Month: December 2020

Dolph Ziggler To Defend Intercontinental Title Against RAW Star At Survivor Series; Updated Card

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Several storylines for WWE’s upcoming Survivor Series event were advanced on this week’s edition of SmackDown Live.

On Tuesday night, Dolph Ziggler revealed that he will defend his Intercontinental Championship against a RAW superstar on the November 20th pay-per-view. Ziggler issued an open challenge to the RAW roster and while there’s no word on who his opponent will be, it’s likely he will be revealed on Monday.

SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan also made some announcements on Tuesday night. Bryan revealed the teams for the men’s and women’s teams for Survivor Series. The men’s team will consist of Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, and AJ Styles — while the women’s team will consist of Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Carmella, and Alexa Bliss.

Four more members of SmackDown’s crew for the 10-man tag team Survivor Series match were also revealed on Tuesday night. American Alpha and The Usos both won qualifying matches to earn their spots in the match, joining The Hype Bros, Heath Slater, Rhyno, and two more teammates to-be-announced.

Below is the current card for Survivor Series, which airs live on 11/20 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, with live coverage and discussion on Rajah.com.

5-on-5 RAW vs. SmackDown Elimination
– Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, & TBA (RAW) vs. Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, & AJ Styles (SmackDown)

5-on-5 RAW vs. SmackDown Elimination
– Charlotte, Nia Jax, Bayley, & TBA (RAW) vs. Nikki Bella, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, & Naomi (SmackDown)

10-on-10 RAW vs. SmackDown Elimination Tag Match
– The New Day, & TBA (RAW) vs. Heath Slater, Rhyno, Zack Ryder, Mojo Rawley, American Alpha, The Usos, & TBA (SmackDown)

Intercontinental Title
– Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. TBA

– Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg

– Backstage News On Vince’s Plans For Goldberg, Why Triple H Doesn’t Want Goldberg Back, & More

Rey Mysterio Says Lucha Underground Inspired WWE's Cruiserweight Division

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Former WWE Champion and current Lucha Underground star Rey Mysterio feels that LU influenced WWE to bring back the cruiserweight division. On the latest episode of the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast, Mysterio theorized that WWE took note of the up-start Lucha promotion’s high-flying action.

“I truly believe now that Lucha Underground has been around for three seasons, it was almost a temptation to display the talent that [WWE] had,” Mysterio said. He feels that WWE started running with more NXT talent on RAW & SmackDown “because of what Lucha Underground is doing.” Mysterio added that he feels Lucha Underground is completely different from WWE, and has more to offer than WWE in terms of cruiserweight-style action.

WWE’s new cruiserweight series 205 Live is scheduled to air on the WWE Network on Tuesday nights. The WWE Network series debuts on November 29th immediately after SmackDown Live goes off the air.

You can listen to the entire podcast with Mysterio here.

– Huge News On WWE’s Plans For WrestleMania 33, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, & More

Video: Superstars Preparing, Exiting Through Curtain Backstage At Survivor Series

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In a cool new feature, WWE released a compilation video that shows the Superstars on Sunday night’s Survivor Series card backstage at the Air Canda Center preparing for their matches, leading viewers up to the point where they walk through the curtain in the back.

Seen in the video above is footage that includes a visit inside Goldberg’s locker room as he prepares for his first in-ring performance in over 12 years. See the former WCW star lace up his boots and head through the backstage area to the exit curtain at Gorilla Position, right before he emerges for his infamous fire-breathing, fireworks-filled ring entrance.

Ryback Recalls Awkward Moment Involving Himself, Daniel Bryan & Pat Patterson

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On the latest episode of his Conversations With The Big Guy podcast, former WWE Superstar Ryback told his favorite behind-the-scenes story involving himself and current SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan.

“He used to do a thing where, like, he’ll come up behind a guy and grab you by the hips and he’s like, ‘I’m dominating you! I’m dominating you!’ Like, just holding your hips, but he would really latch onto your hips,” Ryback started.

“So one day I’m walking and we’re in Dallas [Texas]. I’ll never forget it, Pat Patterson, is, like, standing against the wall. Daniel Bryan comes up and I don’t see Pat because I’m walking and Pat’s down a little [farther]. And Dan comes up behind me and grabs me by the hips and he goes, ‘I got you!’ And he did this to me all the time. And there [are] times when I’m like, ‘get the f–k off’ and other times I go along with it. So this time, like, I was in a good mood, and so I start giddying up down the hallway with him on my hips. Like, legitimately, slap the ass, giddy up, like, we go right by Pat Patterson and we get passed and we look and we stop and we both thought the same thing and looked.”

Ryback concluded, “And Pat’s just staring at both of us. And I turn around and laugh. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing and I was thinking, ‘for all the moments for that to f–king happen,’ but Dan probably saw Pat from a distance and thought, ‘oh, this will be f–king money’. He’s good like that, so that to this day is one of my favorite moments with Dan.”

Check out the complete episode of Ryback’s latest podcast featuring the above story by clicking here.

Booker T Elaborates On Decision To Run For Mayor Of Houston, Texas

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On the latest edition of his “Heated Conversations” podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T elaborated on his decision to run for Mayor in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

“Now you’ve heard it–in 2020 I’m preparing myself to run for the Mayor of the city of Houston, and I’m going to need a lot of support for that, and as long as I keep becoming the person that I am right now, I think I can get a lot of support towards my election,” said Booker T during the show.

The wrestling legend continued, “You go with your gut instinct, your intuition. I think that has to do with, as for me and the decisions I make, I think running for Mayor came for me in the middle of the night–in a vision. I said that this is something that I had to do, just a couple of nights ago when I was at a Boxing event. It came to me at this Boxing match that I have to run for Mayor of the city. I called my wife and I told her that I’m running for Mayor, and she started laughing. It was like the biggest laugh in the world.”

Check out the complete episode of Booker T’s “Heated Conversations” podcast at Play.it.

Wyatt Wants Daniel Bryan Match & Last Man Standing Showdown With AJ Styles

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WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt recently took some time to talk with the folks at Sky Sports to promote next weekend’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

During the interview, Wyatt was asked who, if anyone, deserves to be in this year’s WrestleMania main event.

On this subject, “The Eater of Worlds” had a very definite opinion.

“Who deserves to main event WrestleMania more than me? No one,” Wyatt said. “I am the same Wyatt on the inside that I always was – the fire and rage is still there – but I think the reset button has been pushed and everything is coming to fruition. I’ve had the win at Survivor Series and the Smackdown Tag Team Titles and the Rumble is the final piece. I am in my prime.”

Additionally, the longtime leader of The Wyatt Family spoke about who his “dream opponent” would be for a big WrestleMania main event.

Regarding this topic, Wyatt again had a very specific opinion.

“Daniel Bryan would be my match-up,” said Wyatt. “I could say a lot of names – The Undertaker, Jake “The Snake” Roberts”, Ric Flair in his prime – but I didn’t feel I was finished with Bryan. I felt it was taken from me and I will always feel that way. This year, though, I plan to beat AJ Styles – if he is still the champion – and it would be good if it was a Last Man Standing Match.”

Check out the complete Bray Wyatt interview at SkySports.com.

Rich Brennan Says Tom Phillips Made Life Tough For NXT Superstar

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Former WWE and NXT broadcast team member Rich Brennan recently appeared as a guest on the Intelligent Wrestling Conversation podcast for an interview. Below are some of the highlights.

On if he would have preferred to remain in NXT when called up to the main roster to work SmackDown: “I don’t necessarily know that I felt ready to jump in and do SmackDown. I think I would have preferred a little more time to kinda hone my craft a bit more at NXT. But when they give you the opportunity, what’re you going to do? Say no? So I went and I did it… I’m thankful, I’m grateful I got to do it. There’s very few people that can say they got to call SmackDown, and I’m one of them. It’s not lost on me how many people would kill for that opportunity.”

On the tweets Tom Phillips sent his wife following his WWE release: “You know that whole thing… I’ll address that real quick. That tweet was sent to her by somebody. And to be honest with you, that was more in reference to someone else at the Performance Center than it was to me, or than it was with me… you know, if you want to say giving people a hard time or making it difficult for somebody to get ahead. There was somebody else who was at the Performance Center who was basically handcuffed from doing anything that the announcers were supposed to do at the PC, because… you know what…? To hell with it. Tom [Phillips] made it difficult for a friend of mine who was there. Quite honestly, my friend Alex [Del Barrio] who was hired, who was there. Now, at that point, I wasn’t at the PC on a day-to-day basis but I know Alex and I know he works hard and I know he’s enthusiastic and into the product and whatever. But there were certain things… for instance, when I got to the PC that I was allowed to do and that I was told to do because that was part of the learning process that, now that this guy is there, my friend is there, and he’s supposed to be going through that whole process, except he’s being told, ‘No, you can’t do this, this, this, this and this.’ Then what is he supposed to do? So that had more to do with that than it did with me. But politics… that’s part of it. Do I blame Tom and some of the other people involved? They wanted their guy. I wanted my guy. He won, so there you go.”

Check out the complete episode of Intelligent Wrestling Conversation podcast featuring Rich Brennan via iTunes.

Chanel presents Metiers d’Art collection in Château de Chenonceau

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Chanel has revealed its Metiers d’Art 2020/2021 collection at the
Château de Chenonceau in France’s Loire Valley in what was a filmed
spectacle sans audience due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The cast, predominantly dressed in black, made their way down the
castle’s grand gallery with their black and white checkered sequin
miniskirts matching the pattern of the chateau’s expansive floors,
reminiscent of a life-size game of checkers.

Key looks included a long skirt in a fringed geometric tweed
patchwork worn with a black and white jacquard sweater; a jacket with a
wide lapel featuring floral embroidery inspired by Diane de Poitiers
and Catherine de’ Medici; a long coat in black velvet which opens to reveal
a suit-body in pale tweed; and a warm-hued tweed cape echoing the renowned
tapestries of the castle.

The French luxury label’s creative director Virginie Viard described the
location as an “obvious choice” for the show, which in previous years has
taken place further afield in cities like New York and Moscow.

“It was designed and lived in by women, including Diane de Poitiers and
Catherine de’ Medici. It is a castle on a human scale. And Catherine de’
Medici’s emblem was a monogram composed of two intertwined Cs, just like
that of Chanel,” said Viard, who took over the creative reins of the label
last year following the death of Karl Lagerfeld.

“We don’t know if Coco was directly inspired by her, but it is highly
likely because she so admired Renaissance women. Her taste for lace ruffs
and the aesthetic of certain pieces of her jewellery comes from there. Deep
down, this place is a part of Chanel’s history.”

Photo credit: Juergen Teller

WWE Legend Backstage At Last Night's House Show (Photos), WWE Ride Along

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– The latest edition of the WWE Network original series, Ride Along is scheduled to air on WWE’s digital subscription service following this coming Monday night’s episode of WWE RAW. The show is scheduled to feature James Ellsworth, Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater and Rhyno. The official description for the episode reads as follows:

“Rhyno and Heath Slater form a unique bond, while James Ellsworth looks to avoid Daniel Bryan’s cold, all in the Lone Star State of Texas.”

– UFC Hall Of Famer and reigning Bellator MMA fighter Tito Ortiz was among the celebrities in attendance at the WWE live event in Los Angeles, California on Friday evening. Below is a photo WWE released of “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” backstage at the show, as well as a photo of Ortiz with Titus O’Neil from the WWE Superstar’s official Twitter page.

You never know who will be backstage at #WWELA! @titusoneilwwe and #TheNewDay got to catch up with @titoortiz1999!

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Video: The Rock Responds To Tom Brady, Rips Into NFL Star In WWE-Style Promo

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In the spirit of promotion, NFL star Tom Brady and Hollywoodd big-shot Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently traded barbs in a pair of videos released by the pop culture mega-stars this week.

Featured above is the video that The Rock released in response to a video Brady published about him. In the video, which contains Brady’s initial clip within it, “The Great One” takes aim at the NFL star, ripping him apart for his acting in a WWE-style promo from the future pro wrestling hall of famer.