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WWE News: Kevin Owens’ Opponent For ‘SummerSlam’ Revealed

Republished from Inquisitr

After Kevin Owens tapped out to John Cena at this past Sunday’s WWE Battleground show, many wondered what would be next for him. Would he get another shot at John Cena? If not, who will be his next opponent? Would he move back down to NXT? Well, tomorrow night’s SmackDown, which was taped on Tuesday, reveals on what Kevin Owens will be doing next.

The main event of SmackDown saw Cesaro take on the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in a non-title match, which Rollins won via pin-fall after hitting the Pedigree. After the match was over, Kevin Owens ran down to the ring, and hit Cesaro with the Pop-Up Powerbomb.

Earlier in the night, Kevin Owens faced off against Rusev, and the match ended via count out after Owens walked out. Then, Owens interrupted a backstage interview with Cesaro, and Cesaro criticized Owens for constantly walking out on his matches. So, naturally, that led to Owens taking Cesaro out after his match with Rollins.

Many were wondering if Owens would even be on the SummerSlam card after his loss to John Cena. Furthermore, many are worried about Owens’ WWE future, as there seems to be some members of WWE upper-management who want to see Owens fail on the main roster just to prove themselves right, which may sound ridiculous, but it’s not the first time something like this has happened.

There’s a slight chance that Owens could end up being the United States Champion before SummerSlam, as John Cena will be facing Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the event, and WWE could be looking to get the U.S. Title off of him before that match. The idea of Rollins costing Cena the title during one of Cena’s open challenges has been suggested, and Owens may end up being the beneficiary of that idea.

If Owens ends up as the United States Champion, he’ll defend it against Cesaro at SummerSlam. It’s possible that Rusev could get added to the match, as it seems like Rusev and Owens have unfinished business. But WWE may end up leaving Rusev out of the U.S. Title picture at the event due to the return of Dolph Ziggler, who will likely take on the “Bulgarian Brute” at WWE’s biggest event of the summer.

[Image via WWE]

'WWE Raw': Undertaker and Brock Lesnar Brawl for It All

Republished from Rolling Stone

Monday night's all right for fighting, as the Dead Man and the Beast go wild, the women shine and John Cena sets his sights on Seth Rollins.

Brock Lesnar launches himself at the Undertaker on 'WWE Raw.' WWE

Sunday night at Battleground, the Undertaker cut down Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins vanished into thin air and John Cena put Kevin Owens in his rearview mirror. None of those developments provided solutions to WWE's long-term problems, but with SummerSlam just five weeks away, that wasn't the point. All that mattered was setting up a Beast vs. Dead Man main event.

So Monday's Raw was tasked with developing the rest of the card – which it did. You might not like everything we're going to see next month at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, but they've gotta fill three-plus hours somehow. And give credit to WWE creative for pulling out all the stops last night, teasing an intriguing champ-versus-champ showdown, developing factions in both the men's and women's divisions and throwing together one hell of a Pier Six Brawl between Lesnar and 'Taker to stoke the flames (and give the guys standing around in the back something to do.)

So let's dig through the rubble. With a tip of the cap to Kenny Herzog (he's back next week), here are five key things that I took away from the July 20 edition of Raw.

5. Family Tradition
After Battleground, a show designed to address the present (namely, "Holy shit, SummerSlam's in five weeks,") it's already looking like the best development for the future was the reformation of the Wyatt Family. It reinvigorated Bray Wyatt's bland boogeyman character – because who's going to believe to a cult leader with no cult? – almost as much as his win over Roman Reigns did, put the talented Luke Harper back on our TVs and, with Erick Rowan on the shelf for the next six months, created a prime spot open in a premier stable. Who will Wyatt tap to fill it? That's just part of the fun. And speaking of, last night's continuation of the Family's feud with Reigns was plenty entertaining, a hard-hitting hoss fight between Harper and Reigns that also worked R.R.'s old pal Dean Ambrose into the mix. Is this just a slightly modified version of the Wyatt Family/Shield beef from 2014? Yes, but I'm not complaining. Everyone worked their tails off and, after weeks of slightly aimless vignettes, it was great to see some actual violence. And the Kansas City crowd certainly seemed to agree with me.

4. Six Men, One Direction
With U.S. Champion John Cena apparently turning his attention to bigger things (more on that in a minute), we'd better get used to seeing matches like the main event, featuring the contenders currently left in the lurch – Kevin Owens, Cesaro and Rusev – and the guys with nothing better to do (Sheamus and, as always, Randy Orton) battling it out just because. Plug the returning Dolph Ziggler into Cena's slot and you've got your SummerSlam payoff to the whole Lana debacle, too (thank God). Was this six-man tag anything special? Not really, but the finish, which saw all three faces hit their finishers in succession (Cesaro's catapult of Rusev into Orton's RKO was great) was a nice touch. Is anyone excited by the potential of an Owens/Sheaums feud? Not unless the Great White's Money in the Bank contract is on the line. But hey, if you're gonna tread water, I suppose it's better to do it with your fellow swimmers.

3. The Champ Is Here. And the World Champ, Too.
OK, so Seth Rollins did exactly what we all expected him to do after literally disappearing at Battleground – he came out and claimed to have conquered Brock Lesnar. And while it would be nice to actually believe his boasts for once (seriously, why couldn't the Undertaker's interference have resulted in a pin for the World champ?), there was some added fire to Rollins' promo – especially his pointed claim to be "the end-all, be-all of champions in this industry." Of course, at the time he was speaking, he was still without an opponent for SummerSlam…so thank goodness John Cena showed up to bury him and his reign as champ, setting up a presumed title vs. title match next month. Given the rise of the United States Championship since WrestleMania, this was the right move, and everything Cena said about Rollins' run atop the promotion was true, but considering Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, Respect's track record, their showdown at SummerSlam has me feeling nervous. For months, we've been crowing about Cena's "selfless" work as U.S. champ – turns out, he might get his reward just yet, in the form of yet another Heavyweight Championship. Hey, it's the American way.

2. The Revolution Is Being Televised
After last week's momentous arrival and a solid, if a touch sloppy, debut at Battleground, Monday night continued to show the evolution of the, ugh, #DivasRevolution. For starters, we got two solid women's matches – Charlotte vs. Brie Bella and Paige and Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks and Naomi – both of which were designed to showcase the wrestling acumen of the NXT three. And by allowing the women to play to their respective strengths (Charlotte's athletic prowess, Lynch's in-ring abilities, Banks' skills on the mic – she's a great wrestler, too – Naomi's attitude and Team Bella's sheer Divatude) it provides the entire division with a newfound breadth and depth. And while the commentators should do a better job letting that grow organically – note to the guys, not every women's wrestling feud is about "jealousy" – Raw was another step in the right direction. The tag match, in particular, was booked perfectly: Lynch playing face in peril, the teased hot tag to Paige (who looked better than she has in months), Banks getting the win by submission…it all showed promise and progress. Of course, to then to follow it up with the drivel between Lana and Summer Raw just shows how far we still have to go.

1. Dead Man Talking, Brawling
Can someone get the Undertaker a lozenge? When the Undead Icon kicked off Raw with a gravel-voiced promo explaining his motivations for attacking Brock Lesnar last night – payback for breaking the streak – I couldn't have been the only one rolling my eyes (why didn't 'Taker exact his revenge when both men were in the same building at WrestleMania 31?) Thankfully, Paul Heyman was on hand to throw gasoline on the flames, cutting a masterful promo that hit all the plot points, touched on the two men's shared history and made this one appropriately personal. In short, though many have tried to end Undertaker's 'Mania run (his "greatest claim to fame," according to Paul), only one man has, a fact that 'Taker can't let go. And when Lesnar himself raced down the ramp to save his advocate from certain destruction at the hands of the Dead Man, all bets were off. The resulting brawl brought the boys out of the back and blew the roof off the Sprint Center, earning well-deserved "This is awesome" chants and raising the intensity of this feud exponentially. Can a rematch between Brock Lesnar and Undertaker live up to the hype? Here's hoping…but in the likely event it can't, explosive segments like this are a smart way to make fans feel like they still got their money's worth.

WWE 'Battleground': Dead Man Walking, Kevin Owens Tapping

Republished from Rolling Stone

The Undertaker strikes back against Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins literally disappears and John Cena wins yet another PPV payoff. Sigh

On the surface – and in the headline – there are only two storylines fans will be talking about coming out of WWE Battleground: The return of the Undertaker, who reemerged from clanging and banging in Death Valley to seek retribution against Brock Lesnar, and Kevin Owens' loss (by submission) to John Cena.

Neither development is necessarily good – unless you're the Face of the Franchise – and the resulting ripples are even worse. There are just five weeks until one of WWE's marquee events, SummerSlam, and at the moment it's being sold on the strength of a match between a 50-year-old undead biker (???) and a badass fighting machine who really should be doing something better with his time. There is no clear opponent for the company's World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins (where did he go after the lights went out and 'Taker's gong hit during his match against Lesnar?), a nonexistent Intercontinental scene, a murky U.S. Championship picture and a lot of solidly over talent pressed firmly against the glass ceiling.

But let's start with the positives, because despite its last 30 minutes, Battleground was a decent show. Bray Wyatt's win over Roman Reigns – courtesy of interference by his former disciple Luke Harper – was booked well and accomplished what it needed to (namely, setting the stage for a SummerSlam tag match pitting the Family against Reigns and…Sting?) A motivated Randy Orton, wrestling in his hometown of St. Louis, put on a hard-hitting match with Sheamus, and the Prime Time Players continued to take steps as they retained their Tag Team titles against the New Day, who impress every week. And after a momentous Monday night debut, we got to see NXT's Sasha Banks and Charlotte work a PPV match against Brie Bella, which was a bit rough in patches, but showed progression in the Divas division and patience from the folks in the back.

And, sure, you could wonder what's next for any of the men and women involved in those matches (there seem to be only two answers, BTW: "More of the same" or "We have absolutely no idea"), or complain about the lack of direction for guys like Dean Ambrose or Neville, neither of whom was featured on Battleground despite opportunities to do so (since Ryback was out, why not put them both in a four-way with Miz and Big Show to determine the Number 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship?) But that seems like piling on, and perhaps tonight's Raw will begin to map out their respective paths to SummerSlam. In the mean time, there's so much to say about everything that happened in the last half hour of Sunday's show.

Let's start with the return of the Undertaker. Purely from a fan's perspective, was it cool to seem him appear in the ring just as Lesnar was about to pin Rollins to win back his World title? Absolutely. Will it sell subscriptions to the WWE Network? Definitely. Was it a shortsighted decision that paints the company's creative into a corner? Probably.

Because when the Beast and the Dead Man meet at SummerSlam, who loses? If Lesnar goes down in defeat, it makes him look a lot less invincible, and if he then disappears – which seems certain, given the limited number of shows he's contracted to work – it stalls his drive for the title. If Undertaker takes the dive, it does the same thing, and tinges the luster of his presumptive match at WrestleMania 32. Not to mention the fact that a contest between these two is by no means a sure thing…will 'Taker even be able to take the bumps required in a match with the Mayor of Suplex City?

And after months of being booked as a coward and a cheat, Rollins somehow looks even worse after he vanished once 'Taker showed up to dole out those Tombstone Piledrivers (which, yeesh). Wouldn't it have made more sense for the Dead Man to interfere in the match, allowing Rollins to pin Lesnar and retain? We'd have ended up at the same exact place we are right now, only WWE's champion would actually be able to brag about conquering the Beast. He'll probably do that anyway on Raw, but it would be nice to actually believe his boasts for once.

And speaking of boasts, the two-month feud between Kevin Owens and John Cena has featured plenty of them, as this has been the rare WWE war that's delivered both on the mic and in the ring. Since KO showed up on Raw, NXT title in hand and Cena's U.S. strap beneath his boot,he's been a revelation, continuing to build on his momentum while also pushing Cena to new heights. Their program has been the reason to watch Raw these past eight weeks, and – with all due respect to Cena's terrific run as U.S. champ – their matches at Elimination Chamber andMoney in the Bank were the things that elevated the title to the top of the promotion. WWE clearly has something special with Owens, a great worker and compelling character whose machinations and motivations are totally believable, and it would seem almost impossible to stall his rise. So how did they end the so-called "rubber match" between he and Cena? By making him tap out, of course.

That's not to say Owens is dead in the water, not by any stretch, but having him win the title here, in front of a hot St. Louis crowd ready for his coronation, was the right call. Or, if you wanted to save that moment for SummerSlam, why not continue the recent storyline and have Cesaro and/or Rusev interfere? Instead, Owens submitted, and after spending months talking a big game, his credibility took a hit. Sure, he kicked out of plenty in this match, including a mega A.A. from the top turnbuckle, and he gave just as good as he got, but now he's (presumably) thrown to the bottom of the pile of challengers for Cena's title – which is good news, I suppose, for guys like the Swiss Superman or the Bulgarian Brute, but a lousy development for the fans who have rode with Owens every step of the way. It shouldn't have to be this difficult for a surefire star to make his way to the top.

In a way, the tap out also hurt Cena, who has spent much of 2015 building up good will amongst an Internet Wrestling Community that was programmed to despise him. He's made a lot of midcard talent look good with his weekly U.S. Open Challenges, but he's yet to actually put one of them over by ceding his title…and beating Owens here only conjures up memories of other feuds where he came out victorious at the expense of up-and-coming talents, namely Rusev and Bray Wyatt.

And, yes, I've just spent 1100 words criticizing a show that was essentially a speed bump on the road to one of WWE's Big Four events. Nothing was going to happen at Battleground, not with a much larger showcase just five weeks away. The problem is, there seems to be a lot of nothing happening in WWE right now, and after Sunday night that hasn't changed – a few short-term solutions aside. With so many future stars just waiting for their shot, that's frustrating. And seeing a promotion with this much potential continue to spin its wheels is troubling. Maybe we're falling for the same old tricks, and WWE will find a way to make this all work – look how they handled Roman Reigns' Royal Rumble win. But it's a bad sign when, on a night where nothing really happened, so much did…and a lot of it wasn't good.

Battleground Results

Republished from Wikipedia

Results

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times[18][19]
1P	King Barrett defeated R-Truth	Singles match for Barrett'sKing of the Ring crown[20]	9:15
2	Randy Orton defeated Sheamus	Singles match[21]	16:54
3	The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) (c) defeatedThe New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (with Xavier Woods)	Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[22]	8:50
4	Bray Wyatt defeated Roman Reigns	Singles match[23]	22:42
5	Charlotte (with Paige and Becky Lynch) defeated Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella and Alicia Fox) and Sasha Banks (with Naomi and Tamina) by submission	Triple threat match[24]	11:30
6	John Cena (c) defeated Kevin Owens by submission	Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[25]	22:11
7	Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated Seth Rollins (c) by disqualification	Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[26]	9:00
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match P – indicates the match took place on the pre-show

Battleground (2015)

Republished from Wikipedia

No.	Matches	Stipulations
1P	R-Truth vs. King Barrett	Singles matchfor Barrett's King of the Ringcrown[17]
2	Roman Reigns vs.Bray Wyatt	Singles match[18]
3	Seth Rollins (withJamie Noble andJoey Mercury) (c) vs.Brock Lesnar (withPaul Heyman)	Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[19]
4	The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/orXavier Woods)	Tag team matchfor the WWE Tag Team Championship[20]
5	John Cena (c) vs.Kevin Owens	Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[21]
6	Randy Orton vs.Sheamus	Singles match[22]
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match P – indicates the match will take place on the pre-show

Backstage News on Plans for a Major Name Possibly Returning at WWE Battleground Tonight, Another Name Getting Involved?

Republished from Wrestlezone

According to The Wrestling Observer, outside interference is likely in the Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt match at WWE Battleground tonight.

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted there have been plans in WWE for Luke Harper to get involved in the Reigns vs Wyatt feud, and it could happen as early as tonight.

We also previously reported that Sting is expected back in WWE for a match at SummerSlam this year, and Meltzer noted the Reigns/Wyatt angle might be where Sting makes his return. “That’s where Sting fits in too,” Meltzer said.

Happy Blogiversary

An Errie look Into Bray Wyatt's World

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WWE Fires Long Time Executive Vice President

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/596319-wwe-fires-long-time-executive

The following is being reported by the MLW Twitter account:

Lee has been with WWE since 1995 and back in January she was promoted to Executive Vice President of Content and reported directly to Vince McMahon.

Lee was in charge of overseeing the development and distribution of WWE programming across all platforms, as well as overseeing WWE’s creative team.

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Beast In The East

Whatis your take on WWE's Beast In The East event?

Piledriver: WWE puts on show in Tokyo

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/2015/07/04/wwe-puts-show-tokyo/29723647/

AP

Brock Lesnar was the headliner for a WWE show in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday.

WWE Network's much-anticipated live special, "Beast in the East," took place Saturday morning in Tokyo.

Here were the results:

• Chris Jericho beat Neville by submission with the "Lion Tamer."

• Nikki Bella retains Divas title in a triple-threat match against Paige and Tamina by beating Tamina with a forearm.

• Brock Lesnar beat Kofi Kingston with an "F5" and attacks New Day after the match.

• Finn Balor beat Kevin Owens to win the NXT championship.

• John Cena and Dolph Ziggler beat Kane and Wade Barrett after Cena hits the "AA" on Barrett.

Piledriver podcast: Check out this week's Piledriver podcast at the link below.

Myself, Brad Harper and Matt Okarmus previewed the WWE's 'Beast in the East' event, and discussed issues concerning NXT and Tough Enough.

'Battleground' pay-per-view event in two weeks: WWE's "Battleground" pay-per-view event takes place July 19 in St. Louis.

John Cena defends the United States title vs. NXT champion Kevin Owens; Ryback defends the Intercontinental title against Big Show and The Miz in a triple threat match; and The Prime Time Players defend the tag team titles vs. The New Day.

The main event will be Seth Rollins defending the WWE world heavyweight championship against Brock Lesnar.

Also, Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt.

TNA news: Total Nonstop Action star Kurt Angle is taking time off to have surgery to remove a neck tumor.

But the surgery isn't considered to be major and he's expected to be back close to three weeks.

There's been a lot of turnover after TNA's "Slammiversary" pay-per-view event.

It was reported that James Storm and Magnus asked and received their releases from the company. They had a match against each other during the pay-per-view.

Magnus has signed with Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling promotion, which appears to have a working relationship with TNA.

Austin Aries' contract expired last weekend , and he has signed a deal with the Los Angeles-based talent agency, The Regime.

Former X Division champion Low Ki announced on June 25 on Twitter that he left the company.

There were rumors that Knockouts Awesome Kong and Taryn Terrell's contracts expired. But both have denied those rumors on Twitter.

Kong responded saying: "Contrary to rumors, @IMPACTWRESTLING and I will ring in the new year together & I'll 'deck the halls' of anyone who says otherwise #staying."

Terrell said, "Stop making up rumors Internet! I just started playing!! I'm not going ANYWHERE!! #thedollhouse."

Speaking of the Knockouts, TNA's "Knockouts Knockdown" pay-per-view special will air throughout the month. The event was taped on Feb. 14 in Orlando, Fla.

Here's the pay-per-view lineup:

• Cherry Bomb vs. Gail Kim

• Solo Darling vs. Havok

• Rosita vs. Angelina Love

• Su Yung vs. Taryn Terrell

• Mia Yim (Jade) vs. Brooke Tessmacher

• Alisha vs. Madison Rayne

• Andrea vs. Awesome Kong

• Knux, Crazzy Steve and Rebel vs. Jessie Godderz, Robbie E and Angelina Love

• 7 Knockouts Gauntlet Match to crown the Queen of the Knockouts

'Total Divas' season premiere Tuesday: The Bella Twins, Natalya, Eva Marie, Paige, Alicia Fox and Naomi are back for another season of "Total Divas," which begins at 8 p.m. Tuesday on E!

Cameron and Rosa Mendes aren't regular cast members this season.

Byron Robinson, an Advertiser producer, can be reached by emailing him at bdrobinson@gannett.com.

Ric Flair Explains Why He Thinks NXT Is Better Than TNA And ROH, Says TNA And ROH Aren't A Factor

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2015/0703/597927/ric-flair-explains-why-he-thinks-nxt-is-better-than-tna-and-roh/

Ric Flair has experience in the wrestling business, that goes without saying. He's worked with WWE and TNA, and had a brief association with Ring of Honor before the relationship soured. Despite his previous run with TNA, Flair thinks that NXT is better than both ROH and TNA.

Flair appeared on WrestleTalkTV, where he spoke on NXT.

"I don't think anyone can compete with WWE. It's not just WWE, it's WWE and NXT," Flair said. "You put NXT up against Ring of Honor, you put them up against TNA, what are you gonna watch? You're going to watch NXT, it's a better product. And it's new"

Flair may be a bit biased, as he's currently contracted by WWE. His daughter, Charlotte, also competes for the NXT brand, and is a former NXT Women's champion.

"They're going on the road, they're selling out. Matches are longer, less talking. It's totally different than Smackdown or Raw. The guys are smaller. They're all flying around like Rey Mysterio, then along comes Kevin Owens, and he's a big guy," Flair said.

Flair also said he believes NXT could be on cable whenever the chose too, especially ifVince McMahon really wanted to get behind it.

"If Vince got behind it, and I think he has, they could be on TV tomorrow. I don't see Ring of Honor or TNA even being a factor," Flair said.

You can see Flair's full comments in the video above.

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WWE Issues Statement Defending Against Recent False Allegations

(Image Credit: WWE.com)

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/593591-wwe-issues-statement-defending-against-recent-false-allegations

As noted, WWE has requested that a federal judge block concussion lawsuits from former talents, as WWE is citing a statute of limitations in Connecticut.

To update that story, WWE has sent us the following:

WWE Defends Against False Allegations

“WWE filed a lawsuit in Connecticut to protect the company from a series of fraudulent claims made by a Massachusetts attorney regarding alleged concussion-related injuries.  A few examples of such false allegations from this lawyer include:

• Claims in two different federal courts that five individuals died prematurely due to head injuries when in fact all five individuals are alive today.
• Falsely stating that an individual’s years of performance with WWE spanned 22 years from 1985 through 2007, when in fact the individual performed for only 2 years (1985-1986 and 1992-1993) and made one appearance in 2007.
• Alleging that head injury led to the death of a morbidly obese former performer who died of a heart attack years after last performing for WWE.
• A claim that an individual suffered from deafness allegedly due to head injury when said individual has publicly stated that he was deaf since birth.
• Claiming that head injury led to the accidental drug overdose of a former performer over 20 years after he last performed.

It is unfortunate that some former performers have been improperly recruited under the guise of a big ‘pay day’, and we feel badly that these individuals are being misled and exploited.”