2015

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February 3, 2015

Date: January 2nd, 2015
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,017

I love it when shows appear online out of order. So even though I already reviewed All Japan on 1/3, we now go back a day to the event on 1/2. This is not as big of an event, as it has the somewhat silly (intentionally) Battle Royal, and while it does have tag team championship match it isn’t with two challengers anyone expects to win. Sorry for the spoiler. Here is the card:

– Naoya Nomura vs. Yuma Aoyagi
– Kotaro Suzuki and Ryuji Hijikata vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Masanobu Fuchi
– Atsushi Aoki and Hikaru Sato vs. Keisuke Ishii and Takao Soma
– Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie, and Shigehiro Irie vs. Zeus, Ultimo Dragon, and SUSHI
– New Year Battle Royal with Akebono, Aoyagi, Fuchi, Ultimo Dragon, Shigehiro Irie, Kanemaru, Kotaro Suzuki, SUSHI, Naoya Nomura, Zeus, Hikaru Sato, Hijikata, Yohei Nakajima, Soma, Atsushi Aoki, and Minamino
– All Japan World Tag Team Championship Contendership: Go Shiozaki and Kento Miyahara vs. Joe Doering and Suwama
– All Japan World Tag Team Championship: Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori vs. KENSO and Mitsuya Nagai

The friendly dude that uploads this stuff didn’t upload the second match of the event, no idea if it wasn’t shown or there was another reason. But it wasn’t an important match, if it appears at some point I will re-add it later.

Naoya Nomura vs. Yuma Aoyagi
They take turns pushing each other into the ropes and exchange elbows. Dropkick by Nomura and he slams Aoyagi. They trade elbows again but Aoyagi hits a dropkick. Missile dropkick by Aoyagi off the top and he covers for two. Back to trading elbows, a staple of young wrestlers since it is hard to mess that up. Nomura takes control and eventually locks in the crab hold, picking up the win. A really basic match but it is only Aoyagi’s second match so nothing else would be expected. Both looked fine, no issues during the match. Score: 3.5

Kotaro Suzuki and Ryuji Hijikata vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Masanobu Fuchi
Suzuki and Kanemaru start off, Suzuki knocks Kanemaru out of the ring and does a fake dive but Kanemaru hits an armdrag. Fuchi is tagged in and he body slams Suzuki. Suzuki tags in Hijikata and Fuchi is assaulted by both in the corner. Stretch hold by Hijikata and he tags Suzuki back in. Suzuki applies a chinlock to Fuchi before tagging in Hijikata, but Fuchi rakes Hijikata in the eyes so he can tag in Kanemaru. Diving body press by Kanemaru but it gets two, slam by Kanemaru and he hits a split legged moonsault. Hijikata kicks Kanemaru back and then hits a high kick but Kanemaru fires back with a lariat. Both wrestlers tag out and Fuchi scoop slams Suzuki and Hijikata. Backdrop suplex by Fuchi to Suzuki but Suzuki gets away, La Magistral by Suzuki but it gets a two count. Backslide by Fuchi and they trade pin attempts but Suzuki gets the roll-up three count pinfall. I don’t want to offend the Fuchites of the world but I really have no desire to see any 61 year old wrestler, obviously this creates limitations for all the wrestlers. Just a nothing match, nothing interesting happened and nothing was entertaining, only nice thing I can say is nothing was botched. Score: 2.5

Atsushi Aoki and Hikaru Sato vs. Keisuke Ishii and Takao Soma
Sato and Soma start off. They trade holds and Soma delivers a dropkick. Soma tags in Ishii and he throws Sato to the corner so he can tag in Aoki. He does, Ishii gets Aoki in the ropes and he gives a clean break. Shoulderblock by Aoki but Ishii hits a big boot and both wrestlers tag out. Sato throws Soma in the corner but Soma hits a doublestomp followed by a dropkick. Missile dropkick by Soma but the cover gets two. Ankle hold by Sato and he hits a backdrop suplex for a two. Sato goes for a cross armbreaker but Soma hits a thrust kick. Both wrestlers tag out (lots of ‘both wrestlers tag out’ moments, easier to plan the match?) and Ishii hits a jumping kick. Aoki works on Ishii’s arm but Ishii hits a release German. Aoki hits a lariat on Ishii and then two more, and he gets a two count cover. Assault Point by Aoki and he gets a three count. I wasn’t impressed with the structure here, it was just lazy, felt like two singles matches as there was very limited team work. Action was very solid, it just wasn’t a cohesive match. Score: 4.0

Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie, and Shigehiro Irie vs. Zeus, Ultimo Dragon, and SUSHI
Akebono and Zeus start off trading elbows, lariats by Zeus but Akebono lariats him to the mat. Zeus avoids the elbow drop and both men are back up, as Akebono tags in Irie while Zeus tags in Ultimo Dragon. Ultimo Dragon and Irie trade wristlocks and submissions and Ultimo Dragon tags in SUSHI. Irie and SUSHI trade elbows, Irie gets the better of it and tags in Yoshie. Senton by Yoshie and he applies a crab hold to SUSHI. Yoshie tags in Akebono and he stands on SUSHI near the ropes. SUSHI falls out of the ring but Akebono goes out after him and stands on him some more. Akebono slides SUSHI back in and hits an elbow drop before tagging in Irie. Slam by Irie and he hits a quick body press for two. Irie tags in Yoshie, he hits a suplex and tags in Akebono. Irish whip by Akebono and he hits a body avalanche. SUSHI avoids the body press and makes the hottest tag to Ultimo Dragon. Kicks by Ultimo Dragon, he dropkicks Akebono in the knee and hits an enzigieri. Akebono blocks the suplex attempt naturally, I absolutely hate logic like that, why would Ultimo Dragon even go for a suplex on Akebono? Akebono knocks Ultimo Dragon to the mat but Ultimo Dragon avoids the elbow drop. Body avalanche by Akebono in the corner and he tags in Irie. Vertical suplex by Irie but Ultimo Dragon hits a back bodydrop. Kicks by Ultimo Dragon and he tags in Zeus. Body avalanche by Zeus in the corner and he hits a second one followed by a bearhug suplex. Zeus and Irie trade elbows, running elbow by Irie and he tags in Yoshie. Not a big fan of elbow exchanges being used just as a transitional move. Rolling senton by Yoshie and Zeus eats offense from all three in the corner. Elbow drop by Akebono and a body press by Yoshie but SUSHI breaks it up. Akebono and Yoshie both try to squish Zeus but Zeus moves, Zeus then grabs Akebono and drops him on his head with a suplex. Spinebuster by Zeus to Irie, he then hits a lariat onto Yoshie. Jackhammer by Zeus to Yoshie and he gets the three count. This has the issues a lot of these mid-card tag matches do – illogical spots and really shady transitions. I don’t think the wrestlers put a ton of effort on these smaller event mid-card encounters and it shows. Zeus is fun to watch and it was nice to see Yoshie again but the match was overall average at best. Score: 5.0

New Year Battle Royal
As I mentioned above, this isn’t taken too seriously, generally wrestlers will just all literally pile on one person to get them eliminated. They throw in some fun spots for the crowd then there is a winner, and the winner gets nothing. That is my official pre-match summary. Onto the match, everyone starts out in the ring and they encourage Fuchi to body slam people over and over. He does, they want him to slam Akebono but he refuses and slams other people instead. Finally when he goes to slam Kanemaru, Ultimo Dragon pushes him over and everyone covers Fuchi for a three count. Then everyone covers Ultimo Dragon, then Kanemaru, so they are eliminated too. That’s just the way the match works. Let’s zip ahead, the final four are Zeus, SUSHI, Akebono and Suzuki. Zeus charges SUSHI, but SUSHI holds down the rope and Zeus falls out of the ring, so Zeus is eliminated. SUSHI tries the same trick on Suzuki but it doesn’t work, so they decide to work together against Akebono. Suzuki and SUSHI both elbow Akebono but Akebono swats them away. SUSHI covers Suzuki really quick and he gets the three count, so it is just SUSHI and Akebono. Kicks by SUSHI but Akebono slaps him. Chokeslam by Akebono and he hits a Yokozuna Press for the three count. It was cute, and they kept it short. Just a fun annual tradition but nothing more than that. Score: 6.0

Go Shiozaki and Kento Miyahara vs. Joe Doering and Suwama
This match is an All Japan World Tag Team Championship Contendership match. Shiozaki and Doering start off things with elbows, Suwama is tagged in and he gets Shiozaki to the mat. Shiozaki tags in Miyahara and Suwama trades elbows with him. Miyahara boots Suwama out of the ring, he goes outside as well and battles Suwama around the floor. Back in the ring and Miyahara uppercuts Suwama into the corner. Miyahara tags in Shiozaki, and Shiozaki hits an elbow on Suwama. Miyahara is tagged back in and he hits a leg drop. Suwama slaps on a sleeper, making Miyahara go loopy. Big boot by Suwama and he hits a few more but Miyahara elbows him back. Miyahara hits a vertical suplex and Miyahara tags in Shiozaki. Shiozaki and Suwama trade elbows but Shiozaki hits a jumping shoulderblock followed by a kick to the head. Fisherman buster by Shiozaki and he gets a two. Suwama snaps off a powerslam and finally tags in Doering. Lariat by Doering and he hits another one followed by an elbow drop. Delayed vertical suplex by Doering and he slams Shiozaki to the mat for a two. Doering goes for a powerbomb but Shiozaki gets out of it with a Frankensteiner. Lariat by Shiozaki and he hits the Go Flasher, cover, but Suwama breaks it up. Superkick by Shiozaki but Doering hits a crossbody. Both wrestlers tag out, and Miyahara trades elbows with Suwama. Miyahara dropkicks Suwama in the knee and hits a second dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex by Miyahara but it gets two. Belly to belly suplex by Suwama but Miyahara applies a triangle choke. Cross armbreaker by Miyahara, Shiozaki comes in the ring but Suwama fights them both off. Suwama picks up Miyahara and with Doering they hit a double dropkick. Suwama picks up Miyahara and hits a running powerslam for a two count. Suwama picks up Miyahara and goes for the Last Ride, but Miyahara reverses it with a DDT. German suplex hold by Miyahara, but it gets two. Doering runs in and lariats Miyahara, he then lariats Shiozaki out of the ring while tumbling out with him. Miyahara charges Suwama but Suwama moves and hits a powerslam. Backdrop suplex by Suwama, he picks up Miyahara and goes for the Last Ride but Miyahara gets away and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Lariat by Suwama and he applies a sleeper, Suwama hits the Last Ride and he picks up the three count. Suwama and Doering are your new #1 Contenders. Really liked this match, it was a bit clipped but nothing too obnoxious. All four of these wrestlers are great, tons of hard hits and the match just flew by. It was missing that ‘main event feel’ but beyond that it was tons of fun, check it out. Score: 8.0

(c) Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori vs. KENSO and Mitsuya Nagai
This match is for the All Japan World Tag Team Championship. Dark Kingdom jump their opponents to start the match and they go out to the floor. Both teams battle up into the crowd as KENSO hits a vertical suplex on Omori onto the floor, onto some chairs. KENSO and Omori get back in the ring and KENSO hits a lariat for a two count. KENSO chokes Omori with his feather belt before hitting a German suplex. KENSO and Nagai hit a double vertical suplex on Omori, then Nagai applies a modified Texas Cloverleaf until Akiyama breaks it up. Kneedrop by KENSO, he picks up Omori and hits a vertical suplex. Nagai is tagged in and he knees Omori in the stomach. Running knee by Nagai, cover, but Akiyama breaks it up. Omori finally gets the better of things with a backdrop suplex and he tags in Akiyama. Akiyama boots KENSO and hits a jumping knee on Nagai followed by a running knee for a two count. Grounded Necklock by Akiyama but Nagai gets out of it and hits a capture suplex. Nagai tags in KENSO, and KENSO trade blows with Akiyama. Jumping knee by Akiyama and he tags in Omori. Jumping heel kick by Omori and he gets a two count. Full nelson slam by Omori but it gets two as well. Omori boots KENSO and Nagai, and Akiyama hits a running knee on KENSO. Kneedrop by Omori but it gets two. Double shoulderblock to Nagai and Akiyama hits an exploder on KENSO. Axe Guillotine Driver by Omori but KENSO barely gets a shoulder up. STO by KENSO and Nagai kicks Omori in the corner. Capture suplex by Nagai and KENSO hits a running kick for a two count. KENSO goes up top and hits a diving elbow drop. Nagai goes up top as KENSO holds Omori but Omori moves and Nagai knees KENSO. Omori and KENSO trade shots, lariat to the back by Omori but KENSO counters with his own lariat for a two count. Omori avoids the Hagakure and hits an Axe Bomber for a two count. Sliding Axe Bomber by Omori and he gets the three count. Akiyama and Omori retain their championships. I’m not overly impressed with Dark Kingdom in the ring, they just aren’t great wrestlers and it is mind boggling that in 2015 we have Nagai in a main event somewhere. Akiyama and Omori kept it together but I never bought that Dark Kingdom was going to win this and it just fell a bit flat for me. Score: 5.0

Final Thoughts:

All Japan continues to be a difficult promotion to love. They have some great wrestlers but on this card most of them were condensed into one match. So that match was great, but the rest…. not so much. And even the one great match was just a normal tag team match, it wasn’t an epic must-see title match. Pretty safe to skip this one.

Overall Grade: D

Triple H On Stone Cold Podcast Review – Talks CM Punk, Chyna, The Reigns Push, More

By

Jim Somers

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February 3, 2015

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Credit: Marc Middleton

We’re live from backstage at the Pepsi Center in Denver with Steve Austin and Triple H. Austin talks about how hot fans were when sending feedback for the podcast. Austin brings up the controversy surrounding the Royal Rumble. Austin says it seems like kayfabe is dead and asks Triple H how hard it is to book with that. He says it’s rough. Triple H brings up the different component that is the internet and how fans quickly see when the company gets behind someone. Triple H brings up how some places were booing Roman Reigns out of the building because they think that’s the push he’s getting but nobody booed him at this weekend’s live events. Austin says some fans feel like Reigns hasn’t earned the push yet. Triple H says there’s one guy calling the shots – Vince McMahon. Triple H says the Rumble was talked over and debated. He says there were lots of suggestions. He says Vince takes all those ideas and puts them together. Triple H says nobody is perfect – Vince, himself and the writing team. He says Vince doesn’t always make the right call but has a pretty good track record.

They give props to Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan for their match on RAW. Austin brings up the resentment for Reigns and Triple H says it’s a tough environment. Triple H talks about how half of the people have booed John Cena while half have cheered him but he was selling out arenas. Triple H says it’s hard to find the star that every single person likes. Triple H talks about how they knew who they were targeting in the Attitude Era but now there are so many age groups and demographics that they cover. Triple H mentions how dirt sheets were rare back in the day but even major media outlets give you the inside of the business these days. Austin says he hasn’t seen Twitter feedback yet but believes that tonight’s RAW may have quelled some of the resentment towards Reigns. He says Reigns shined tonight and what he did at the end of RAW helped him. Austin says he needed that and Triple H agrees. Triple H says people say all the time that Reigns isn’t ready and Triple H says nobody is really ready for “that.” Austin agrees. Triple H says you think you know what it means to be that guy until you get there and put a whole different world of pressure on yourself.

Triple H talks about how he wasn’t ready in 1996 and if he would have won King of the Ring instead of Austin then he would have failed. Triple H says he knew he wasn’t ready and doesn’t think he would have succeeded. Austin is looking to forward to seeing how the main event picture unfolds going into WrestleMania. Triple H talks about how WWE is a never ending book and you can’t really knock today because you don’t know what’s next. Austin asks what Triple H’s exit strategy if he didn’t marry Stephanie McMahon. Triple H believes he would be in a similar place, working behind-the-scenes. He says he fell in love with the creative and “making of” pro wrestling as much as the other side. He talks about falling in love with working with talents and other aspects of the business, and talking to Vince McMahon about it long before he got with Stephanie. He talks about what he gets out of working with the talents at NXT. He says hats off to Vince for allowing him that. Austin has our first Twitter question – does he think it’s beneficial for a talent to go to a wrestling school and then the PC or work the indies. He says it depends on the guy. He talks about Kurt Angle and praises him, talking about how he picked up the business faster than anyone he’s seen. He says sometimes it’s hard to knock some of the bad habits of the indies out of a guy. Some indie guys come in and they’re a sponge, some come in and think their way is the only way.

He says they’re not trying to change indie talents, he wants them to come in and work the ways that their fans like. He mentions WWE being the most successful wrestling company for a reason. Austin talks about what he likes about NXT. Regarding the format and content of NXT, Triple H says he listens to the fanbase but thinks about what would he want to watch sometimes. He knows what his core group is for NXT and what they’re looking for. He tries to script less promo-wise and let the talents learn, find their voice and learn from mistakes. Austin asks if NXT is still a developmental territory. Triple H says it is because he doesn’t know anyone there that doesn’t want to get to RAW or SmackDown but at the same time they’ve created another brand. He wants to put NXT on the road in front of crowds. He brings up how Finn Balor has wrestled all over the world as Fergal Devitt. He talk about working with Balor on his entrance a few months ago and Balor was overwhelmed because nobody has ever explained cameras and stuff like that to him as in Japan, they just sent him the ring and told him to do his job. He talks about how he has a camera feed running to his office of talents working on various aspects of their character and he can give feedback from his office. The next Twitter question asks if Triple H sees who has what it takes to be the next John Cena or Hulk Hogan. He sees a lot of guys and girls who have the “it” factor but the business is different now. He says you can’t just be an in-ring guy or a promo guy or a big guy or a flip & flop guy. They both say the more pieces you have to your puzzle, the clearer the picture. Triple H talks about how The Undertaker character could have been given to 100 different guys to fail but “Mark” took Vince McMahon’s idea and became it. Triple H calls it the most awesome character that’s ever been in the business.

Austin brings up fans saying Roman Reigns is being given the brass ring that Vince McMahon talked about. Triple H says he’s known Reigns and he busts his ass. He says Reigns deserves it as much as anyone else. Austin asks if Chyna will ever go into the Hall of Fame. Triple H says it’s one of those questions that get asked a lot and does she deserve it? He says she completely 100% transcended the business and did what no woman ever did before. He says she was awesome at it and was a phenomenal talent. He says the other stuff happened and he’s not getting into it but there is no beef with Chyna on his side. From a career stand-point, she should be in the Hall of Fame. He says the flip side is that he has an 8 year old kid… his kid goes on the web to Google Chyna and what comes up? He says he’s not criticizing anyone’s lifestyle choices but it’s the fact of what it is – a difficult choice. He says the Hall of Fame is a difficult situation with a lot of talents. He talks about getting Bruno Sammartino back on good terms with WWE. Austin asks which was tougher – Bruno or The Ultimate Warrior. He says Warrior was different because they had no trust, they had a bad history to get over before they began talking again. He says Warrior was misunderstood a lot. They both agree that there was a lot of miscommunication there. Triple H says they would get past “it” but Warrior could never let “it” go. Austin asks who was more influential – DX or the nWo. He says DX probably did more over the course of time but at first, the nWo shifted the business. If he could go back in time and face anyone who would it be? Triple H says Buddy Rogers because of how he looked and how he carried himself. Triple H says Rogers could manipulate the crowd and had a larger than life presence.

Austin says people want to know Triple H’s thoughts about CM Punk and brings up Punk’s podcast comments on Triple H. Triple H laughs that they are cool. Triple H says he has never had a beef with Punk. Triple H says Punk held a grudge over some things not working out. He says Punk is a weird guy and he doesn’t mean that in a bad way. He talks about how it was hard to communicate or get to know Punk. He ays people would tell him that Punk is livid and about to quit but he would go ask what’s wrong and Punk would act calm and say everything is cool. Austin asks if Punk can come back to WWE. Triple H says if it’s best and what the fans want then he hope they can get past it. He regrets that they couldn’t get past the other stuff. Austin wants to do some word association:

Shawn Michaels – greatest in-ring performer, Austin agrees

Ric Flair – greatest all around performer, Austin agrees

Kevin Nash – very under-rated mind for the business but hard to get past his personality on if he doesn’t like you or if he does, very blunt

Scott Hall – the guy he learned the most from walking in the door at WWE, one of the most under-rated performers, an awesome psychologist

Eddie Guerrero – awesome, said he misses him huge. said Eddie was so fun when he would just let go and be Eddie

Bill Goldberg – he would credit Goldberg with changing the intensity of the business, had an explosive intensity

Paul Heyman – walks the fine line between crazy and genius

Owen Hart – one of the nicest guys he knew and one of the funniest guys he knew, a tragic situation. He said Owen was one of the guys that were so good in the ring that he could have the wort match of the night on purpose

Bret Hart – an unbelievable technician, maybe takes himself too seriously sometimes, unbelievable in the ring

The Undertaker – respect.

Kane – under-rated, a constant. Austin agrees and says Kane is solid

Pat Patterson – a genius for the business, someone he respects so much

Michael Hayes – so under-rated for his contributions to the buinesss across the board

Austin asks if Triple H prefers pro wrestler or sports entertainer. Triple H understands the distinction. He loves wrestling because it’s what they do at the end of the day. He understands that pro wrestler is limiting. He says people play pee-wee league football but few make it to the NFL. He says lots of people wrestle but few make it to being a WWE Superstar. Austin asks about the contract status of Brock Lesnar. Triple H says they’re constantly talking to Brock and it comes down to what Brock wants to do. Triple H says maybe Brock feels he has unfinished business somewhere but they have a good relationship. They both talk about how special it is when Lesnar comes out and raises hell. Austin asks if The Streak should have been broken or should have it remained. Triple H says that’s a debate and he doesn’t know. He can understand the value in both ways. Austin asks about tomorrow’s SmackDown tapings. He asks about the Seattle Seahawks and the way they lost Super Bowl 49. He thinks the Seahawks over-thought the play. Austin says someone is in his ear wrapping him up. Triple H jokes that he must have zero stroke and he can get 10 more minutes. Austin says it’s Kevin Dunn in his ear. Triple H calls him a big gorilla right now. Apparently Dunn tells Austin five more minutes. Triple H says he’s going to get yelled at. Austin asks about scripted promo and if officials trust talents or not. Triple H says there is some sort of trust level with skill and because it’s live TV and they have to be careful with what’s said. Austin asks if Triple H could change one thing about RAW what would it be. Triple H says if anything, it would be back to two hours. He says the third hour of TV is so hard to write that he can’t even describe it. Austin asks if they’re married to the idea three hours each week. Triple H says he thinks it’s a Vince call and a finance call but he tries to avid those meetings. He says it’s a lot harder show to write. Triple H say he would like to see Divas get more time and attention. Austin brings up the NXT Divas. Triple H says they have a lot of women that watch the product. Austin asks when Triple H will return to the ring. Triple H says he doesn’t want to give anything away but it’s coming. Either that or he’s training twice a day for nothing. Austin asks how training is going and Triple H says he feels great. He says he doesn’t have aches or pains, he moves around and plays with his kids just fine. Triple H says they want to do this again and talk about how Austin used to potato him in the ring. Austin wraps it up and signs off.

The WWE Raw Report 2/2/15

By

Crazymax Jack

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February 2, 2015

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WWE Raw Preshow Notes

– Scott Stanford along with Corey Graves and David Otunga from WWE HQ. UH OH… Me thinks Alex Riley done pissed some people off with those Tweets… Tonight on Raw, HHH’s big announcement about the controversial Royal Rumble ending, and John Cena welcomes back Ryback, Rowan and Ziggler.

– We catch a look at HHH’s interview on Smackdown from last week. He promises to make an announcement tonight that will shake the WWE to its core. The guys in the studio discuss what HHH could be announcing. They think it has something to do with altering the WWE Title match at Mania. Otunga is stuck on Curtis Axel never being eliminated… They play up Axel pretty big here, they could pull a fun segment out of this should they choose to…

– Renee Young stands by at Raw to talk to superstars about what they think HHH will announce tonight. Unfortunately, she speaks to the New Day…. And it sucks… A lot…

– Last week on Raw – face to face between Reigns & Brock is shown. The panel puts over both guys…

– HHH on Stone Cold Podcast TONIGHT

– Back to Raw a couple weeks back… Cena gets Ziggler, Rowan, and Ryback their jobs back, with a little help from Sting. Aaaaand, you guessed it… The panel discusses Sting/HHH, their face to face at Fast Lane, plus Cena welcomes back the fired heroes tonight. I guess he didn’t see them at the Rumble or Smackdown last week…

– Off topic, but Stanford flubs his lines a lot. Now we get to discuss The Ascension… Joy. The panel also focuses on the dissention between Gold and Stardust from last week in their loss to Ascension. The two teams have a rematch slated for tonight…

– Corey Graves takes over for the Alex Riley WWEShop shill. Hey, free shipping if you order right now!!! No mention of Riley throughout this show so it’s looking like he’s pissed the “higher ups” off again. Fastlane promo with Roman Reigns follows.

– Back to Renee Young at Raw. She’s interviewing Bad News Barrett about his thoughts on HHH’s big announcement tonight. Barrett points out Axel was never eliminated, and thus the announcement will be Reigns has to meet Axel tonight. At least he didn’t try any crappy comedy like New Day…

– They hype the Stone Cold Podcast with HHH by showing a clip from the last Podcast with Vince…

WWE Raw Report 2/2/15 from the Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

– We kick of the show with the Authority as promised. Probably one time I wouldn’t have minded them breaking a promise… Anyway, HHH is out there with his wifey to make his “Big Announcement” about the Royal Rumble controversy. The lockeroom is shown in the back watching the announcement on a TV screen. Trips and Steph make sure to drag this crap out, talking about the Superbowl, the Patriots and the controversial ending… Steph says the Pats as Superbowl champs is best for business…

HHH mocks the WWE fans by talking #CancelNFLNetwork. More F-U comments towards the fans… They love poking a stick at the people who pay their checks…

The Authority claim they’ve been listening to the fans since the Rumble. So they’re out here to do something about it. HHH says they can’t let something like “this” happen, and they play a video that shows Reigns dump Kane and Show, and the Rock making the save. After the video, HHH says Show and Kane were unsportsmanlike, but his problem with the Rock… HHH puts over the Rock as an actor, but says he’s no longer a WWE superstar. HHH said he let Sting get away with interfering at Survivor Series and Raw, and now Rock did it at the Rumble. HHH mentions again that he’s calling out Sting at Fastlane. We’re now TEN minutes into this crap and he hasn’t gotten to the point yet…

The Authority wonder what would have happened between Reigns and Rusev at Rumble had the Rock not interfered. They question if Reigns should go on to face Lesnar at Mania. Cue the Roman Reigns music, because people can do that while their boss is cutting a promo. Roman hurries his way to the ring. Reigns says the Authority aren’t going to take his Mania Main Event away from him…

HHH and Reigns get face to face. Steph steps in and yammers some crap…. Cue Daniel Bryan!!! Daniel Bryan on his way to the ring… Steph mocks Bryan’s return and the YES! chant. Bryan talks about his own controversy. Having the title stripped from him and never receiving a rematch… HHH says Lesnar never beat Bryan for the title so he could hypothectically see Bryan getting a title shot at Mania…

Seth Rollins interrupts… His mic isn’t working on the way to the ring, Stephanie alerts him, lol…

This segment has gone on so long that…. THEY TAKE A COMMERCIAL BREAK DURING A PROMO SEGMENT!!!!

-Commercial Break-

I’ve seen matches go through commercial breaks… But promos?!?!?!???

Seth Rollins is just now getting in the ring with his Security. It took him 3 minutes to walk 20 feet… Rollins says Bryan got injured and should take it like a man. And Reigns wouldn’t even have won Rumble without the Rock. Rollins thinks he belongs in the Mania Main Event because he stole the show in the Rumble title match where he broke Lesnar’s rubs…

23 minutes into the promo and HHH makes his announcement….

Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins, tonight…. the winner meets Roman Reigns at Fastlane… and the winner of the match at Fastlane will headline WrestleMania against Brock.

HHH says Reigns has the chance to erase the asterisk from his Rumble win. He can say “yes” so there’s no question he deserves his spot.

Daniel Bryan tells Roman not to buy in to the Authority’s crap. Rollins plays Devil’s Advocate and says Reigns must accept this offer or he admits he’s scared…

The fans are about 50/50 chanting YES and NO in regards to Reigns decision…. The Authority ask Roman to make a decision….

Roman Reigns ACCEPTS the challenge…

It’s Rollins vs. Bryan tonight, the winner meets Reigns at Fastlane, and the winner there will meet Brock at Mania….

30 MINUTES TO GET TO THIS “BIG ANNOUNCEMENT”… Dear God….

HHH tells Reigns not to go anywhere as Big Show’s music hits…. OH NO!!!! You make us sit through one of the crappier promos for 30 MINUTES and then “treat” us with a Big Show match???????????????

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Raw will return… But I may not…

-Commercial Break-

1. Roman Reigns vs. The Big Show

They show us a little mercy as the match is joined in progress… I assume maybe because the promo ran long. No complaints here. Reigns escapes a bear hug and drops Show with a pair of clotheslines. A few more clotheslines and Big Show is knocked over the top rope to the floor… Reigns rocks Show on the floor and sets up for the Superman punch, but J&J security distract and Show lands a SPEAR for 2… Reigns kicks out, blocks a choekslam, knocks Jamie Noble off the apron onto Rollins… SUPERMAN PUNCH drops Show to his kneees… Reigns sets up for the Spear, but Mercury is on the apron to distract the referee… Meanwhile, Rollins cracks Reigns in the back with the MITB briefcase, and Show lands a CHOKESLAM for the win in 2:45 that was aired on TV….

– The Authority is in the back talking about the previous promo. Right on camera, HHH admits they can’t even contractually do what they did tonight if Reigns didn’t want to… He says they can’t even strip Reigns of the title. They act as if they planned out the entire segment to get what they wanted. Big Show took out Reigns, Rollins will take out Bryan, and then Rollins will take out Reigns at Fastlane to headline Mania… Those dirty dirties…

-Commercial Break-

– It’s Curtis Axel, and he’s pissed! He asks people not to change the channel. lol… Axel is pissed about being screwed out of his Rumble match opportunity. He wants justice…. Axel gets up on the ropes and points to WrestleMania sign… I love it… I fantasy booked this last week, lol.

So who comes out to contend his bitching? Erick Rowan the guy who took him out? No that’d make sense… Instead it’s Dean Ambrose… I’ll take it…

Dean attacks Axel, beats him down, flings him over the top rope like a turd, and then calmly announces “Now you’re eliminated”… Dean talks about being eliminated from the Rumble, seeing former legends and champions pictures on the wall at WWE HQ…. Ambrose thinks his face would look great on that wall. Ambrose beat IC Champion Barrett 2 weeks ago…. Ambrose has some “BAD NEWS”, he wants the IC Title at Fastlane…

Curtis Axel jumps Ambrose after the promo, but Dean lays him out with a wicked clothesline and Dirty Deeds….

– It’s Black History Month. We get a video on “Big Cat” Ernie Ladd!

-Commercial Break-

2. The Ascension vs. Goldust & Stardust

Booker tries to put over the Ascension on commentary, but JBL continues to bury them. Stardust starts the match but injures his head. Goldust tags himself in… Goldust does well for his team for a bit but tries to fight off a 2 on 1 and loses to the Fall of Man in 2:00…

After the match, Cody, or umm Stardust, scolds his brother Goldust.

– Up next, Cena welcomes back his fired buddies…

Wooo, an hour into the show, 4 minutes of wrestling, and yet another promo segment planned next…

-Commercial Break-

– Stardust is backstage talking to himself… Goldust interrupts him to talk. Star won’t respond, so Goldust snaps him out of it by calling him CODY… This pisses Stardust off, he gets in the face of Goldy and tells him to NEVER call him CODY. Hissssssss

– John Cena in the ring. He acknowledges the fans and mentions HHH having to do Steve Austin’s Podcast tonight and discuss the state of the WWE. “Cena sucks” chants from the men in the crowd. Cena talks HHH and Seth Rollins. He talks about HHH only being worried about business, and sponsors, and that he doesn’t care about the fans or what they want… Cena is sporting a black eye. He mentions how much crap HHH has put him through but he still never gave up. We go back 2 weeks where Cena pins Rollins to get the jobs back.

Cena welcome out his friends, Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan… But we barely get a word from them before Stephanie McMahon interrupts on the big screen… She announces for tonight, Rowan vs. Rusev, Ziggler vs. Wyatt, and Ryback vs. Harper, which starts right now!

-Commercial Break-

3. Ryback vs. Luke Harper

Harper suplexes Ryback… Ryback with a loooong delayed vertical suplex… Ryback takes over, but soon runs into a big dropkick from Harper… And Luke plants a Big Boot that knocks Ryback off the apron to the floor… Harper gains clear control, another big boot gets 2… Ryback escapes a front facelock by tossing Harper backwards… Luke misses a charge into the corner and Ryback takes over… Ryback with a Thesz Press and a big splash gets 2… Ryback tries a powerslam, but Harper wiggles free and hits a spinning sidewalk slam for 2… Ryback rebounds with a Spinebuster and sets up for the big clothesline, but runs into a SUPERKICK from Harper for a near fall!!!! Ryback somehow manages to scoop Harper up for Shell Shock, but Harper turns it into a SUNSET FLIP!!! 1…2…Ryback kicks out…. Meathook Clothesline!!! Shellshock… It’s over in 10:00….

For a Ryback match, that was pretty damn good. Perfectly fine match. If you DVR’d, I’d give it a watch…

-Commercial Break-

4. Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso & Naomi) vs. Cesaro (w/Tyson Kidd & Natalya)

Cesaro in charge early. The two trade some stuff ass chops and Uso takes over. Jimmy knocks Cesaro to the floor but Cesaro moves out of the way… Cesaro confronts Jey on the floor, and Jimmy winds up diving out onto Cesaro after all… Cesaro regroups with his heel buddy and attacks Jimmy to take back over control. Chinlock time… Uso escapes with a pair of superkicks, but misses a corner splash, and it’s time for the CESARO SWING, and Cesaro spins it into a Half Crab… Uso won’t quit so Cesaro lands a double stomp for 2… Cesaro with a Double Underhook Powerbomb gets another near fall…

Cesaro calls for a European Uppercut but gets knocked back, Jimmy with Whisper in the Wind off the top for 2…. Uso comes back with come clotheslines, but Cesaro catches a superkick and tosses Jimmy outside by Tyson. The referee warns Kidd. Cesaro rams Uso into the announce table and goes back to the ring. Cesaro off the top but lands into a SUPERKICK from Jimmy Uso. Uso with the ass bash in the corner and goes up for the big splash… Tyson on the apron to interfere, but Jey Uso takes him out… Jimmy jumps off towards Cesaro who nails Uso with a EUROPEAN UPPERCUT and knocks Jimmy flat out. Cesaro picks up the win in 6:20.

Tyson Kidd with a sneak attack lays out Jey Uso after the match.

This wasn’t a bad match, a little rushed, and the Usos aren’t the best in singles, but for TV and to set up the tag title match this was definitely an okay match and served it’s purpose.

-Commercial Break-

– Backstage segment. It’s Damien Sandow grabbing some catering… for the Miz…. The Miz tells Sandow how many blueberries he wants. A staff member asks for an autograph… Miz says he doesn’t have time… But he wants Sandow’s, not the Miz. Sandow signs it no problem. But Miz rips it up and runs the guy off… Miz then explodes on Sandow. Sandow mimics the Miz at first, but Miz cuts him off… Miz runs down Sandow and trash talks him, he says Sandow has an ego now. The Miz FIRES Sandow from being his stunt double… But he makes Sandow his personal assistant. Sandow starts mimicking Miz again. Miz reminds Sandow he is no longer the stunt double… Miz then sends Sandow to make him his protein drink… Or something like that…

– Erick Rowan meets up with John Cena in the locker room. He thanks Cena for helping him. Rowan says his time away made him a changed man. Now Rowan wants to do John a favor when he takes on Rusev tonight. Cena gives Rowan some advice and the two shake hands…

– It’s time for Ziggler vs. Wyatt…

-Commercial Break-

– We get a look at Steve Austin preparing for his Podcast with HHH.

5. Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt

Ziggler goes right after Bray at the bell. Bray lays Dolph out with a big hot, but Ziggler comes right back with his patented dropkick. Ziggler pummels Bray back to the ropes, the ref tries for a break and Bray lays in a big punch to take control… Damn heels… Bray takes over for a bit, but Ziggler with another dropkick and tries a Famouser, but Wyatt dodges and exits the ring. Back in the ring, Dolph grabs a single leg, but Wyatt fights his way free and knocks Ziggler on his ass… Wyatt with a senton splash gets 2… Wyatt applies the dreaded nerve hold.

Dolph breaks free and plants a pair of elbows, but Bray bails out of the ring again. Ziggler reaches out to grab Wyatt, but Bray drops Dolph face first into the apron and then suplexes him out of the ring to the aisle way floor… Nice stuff there… And we’re off to commercials.

Back from break, and it’s the epic commercial chinlock applied on Ziggz… Dolph breaks free, but Wyatt PLOWS HIM OVER with a wicked body attack for a near fall… Chinlock again. Ziggz breaks free with a jawbreaker. Wyatt misses a charge into the corner and Ziggler tries to regroup. Dolph off the second rope, but runs into a big hand from Bray. Wyatt misses a senton however and both men are down…

Ziggler comes back with a big clothesline, the corner splash and neckbreaker… Jumping elbow gets 2… Ziggler sets up for the Famouser, but Wyatt takes his head off with a nasty clothesline… Wyatt tries Sister Abigail, but Dolph counters with a jumping DDT for 2… Ziggler misses a corner splash, but Bray connects with one. Wyatt tries Sister Abigail, but we get a series of counters from both, ends up with some type of a Superkick from Ziggler for 1…2…..Thrrr….no!!!! Wyatt kicks out. Both men down. They trade punches, Wyatt wins that battle, but Ziggler WITH THE FAMOUSER…. AND WYATT NO SELLS IT!!!! WYATT POPS RIGHT UP FROM THE FAMOUSER… SISTER ABIGAIL…. AND IT’s OVER in 14:48!!!!!

Really good match… That’s two so far tonight…

– Seth Rollins meets up with the Authority backstage to question their thoughts about Bryan possibly going to Mania. HHH badmouths Orton, how Randy always complained and whined when they gave him opportunities. Seth and HHH trash talk Orton, and then Rollins thanks them for his chance to go on to Mania. Rollins says he punches his ticket tonight to move on to Fastlane.

-Commercial Break-

– Last week the Bellas laid out Paige backstage.

6. Paige vs. Alicia Fox

We’ve got the Bellas on commentary. The two girls immediately spill out in front of the Bellas and Paige shocks them with a Scream… Ooooooo-kay…. Fox takes over on Paige in the ring. Nikki talks all over the match, I don’t think her character is a gimmick. It’s too natural. Fox dominates the entire match, she lands a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, and Paige somehow turns that into an inside cradle for the win in 2:30.

After the match, Fox holds down Paige while the Bellas spray her with some color… It looks like black spray paint, but the announcers sell it as tan spray.

-Commercial Break-

– So the Miz is on the next episode of Sirens…

7. The Miz vs. Sin Cara

Miz is introduced by himself, and there’s no noise… Sandow eventually follows and the crowd explodes… lol… Miz scolds Sandow as they walk to the ring. Sandow is no longer allowed to copy him. Sandow tries to mimic Miz but gets yelled at. Sandow is forcing himself not to copy the Miz, he’s going through withdrawal as the fans chant for Sandow throughout the entire match. This match is nothing more than a prop, but Hunico Cara is looking really good… Cara misses a somersault senton off the top, and Miz goes to the top rope… Sandow climbs up as well… This pisses off the Miz who climbs down to yell at Damien. Miz trash talks Sandow and goes back to the match, lays Cara out with a big boot for 2… Fans keep chanting for Sandow and he smiles.

Cara escapes a back suplex, but blows the spot. He rolls Miz up for 2. Miz right back on top with a clothesline. Miz goes to rip the mask off of Cara. Cara fights off Miz, but Miz keeps coming right back with a big move. The fans Boo Miz, Sandow gets on the apron and the fans go nuts… Miz yells at Sandow and Cara rolls Miz up for the win in 5:38.

Cara wins more matches a jobber than when he was pushed… But thank God that lighting effect is long gone!!!

– The lights go out and we have a Bray Wyatt Promo from backstage… He’s the new face of fear, I think he calls himself the Devil… He’s tells someone to come and find him… Cryptic! But I think we can see where this is going….

-Commercial Break-

8. Erick Rowan vs. US Champion Rusev (w/Lana)

Rusev blasts Rowan as he tries to get in the ring and lays him out on the floor… Rusev throws Rowan into the ring post and back into the ring… The bell never sounds as the ref waves the match off, but Rusev continues to beat down on Rowan… I’m not sure if this is a match or not… Rusev dangles Rowan off the apron and tries to super kick his head off…. And then the ACCOLADE. The referee makes it clear the match never started and demands Rusev break the hold. Lana climbs in the ring and Rusev finally releases… Where’s Cena now?

Lana takes the mic. She invites the fans to watch a new “film” where Rusev defeats Cena, and anyone else who opposes him. We get a Rusev video made into a movie trailer type ad. After the ad, the fireworks go off and the Russian flag starts to come down, but it gets caught and it hangs crooked and awkwardly. The fans pop.

– Backstage, Roman Reigns is sweating it out. Daniel Bryan stops by. Reigns tells Bryan that Seth will get what’s coming to him. Bryan hops Reigns doesn’t think Seth is beating Daniel. Both men stand up. Reigns says he will beat either one of them, he will beat whoever and advance to WrestleMania. Reigns gets testy with Bryan and tells him to leave his locker room. Bryan has no problem with that…

-Commercial Break-

– Smackdown this week will feature Reigns and the winner of this next match on MizTV to talk Fastlane.

9. Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins (w/J&J Security)

You know the rules here. The winner meets Reigns at Fastlane, and the winner of Fastlane will meet Brock at Mania. Don’t want to spoil this for anyone, but does Orton cost Rollins tonight, or at Fastlane??? We get a lot of back and forth and counters as things get going. Bryan lands a double underhook suplex and floats right into a cross arm breaker… NICE… Rollins escapes and the match continues. Bryan is tossed outside, Rollins distracts the ref while J&J Security drive Bryan into the barricade… Rollins then with a suicide dive drives Bryan back into the barricade, and we head to commercial…

Back from break, Rollins in control. Big Show has also come down to ringside. Seth lands a corner splash for 2, but misses a second one, and Bryan makes a come back. Bryan fights Seth off and back to a corner, Daniel charges but takes a Downward Spiral right into the middle buckle… Bryan with a back flip off the top to escape from the corner, and he lays Seth out with a clothesline…

Yes! Kicks follow… 1…2…Rollins kicks out…

Bryan lands the dropkick in the corner… Bryan tries a top rope Huracan Rana, but Rollins rolls through into a super sunset flip for 1…2….Bryan kicks out… Seth misses a big kick, Bryan tries a Yes Lock. the two tussle and Bryan ends up dropkicking both Noble & Mercury off the apron!!! Bryan then backdrops Rollins outside onto Noble… And Bryan with a Suicide Dive sends all three men over the announce table!!!

Back inside, Bryan goes up but gets crotched by Seth. Seth tries a top rope move but now he gets crotched…. Bryan with a SUPER SAITO SUPLEX OFF THE TOP ROPE!!!!!!!! 1…………………2……………….ROLLINS KICKS OUT!!!!! Bryan stares at the WrestleMania sign and gets the fans to chant YES…. He wants the knee….

Bryan tries the knee, but Rollins counters with the Powerbomb into the turnbuckles… and then he kicks Bryan’s head off!!! 1………2………..BRYAN KICKS OUT…..

Rollisn wants a Curb Stomp, but Bryan counters with a YES LOCK…. Rollins is ready to tap but BIG SHOW PULLS SETH’S LEG TO THE ROPE for the break…. Booooo

Bryan has the release and Seth goes to the floor.ROMAN REIGNS COMES FLYING DOWN THE AISLE AND SPEARS THE SHIT OUT OF BIG SHOW ON THE FLOOR!!!!

REIGNS SPEARS MERCURY….

Noble tries to sneak up and nail Bryan with the briefcase, but the ref catches him… While the ref is with Noble, REIGNS SUPERMAN PUNCH TO ROLLINS!!!! Bryan kicks Noble’s head off…. Then it’s the flying knee from Bryan to Rollins..1……………2…………….3!!!!!

Match went 17:11. Reallllly good stuff here, and a great finish. Surprised it was Reigns who cost Rollins, thought for sure Orton would work his way back to set up his Mania match with Seth.

– Renee Young wants to talk to HHH, but he’s going to say it to Steve Austin.

– Michael Cole interviews Daniel Bryan in the ring. Bryan just thanks the fans and says he’s beating Reigns to go to Mania…

Stone Cold Podcast with HHH is next. Not sure if this thing is going to be a big work or not…

Spoilers: WWE Superstars Results 2/6/15

By

Crazymax Jack

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February 2, 2015

0

WWE Superstars Results for 2/6/15 from the Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

(Matches taped 2/2/15)

* Emma defeated Summer Rae. Cameron came out with Summer and Naomi was out with Emma.

* Fandango defeated Adam Rose. During his entrance, the Rosebuds dropped Rose and he snapped on them. Fandango got a babyface pop and won with the top rope leg drop.

Big Opening Segment Revealed For Tonight’s WWE RAW

By

Jim Somers

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February 2, 2015

0

– The Authority has announced that Triple H will kick off tonight’s RAW with his big announcement about the Royal Rumble controversy. They tweeted:

Per the Office of The Authority: @WWE COO @TripleH will make his announcement at the beginning of #Raw this evening.

Backstage News On Contracts For WWE Tough Enough, Third Generation Star Appearing?, More

By

Jim Somers

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February 2, 2015

0

The new season of WWE Tough Enough on the USA Network will reportedly include NXT wrestlers who have not appeared on TV yet, according to verified WWE insider MetsFan4Ever on Reddit.

WWE officials were looking at some of the talents at the recent Performance Center tryout camp about possibly being on the show. Apparently officials from the USA Network were also interested in some of the participants of the tryout camp being on the show.

WWE NXT reportedly has the right to offer a contract to any member of the camp first and if the deal is passed on, USA can them offer them a spot on Tough Enough.

It’s said that one third-generation wrestler at the tryouts was already offered a spot on Tough Enough but they have to wait and see if WWE offers them a contract for NXT first. MetsFan didn’t mention this but that talent is rumored to be Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Vince McMahon Avoiding Another Chaotic Week Of TV

By

Jim Somers

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February 2, 2015

0

With another major snow storm hitting New England late last night, Vince McMahon and his inner circle, including Kevin Dunn and others, flew out late Sunday morning on the WWE corporate jet to Denver, the site of tonight’s RAW. They had originally planned to leave later in the day, but feared they’d risk travel complications.

Coming off of last week’s issues stemming from a blizzard hitting the Northeast resulting in RAW and Smackdown tapings being postponed, McMahon wanted to take all precautions to ensure a less chaotic week of tv.

News For Tonight’s WWE RAW – Triple H’s Big Announcement, Daniel Bryan, Bray Wyatt, More

By

Jim Somers

-

February 2, 2015

0

Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Tonight’s show will feature Triple H’s major announcement that he said will rock the WWE Universe to its core.

No matches have been announced for tonight but Superstars advertised include Randy Orton, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Kane and Bray Wyatt. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is not scheduled for tonight.

WWE is focusing on the following points for tonight:

* What will Triple H announce?

* What’s next for The “Yes!” Man?

* Will Paige get back at The Bella Twins?

* Is Rusev heading toward his first true loss in WWE?

* What’s Bray Wyatt telling us?

crazymax.org

Fighting Spirit Review: All Japan “New Year’s War” 1/2/2015

Date: January 2nd, 2015
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,017

Triple H On Stone Cold Podcast Review – Talks CM Punk, Chyna, The Reigns Push, More