was something of a WrestleMania
teaser, as Alexa Bliss defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship
against four competitors in the shape of Mickie James, Carmella, Natalya
and the recently-returned Tamina Snuka. Bliss was able to escape
Worcester with her title, but will she be able to survive even more foes
at the Show of Shows?
Result: Alexa Bliss defeated Mickie James, Carmella, Natalya and Tamina Snuka and retained her championship.
Could we see more of Goldberg following after WrestleMania 33?
What’s the story?
Cageside Seats reports that the WWE is open to signing Goldberg
for more dates. As of now, Goldberg seems to be under contract until
WrestleMania 33, but a contract with more dates could make Goldberg a
recurring character on Monday Night Raw.
In case you didn’t know...
Goldberg
was originally involved with the WWE exclusively for the WWE 2K17 video
game but was signed for a one-time match at Survivor Series against
Brock Lesnar. After his victory at Survivor Series, it was revealed that
Goldberg had signed on for even more dates.
Goldberg
and Lensar are set to headline WrestleMania, and The Beast Incarnate is
expected to get revenge and win the WWE Universal Championship.
The Heart of the Matter
If
the WWE and Goldberg reach another agreement, then his deal would
likely be similar to his current one where he only works a few Raws and
wrestles exclusively on pay-per-view. However, even if this did happen,
the outcome of his WrestleMania match isn’t likely to change.
What’s Next?
The
WWE were in a similar situation back in 2015, just before WrestleMania
31, when Lesnar was contemplating between remaining with the WWE or
returning fulltime to the UFC. Lesnar eventually revealed that he would
stay with the WWE before WrestleMania, so expect Goldberg to make
an announcement soon.
Author’s Take
Goldberg
remaining with the WWE could potentially be good for Monday Night Raw.
He definitely still is a draw and the possibility of seeing him mix it
up with wrestlers like Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, and Roman Reigns could
make for some interesting encounters.
However, if Goldberg is
re-signing with the company, then his matches would have to be a lot
longer. Fans have grown tired of seeing Goldberg have extremely shorts
matches and would like to see him compete for an extended period of
time. Hopefully, his WrestleMania 33 match and any potential matches
going forward will be longer than his previous ones
What will happen when Ambrose & Corbin clash again? Baron
Corbin injured Dean Ambrose in a Forklift assault two weeks ago and
sent him out on a stretcher. The Lone Wolf appears to be on the hunt for
The Lunatic Fringe’s Intercontinental Championship and to destroy his
adversary permanently.
Ambrose is never one to back down from a
fight and will most certainly return to get retribution, so is SmackDown
LIVE prepared for the all-out destruction that will occur when these
two Superstars brawl again?
American Alpha to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Titles against The Usos tonight SmackDown
Tag Team Champions American Alpha are “Ready, Willing and Gable” to
take on all comers.However last week, with only three episodes of
SmackDown LIVE left before The Ultimate Thrill Ride, The Usos scored a
huge non-title over Chad Gable & Jason Jordan.
As a result,
WWE.com has learned that American Alpha will defend their titles against
Jimmy & Jey tonight on SmackDown LIVE!Who will walk onto The
Grandest Stage of Them All with the SmackDown Tag Team Championship?
Will John Cena and Nikki Bella or The Miz and Maryse emerge as SmackDown LIVE’s A-List couple? Last
week, John Cena & Nikki Bella challenged The Miz & Maryse to a
Mixed Tag Team Match at The Showcase of the Immortals, but who will
prove they are the true A-list couple of the blue brand?
And one
week after scrambling into the crowd to avoid a confrontation, will Miz
and his dangerous bride attempt to regain some momentum just two weeks
before The Ultimate Thrill Ride?
Who will survive the mind games en route to The Ultimate Thrill Ride? Randy
Orton may have burned down The Wyatt Family Compound, but WWE Champion
Bray Wyatt has apparently returned more powerful than ever after being
baptized in the ashes of Sister Abigail.
But, as The New Face of
Fear and The Viper prepare to engage at WrestleMania, who will win the
war of intimidation between these two absolute masters of psychological
warfare?
Is AJ Styles fired or heading to WrestleMania to face Shane McMahon?
Last
Tuesday, after blaming Shane McMahon for having to “jump through hoops”
in pursuit of a WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania, AJ Styles
ambushed the SmackDown LIVE Commissioner and hurled him through a car
window.
As a result, SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan
fired The Phenomenal One and kicked him out of the building. However, as
the blue brand was about to conclude, a battered Shane-O-Mac emerged to
make the emphatic statement, “AJ Styles says he doesn’t have an
opponent at WrestleMania … he does now.”
So, is Styles gone for good? Or will he be heading to The Ultimate Thrill Ride to take on Shane McMahon?
Roman Reigns and The Undertaker seem headed for a match at WrestleMania 33 on April 2.It hasn’t been made official, but Monday night’s episode of RAW
made it pretty clear that Roman Reigns and The Undertaker are set for a
match at WrestleMania 33. With Reigns closing the show on his back
after a vicious chokeslam from the Deadman, there’s very little reason
to doubt that the match will happen, especially considering the two diid
the cliche stare at the WrestleMania sign as part of their
confrontation. Of course, most WWE fans have seen this match coming at
least since Royal Rumble, when Reigns came in at No. 30 and eliminated
Undertaker before barking at the Phenom, “This is my yard.”
Most
of those same fans are likely balking at this match, mainly because they
don’t like the notion of Undertaker losing to Reigns. Given Reigns’
booking history, it’s fair to assume that he would win, but that really
shouldn’t be too much of a worry. In fact, there are several reasons
that Reigns absolutely should take Undertaker down on a stage where he
was once undefeated, regardless of the stakes in play.
Goldberg didn’t want to let go of the Universal Championship during the F5.
What’s the story?
During
this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw, the new WWE Universal Champion
Goldberg came to the ring to address the crowd in Chicago before he was
interrupted by Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. After Heyman cut a promo,
Lesnar put Goldberg up for the F5, yet oddly enough, Goldberg still held
onto his title while on Lesnar’s shoulders and didn’t let go until
moments before he crashed into the mat.
While a superstar is
expected to leg go of the belt when hoisted into the air, Goldberg seems
to have forgotten about that and held on to it like his life with all
his might. It was only until the very end that he realised he had to
drop it in order to get the full impact of the F5.
In case you didn’t know...
The
match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar for WrestleMania was set up
weeks ago. The match on April 2nd in Orlando will now be for the
Universal title as a result of what happened at Fastlane
The heart of the matter...
There have been some awkward moments
for Goldberg since returning to the WWE last fall. He flubbed a promo in
the ring a few weeks ago because he was shaking off the cobwebs from
giving the metal door an aggressive headbutt that busted him open.
The
latest instance has ‘The Myth’ forgetting the basics. Maybe it could be
that he didn't feel like letting go but it was awkward nonetheless.
What’s next?
Both
Goldberg and Brock Lesnar are not full-time WWE Superstars.Thus, it is
possible that neither one of them will be on next week’s Raw to address
the situation, but they will definitely cross paths at least one more
time before WrestleMania.
Sportskeeda’s take
It’s
one of those unintentional comedic moments that we get every so often
in the WWE, but we can give Goldberg a pass. It has been quite a while
since he has held a professional wrestling championship. In fact,
Goldberg’s last championship came in September 2003 when he defeated
Triple H for his first WWE world title.
While the WrestleMania
match shouldn’t be for the WWE Universal Championship, the return of
Goldberg and his feud with Brock Lesnar has been a good one. It has been
great to see WWE get one final run out of Goldberg. Hopefully, it ends
at WrestleMania and a subsequent retirement on top of the industry where
he belongs.
SmackDown Live capped off a long three day stretch of live WWE
shows that thankfully kept getting progressively better. Even though
the main event scene has become a constant tweaking of the “No really,
who’s facing Bray at Mania?” storyline, an excellent match closed out
this episode to finally answer that question with certainty. Also on
the show was some quality as always Miz heel work and a women’s tag
match that was pretty solid. Overall, this was a good show.
Transitioning
away from the good to what this article is really about, there were
several moments worth dissecting in scrutinising detail. There were a
couple of instances of less than accurate memories by Shane McMahon and
Becky Lynch, a whiffed kick by Natalya, and an endearing tag team
sequence that proves that we can all rise above hate once and for all.
So
sit back, relax, and put on your favourite pair of jorts, fitted caps,
and wristbands while snuggled up next to your fearless lady. It’s time
for the 5 botchiest and most outrageous moments from this week of
SmackDown Live.
5. Shane tells a fib
So
Shane McMahon claimed that no superstar has ever abdicated their Royal
Rumble privilege of main eventing WrestleMania before? That’s not
exactly true.
In 1999, Shane’s own father Vince McMahon won that
year’s, Royal Rumble. Since Corporate Rock had the title and Vince
successfully screwed Steve Austin out of the win, he abdicated his
future Mania Match. The Commissioner at the time, Shawn Michaels, then
enacted a rule which awarded the spoils of the Royal Rumble to the first
runner-up, the Texas Rattlesnake.
If that same rule would’ve been
enacted this year after Randy told Bray Wyatt that he refused to face
him at WrestleMania, the runner-up for this year would’ve been Roman
Reigns. That would’ve been a fun turn of events.
WWE
Superstar Paige revealed via a fan question on Twitter that her and
former diva AJ Lee still keep in touch. AJ Lee responded to the tweet as
well.
Paige is currently inactive with a neck injury, however,
things between her and the company have been rocky over the last few
months, to say the least. AJ Lee, on the other hand, has left the WWE
altogether.
In case you didn't know...
Paige
and AJ Lee are two of the most popular female wrestlers in recent
times, with both being present towards the end of the “Divas” era in
WWE.
Paige won her first Divas Championship
from AJ the night after WrestleMania 30 and following that match they
faced off a number of times for the title, before eventually teaming
together to face The Bella Twins at WrestleMania 31.
The heart of the matter
As
seen in the tweet, Paige was more than happy to reveal that she and AJ
were still friends whilst also joking around with the fans, as the two
love to do over social media.
Paige’s initial tweet and AJ’s follow-up were as follows:
What's next?
A
lot of fans are anticipating the long awaited return of Paige soon,
with her next move in the company remaining unknown as of now.
When
it comes to AJ, the WWE Universe has been desperate to see her return
to the squared circle ever since she left in 2015. However, she seems
perfectly happy away from the business, if her Twitter is anything to go
by.
Sportskeeda's take
It's great to see
that these two still keep in touch as they are far and away two of the
most interesting female wrestlers in recent years. It's a shame that
both have drifted away from the company as of late, but the important
thing is that they both maintain their happiness.
Who knows, maybe
WWE will tempt both women back to the company at some point in the
future if the offer is right. Never say never!
Bayley and Sasha were in a celebratory mood after WWE FastlaneRaw Talk was hosted by Renee Young and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler this past Sunday night after WWE Fastlane. The Fastlane pay-per-view saw two streaks broken and a new Universal Champion crowned. The likes of Roman Reigns,
Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Paul Heyman appeared on the talk show to share
their opinions on the events that had transpired earlier in the
evening.
The show started with Renee and The King talking about
Goldberg’s impressive win over Kevin Owens. Renee quickly started
proceedings by inviting the first guest; Roman Reigns into the panel.
Roman Reigns
Roman
looked like he had been put through the ringer. ‘The Big Dog’
acknowledged that fighting Strowman was equivalent to running into a
brick wall. Reigns pointed out that the only thing that won him the
match was his experience on how to handle things in a big match
scenario.
Roman put over Strowman when he said
that Strowman was a part of an elite group of men that could manhandle
Roman Reigns the way that he did. Reigns compared Strowman to the likes
of Big Show saying that he has a long way to go. Reigns pointed out that
he capitalized when Braun made the mistake of diving into the ring from
the top rope.
Jerry Lawler brought the conversation into
perspective when he narrated a story about his dog that owned the yard
until a huge racoon showed up and sent the dog packing. Lawler was
comparing Roman Reigns to the ‘Big Dog’ that owned the yard until the
racoon showed up.
Both Roman and Renee were awed by the analogy
and did not know what to make of it. Reigns, however, concluded by
saying that he was representing his family and his bloodline. He stated
that he would nurse his bruises and be back in time to own the yard at
WrestleMania.
When Reigns, the topic of focus shifted to Samoa
Joe. Renee and Lawler discussed how Joe surgically decimated Sami Zayn
earlier in the evening. ‘The King’ mentioned that Joe had lived up to
the moniker of ‘The Destroyer.’
Sasha Banks and Bayley
Sasha
and Bayley joined the panel next wearing matching sweaters and joking
that they were twins. Sasha mentioned that she was sore after her match
with Nia Jax but she was happy to come out on top. Sasha agreed that Nia
was the biggest girl on the roster while Lawler made a joke about Nia
Jax getting hit by a car.
Renee then asked Bayley how it felt to
successfully retain her championship. Bayley said that the title meant a
lot to her and she spoke about ending Charlotte’s PPV streak. Bayley
continued saying that it was unbelievable when she thought that she was
not even on the card for WrestleMania last year and this year, she will
be walking into the event as the Raw Women’s Champion.
Renee tried
to tap into some emotions when she asked Bayley how it felt to be
living her dream. Both Sasha and Bayley teared up a little when Sasha
recalled that they had started at NXT together and Bayley’s first match
was against Sasha. ‘The Boss’ concluded by saying that Bayley deserved
to walk into WrestleMania as the Women’s Champion.
As the duo took
leave, Jerry Lawler said that he had his reservations about their
friendship. The King said that he did not buy into the entire friends
being happy for each other farce and said, “All women secretly despise
each other.”
Renee shifted the topic to the Cruiserweight
Championship bout talking about the fantastic match that Neville and
Gallagher put on. Lawler said that Neville was a bona fide WWE superstar
and praised Gallagher for going toe-to-toe with the Cruiserweight
Champion.
Paul Heyman
Renee and Lawler
were discussing Goldberg’s domination over Kevin Owens when Paul Heyman
joined them. Heyman asked them if they had any more excuses for Kevin
Owens losing the title to Goldberg. Heyman said that Owens had been a
great Universal Champion, but he fizzled out when Goldberg was put in
the picture.
Heyman acknowledged that he was scared to death about
Goldberg facing Lesnar at WrestleMania, but he revealed that Brock
Lesnar was confident of his chances. Paul Heyman commented on Lesnar’s
psyche saying that if Lesnar defeated Goldberg at WrestleMania, he would
not only become the Universal Champion but also regain the aura and
reputation that comes with being the Beast Incarnate.
Renee then
asked Heyman about the potential ramifications of Lesar losing at
WrestleMania. Heyman laid out the gravity of the situation and said that
if Lesnar loses to Goldberg at WrestleMania, it would mean the end of
Brock Lesnar as a box office attraction in the WWE. Heyman then went on
to talk about the intensity of the encounter at WrestleMania selling the
match as a clash of two legacies.
Renee Young then wrapped things up the show as scenes of Goldberg’s victory began to play.
Wrestling
journalist Dave Meltzer has discussed the reasons behind why Goldberg
defeated Kevin Owens in 21 seconds at Fastlane 2017.
Meltzer
believes that the quick finish had to do with WWE being cautious about
Goldberg's physical condition and to extend several storylines forward.
In case you didn’t know...
Goldberg
defeated Kevin Owens at Fastlane 2017 and won the WWE Universal
Championship from him, a title that Owens had carried for 188 days.
Owens initially avoided getting into
the ring, going by his strategy of tiring Goldberg out before the match
could even begin. Owens then finally got into the ring after a few
minutes and asked the referee to ring the bell.
Just as the referee was about to ring the bell, Chris Jericho's music hit and Owens' former best friend walked out.
The
music and the entrance distracted Owens, who was quickly speared by
Goldberg. Goldberg then hit Owens with a Jackhammer and pinned him to
become the 3rd Universal Champion, after Finn Balor and Owens himself.
Here’s a video of the match:
The heart of the matter
Wrestling
journalist Dave Meltzer discussed the match and the finish on the
Wrestling Observer radio and stated that the reason why WWE booked Owens
to lose in 21 seconds was because of Goldberg's physical condition.
Goldberg
is 50 years old, and according to Meltzer, the WWE are being cautious
about not having him get injured prior to WrestleMania. Goldberg is
believed to be one of the biggest selling points of WrestleMania 33 and
is thus being protected by the company.
The
short match not only makes Goldberg look strong going into his match
against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania but also helps him avoid being
dulled out, as his ability to perform in long matches has often been
questioned and has also been thoroughly documented.
Meltzer
further discussed that the finish of the match could probably have
implications on the ongoing storyline between Stephanie McMahon and Mick
Foley, which could lead to Foley being (kayfabe) fired from his job as
the Raw General Manager.
What’s next?
Goldberg's
victory over Kevin Owens has now made him the Universal Champion,
meaning that his match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 will have
the Universal Championship on the line.
Here’s a video of Goldberg’s reaction to his victory:
Jericho's
interference in the match sets him up for a US Title match at
WrestleMania 33 against Kevin Owens as well. The match would conclude
their friends-turned-enemies storyline.
Jericho teased the feud with a cheeky Instagram post, referencing his interference during the event:
Also,
earlier in the show, Stephanie McMahon gave some instructions to Mick
Foley about the Goldberg/Owens match, since Owens is a “Triple H guy”,
so to speak. It appears that Foley didnt follow through on any of those
instructions, and with the match ending the way it did, this could lead
to implications within that storyline as well.
Sportskeeda’s take
The
match between Kevin Owens and Goldberg was short and has certainly
caused a lot of Owens fans to be enraged with the way it was booked.
There
was no better way, however, in which the match could have been executed
by the WWE. The way in which Owens tried to go by his plan and was
distracted by Jericho, is the only way that this match could have
possibly ended where none of the competitors came out looking bad.
Goldberg
gets his squash and his mystique continues to carry over to
WrestleMania, while Owens seemingly lost due to the "distraction" and
was thus protected from a "clean" defeat. Even though Owens didn’t come
out of the match looking good, it didn’t damage his persona either.
The coming weeks should be interesting!
It seems like the WWE may
have been foreshadowing a Sasha Banks heel turn on Bayley last night on
WWE Fastlane. This would set up a match-up between the pair at
WrestleMania 33, in Orlando, for the WWE Women’s Championship.
In case you didn’t know...
Last
night at WWE Fastlane, Sasha Banks scored a win over Nia Jaxx, while
Bayley retained her Title against Charlotte and ended Charlotte’s PPV
winning streak in underwhelming fashion. Sasha and Bayley then appeared
together on Raw Talk after Fastlane and seemed to be overly friendly and
proud of each other.
Sasha and Bayley joined the panel together,
wearing matching sweaters and joking that they were twins. Bayley said
that the title meant a lot to her and she spoke about ending Charlotte’s
PPV streak. Bayley continued saying that it was unbelievable to think
that she was not even on the card for WrestleMania last year and this
year, she will be walking into the event as the Raw Women’s Champion.
Both Sasha and Bayley teared up when
Sasha recalled that they had started at NXT together and Bayley’s first
match was against Sasha. ‘The Boss’ concluded by saying that Bayley
deserved to walk into WrestleMania as the Women’s Champion. After the
duo left Jerry Lawler said that he had his reservations about their
friendship.
The King said that he did not buy into the entire
friends being happy for each other farce and said, “All women secretly
despise each other.”
The heart of the matter
Had
Jerry Lawler not hit you over the head with it, any up-to-date wrestling
fan would have seen that the WWE was planting seeds for Sasha’s heel
turn on Bayley. The match was speculated to take place at WrestleMania
about 6 months ago, but lately, most have been reporting that the Raw
women would be involved in a fatal 4-way match, featuring Charlotte.
Nia
Jaxx, Sasha Banks and Bayley, with the Sasha heel turn expected after
‘Mania. However, based on last night’s booking, it appears that the WWE
may be bringing the match forward and have returned to the original plan
to have Sasha vs. Bayley at WrestleMania, leaving Charlotte and Nia
Jaxx out in the cold for WrestleMania.
There is also speculation
that the WWE only opted to go down that path on the day of the PPV, with
original plans slated to be Nia Jaxx going over Sasha and Charlotte vs.
Bayley going to a non-finish.
It’s highly unlikely that the
original plans called for Charlotte to lose her heavily hyped up
unbeaten streak on a transitional B level PPV, therefore, there
certainly is merit to the speculation that a late decision has been made
to move away from the Fatal-4-Way and begin the Sasha vs. Bayley
program sooner than planned.
What’s next?
Raw takes
place on Monday, with lots of work to do. Despite having a projected 16
match card, WrestleMania currently only has one match officially
announced – that being Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar, now officially for the
WWE Universal Title.
This episode will present the most likely
opportunity for Sasha to turn so that they have three solid weeks to
build to the match and tell the story. Turning any later reduces the
time to establish the turn.
The WWE could have a triple threat
between Sasha, Nia and Charlotte, which Sasha could win, prior to the
turn. However, I feel it is not needed and that Sasha and Bayley could
simply tag up, win their match and Sasha could turn after the match.
Sportkeeda’s take
I
am often told by my sources that Vince McMahon looks at WrestleMania
like the Star Wars script (a real expression used within the WWE). If
information gets out, he hates it and decides to change things. We saw
this when fans chanted “Un-der-taker” at John Cena when he returned, as a
Undertaker vs Cena match had been speculated on the dirt sheets for
several months, prompting Vince McMahon to change it.
The rushed
nature of Charlotte’s streak ending, the surprise loss of Nia and the
comments made by Jerry Lawler all point to a change of direction by the
company. If they go down to route of Sasha vs Bayley, WWE are likely to
say that Sasha assisted Bayley as she feels like she is easier to beat
than Charlotte, something Stephanie McMahon has alluded to previously.
Unfortunately, this is another part of the plot which doesn’t make sense
in reality, as Sasha has many victories over Charlotte, but, she lost
two very high profile matches to Bayley on NXT Takeover shows, with the
Brooklyn encounter being a match of the year contender in 2015.
Therefore,
the fact that Sasha has a better win/loss record against Charlotte,
makes her motivations totally illogical. However, logic has never
stopped WWE doing anything and re-writing history is what the WWE do
with great regularity.
This women’s division has failed to do the
right things and right time since it’s inception, with Sasha not winning
the Title at WrestleMania 32 or Hell in the Cell and Bayley not winning
the Title and ending Charlotte’s streak simultaneously on a big PPV.
Had Bayley beaten Charlotte at the Royal Rumble, winning her first Title
and ending the streak infront of 60,000 before moving onto a mega-feud
with Sasha, that would have been good booking.
However, if Sasha
turns tonight, that will mean the WWE will be continuing down the route
that has hurt this division throughout, illogically changing course.
But, after the sewing all seeds the last night, it would now be less
logical for Sasha not to turn tonight. The damage was done when they
beat Charlotte, by wasting something that had been built and focused on
for 18 months, in highly anti-climactic fashion.
Sasha Banks scored an upset victory against Nia Jax
What’s the story?
According to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, Nia Jax was originally scheduled to win her match against Sasha Banks at Fastlane. However, a last minute change of plans resulted in Banks claiming the upset.
Additionally, the finish of the Fastlane match
was supposed to see Sasha Banks holding the ropes while rolling up Jax
in order to protect her. However, Sasha Banks botched the finish and
failed to do so.
In case you didn’t know...
Sasha Banks and Nia Jax faced off for the third time at Fastlane. The first two times they faced off was at the Royal Rumble kickoff show and the Rawafter the Rumble. Both occasions saw Nia Jax squash the former 3-time Raw Women’s Champion.
This time around, however, it was The Boss who
prevailed. With the victory, Sasha Banks becomes only the second woman
on the main roster to pin Nia Jax, the first one being Bayley.
Sasha
Banks got involved in the Raw Women’s Championship match later that
night when she helped Bayley defeat Charlotte Flair to retain the Raw
Women’s Championship and ended Charlotte’s Pay-Per-View streak.
The heart of the matter
Sasha, Nia, Charlotte, and Bayley now have their stories intertwining on the road to Wrestlemania, as the seeds seem to be planted to lead up to a Fatal-4-way match between the four women.
Perhaps
the last minute change in plans could have been to shake things up in
the four-way feud. It won’t be surprising to see the four women have
singles match-ups and tag team matches against each other in the coming 4
episodes of Raw leading up to Wrestlemania.
What’s next?
Sasha Banks will go on to the four way feud which will begin starting on Raw. From the look of things, Bayley will be walking into Wrestlemania 33 as the Raw Women’s Champion since she defeated Charlotte in their rematch.
A heel turn also seems to be on the horizon for The Boss. Perhaps after Wrestlemania Sasha will turn heel, since having her stay babyface till Wrestlemania will help keep the dynamic of the Fatal-4-way match even, with two babyfaces and two heels.
Sportskeeda’s take
Unfortunately,
botches are part and parcel of wrestling, so Sasha should not be
criticised too heavily since it seemed to have been a mistake. A
fatal-4-way is an interesting prospect, and quite possibly the best
match-up the women can have at Wrestlemania.
Sasha's heel turn will be her true calling, and it seems to be something that will happen sooner rather than later.
Charlotte is still hunting for another title reign
What's the story?
WWE superstar Charlotte Flair
has reacted to losing on pay-per-view on the main roster for the first
time. The former champion suffered defeat for the first time on the big
stage at the hands of Bayley, reacting to the loss over social media
platform Twitter.
In case you didn't know...
Prior
to WWE Fastlane, Charlotte Flair had won 16 consequtive singles title
matches on pay-per-view. The streak of victories was being built up as a
huge deal by WWE, with many fans believing that she would hold onto the
record until at least WrestleMania 33.
Having
lost the belt on so many different occasions this won't hurt too much
for The Queen in a storyline sense, however, you'd have to imagine that
they will have her show a slightly darker side on Monday Night Raw
tonight after the way in which she lost the belt with Sasha Banks
interfering.
What's next?
The company
appear to be setting up the much anticipated fatal four way between Nia
Jax, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair and Bayley for the Raw Women's
Championship at WrestleMania. With just four editions of Raw remaining
until the big event in Orlando, we could see the match become official
as early as tonight in Chicago, Illinois.
Sportskeeda's take
It
seems incredibly odd to us that WWE gave the streak away on a show like
Fastlane, but then again we aren't all too surprised given how many
times they've pulled something like this over the last few years. The
worst part was that the commentators didn't really react to what
happened all that much.
But we digress - Charlotte's response
indicates that the feud is far from over and adding Banks & Jax into
the mix can only help matters in terms of star power and
unpredictability. So basically, we're all for it.
Nikki Bella (L) and Brie Bella (R) star in their YouTube show ‘The Bella Twins’
What’s the story?
Popular YouTube star Superwoman aka Lilly Singh recently caught up with none other than the WWE’s Bella Twins and released a video where she spoofs The Undertaker’s ‘Deadman’ gimmick as part of a mock audition to become the ‘Next Bella’.
Singh
is seen sporting the Deadman’s trademark vest, leather trouser, cloak
and hat ensemble, in the mock video that features her doing her best
Undertaker impression, with Nikki and Brie Bella watching on.
Here’s a video of ahem ‘Underbella’-
In case you didn’t know...
Nikki Bella is a two-time WWE Divas
Champion and was the longest reigning champ in the title’s history. Her
sister Brie Bella who recently retired from the squared-circle has also
held the Divas belt.
Nikki and Brie launched their own YouTube
show titled ‘The Bella Twins’ in November of last year. Lilly Singh aka
IISuperwomanII is a Canadian vlogger, rapper, actress and comedian who
is currently, the world’s third highest paid YouTube star, taking home a
cool USD 7.5 Million in 2016.
The heart of the matter
With
Brie Bella retired from the WWE and the recent rumours surrounding
Nikki Bella’s injury issues and impending retirement after Wrestlemania
33, the Bella twins seem to be investing a lot of time and effort into
establishing their Bella brand outside the WWE, as evidenced by their
YouTube channel and various business ventures outside the
squared-circle.
Keeping up with their brand-building ambitions,
Nikki and Brie have roped in the services of Canadian internet
sensation, part-time Hollywood actor and full-time celebrity-stalker
Lilly Singh, to promote their YouTube channel ‘The Bella Twins’.
As
if the cringe-worthy ‘Underbella’ segment weren’t enough, the Bellas
and Ms Singh took their acting exhibition one step further, by posting
another video featuring them in a skit. And don’t say I didn’t warn you,
but this one isn’t exactly going to be Hamlet. Check it out:
What’s next?
While
Brie is expecting her first child with husband Daniel Bryan, Nikki has
been included in a feud alongside her real-life boyfriend John Cena
against Miz and his real-life wife Maryse.
After Maryse slapped Cena on the February 28th edition
of SmackDown during the MizTV segment, Nikki came out to support her
beau; thereby alluding to a possible mixed-gender match booking at
this year’s Mania.
Sportskeeda’s take
The
Bellas are said to be extremely imposing backstage in WWE, with
several other female Superstars going as far as referring to the WWE’s
reality show ‘Total Divas’ as ‘Total Bellas’ owing to the significant
amount of influence the twin sisters have on the show’s content.
That
said, with Brie retired and Nikki rumoured to follow suit, the sisters
are definitely looking to shed their pro-wrestling tag and trying to
market themselves as entertainers outside the squared-circle.
While
that’s good on them, hiring someone with the social-media notoriety of
Lilly Singh for an Undertaker spoof was a smart move on the twins’ part
in their bid to promote themselves and the ‘Bella’ brand.
Say
what you want about Nikki and Brie’s less-than-stellar in-ring abilities
and average mic skills, when it comes to the self-promotion business,
the Bella twins are second to none. And no, the WWE isn’t going to be
booking ‘Underbella’ at Mania and ‘You Can Believe That!’
Sasha Banks pulled off an incredible upsetSasha Banks became
only the second woman on the main roster to pin Nia Jax as she came out
of the match with a huge upset victory. A Samoan drop attempt was
countered into a roll-up pin by The Boss.
Sasha Banks faced Nia Jax on the Royal Rumble kickoff show and on the following episode of RAW, but both matches saw her get decimated by Nia Jax. This win gives Sasha Banks good momentum, heading into WrestleMania.
The
rumoured match for the RAW Women’s Championship is a Fatal-4-Way
between Charlotte, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax. It should be an
interesting match-up, especially if Charlotte’s PPV streak is still
intact after Fastlane.
The fatal-4-way match should be a great showing and could possibly even be the conclusion of Charlotte’s PPV streak.
Sasha Banks has not had the same momentum she did during her feud with Charlotte since post-Roadblock: End Of The Line. This win has definitely helped her heading into WrestleMania.
Sasha
Banks is also rumoured to be turning heel sometime in the future. This
may be her true calling, as it was how she made her name in NXT. The
drawback of her heel turn is that there will be a lack of female
babyfaces on RAW. This would require Superstars such as Paige returning as a face, or perhaps an NXT call-up.
