News

Some goodbyes are hard. Pat McAfee’s sudden hiatus from the WWE is one such moment for wrestling enthusiasts. From humble beginnings as an Nxt superstar to being a familiar voice for WWE fans on the commentary desk, Pat McAfee has had a long and fruitful journey in the company, until it proved just too much for him.

Relentless premium live events and continuous bookings took a toll on Pat McAfee. His last appearance on WWE programming was during the June 9th edition of Monday Night Raw. Since then, fans have been speculating whether he will return to the WWE in any capacity ever again.

Is Pat McAfee Done With WWE? Pat McAfee with Michael Cole at Monday Night Raw. (Image Credit: WWE)

During a conversation on his Wednesday Show, he accepted the fact that constant WWE events had exhausted him physically and mentally. Pat McAfee shared:

I could just feel it.

The Undertaker might be one of the greatest wrestlers to have ever graced the squared circle, but there are many things in WWE he hasn’t done yet, like being a Paul Heyman guy. At least that’s what fans thought till now.

In a recent interview, the Undertaker shared details about a phase of his life that very few people know about. Back when he was part of WCW, The Deadman had Paul Heyman as his manager for a short time. This surprised many WWE fans worldwide who were unaware that Heyman and The Undertaker had previously worked together when the Deadman’s ring name was ‘ Mean’ Mark Callous.

The Undertaker reveals that Paul Heyman once served as his manager The Undertaker during a WWE event | Credits- WWE

The Deadman has had an incredible WWE career, winning multiple championships and defeating all the top superstars in the company. Interestingly,...

Randy Orton is sadly bereft of an opponent at WrestleMania 41. WWE’s ‘Apex Predator’ was supposed to face Kevin Owens but an untimely neck injury to the latter has cut short all of creative’s plans. Orton and WWE are now back on the drawing board for a potential opponent, and the options look very slim.

Orton is one of the biggest stars WWE has on the current roster and if he doesn’t have a match at Mania, it will be a big tragedy. There are some fans who are very worried about his status at Mania and at Backlash.

John Cena could be Randy Orton’s opponent at Backlash (Credits: WWE)

The latter is supposed to be taking place in Orton’s hometown(St. Louis, Missouri). It will be a big fumble if ‘The Viper’ doesn’t appear in front of this crowd, but rest assured, he might...

John Cena is the biggest WWE star, and Vince McMahon had been for almost the past two decades. He was the face of the company and wrestled everywhere to prove it. He loved the sport and worked hard every time he was in the ring. The fans didn’t universally love him but yet they slowly started respecting him. His abilities(as a mic worker and as a wrestler) were underrated.

Yet, whenever the lights shine bright, Big Match John is never disappointed. He became the face when the company needed him the most. It all started at Wrestlemania 21. He faced the arrogant John Bradshaw Layfield, otherwise known as Jbl, for the WWE Championship. Cena won the match, sealing the deal for Vince McMahon.

John Cena with Vince McMahon and the Rock at a promotional event (Credit: WWE) John Cena dethroned Jbl and became the WWE champion at WrestleMania 21

This...

Vince McMahon has been famous as one of the foremost names in the world of entertainment wrestling for a long time. Rightfully so, as his contribution to making WWE the industry’s most successful franchise is irrefutable.

Vince McMahon on WWE TV/ Credit: WWE

However, there is another thing that Vince McMahon was notorious for. That is his habit of pranks. While it might seem like pranking the world’s strongest men now and again is nothing but in good faith to keep them in line, the truth was a little different from their side.

Especially as many said pranks felt like cruelty to the talents at the time they took place. What is interesting, though, is that such a prank went on to create one of the most legendary storylines in the history of WWE even if it came at a cost.

Vince McMahon’s prank on Mark Henry...

John Cena recently turned heel, betrayed Cody Rhodes, and labeled his fans as the reason behind him turning evil. This created a lot of hype around the upcoming WrestleMania event and everyone had something to say about the heel turn.

Recently a WWE legend shocked the entire combat sports community as he claimed that the heel turn fitted Cena perfectly because he is a ‘heel in real life.’

WWE legend reveals why the heel turn suited John Cena perfectly John Cena | credit- WWE

WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long explained on Sportskeeda Wrestlebinge’s The Wrestling Time Machine with Mac Davis, why he thinks that John Cena turning into a villain is a perfect fit.

“Oh, it was no big deal to me. John Cena’s now being John Cena. The best heel in the world is the guy that’s a heel in real life. And that’s, you know,...

Over the last five months or so, Sami Zayn has been the talk of the WWE Universe. He's not the biggest star in the ongoing Bloodline saga—that title belongs to Roman Reigns—but the faction's run has done more for The Honorary Uce than anyone else involved. There's an argument to be made for Solo Sikoa. After all, he was called up to the main roster to work with the group. Still, everyone seems to love what Zayn has managed to do since initially feeling tacked onto this storyline. WWE fans will remember the recent Trial of Sami Zayn as one of the best segments in Raw history, and Triple H has woven one of the top long-term storylines in recent memory.

Teddy Long joined in on praising Zayn for his recent work during the Raw is 30-anniversary show this week. Appearing on WrestleBinge, the WWE Hall of Famer spoke highly of the 38-year-old.

Welcome to this week’s Friday Night Smackdown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and Andre The Giant is here. Andre The Giant: I hate baby oil! I hate it! Me: Daniel Bryan is gone and… Atg: I hate baby oil! F—k that s—t! Me: Cesaro seems poised to be the contender to the Universal Title come WrestleMania Backlash… Atg: I hate baby oil! I hate that s—t! Me: I heard you! Atg: …hate that s—t! F—k baby oil! Me: Hey asshole! Guess what?! I f—king heard you! Atg: (chokes Nathan) I hate baby oil! I hate it! I hate that s—t! Me: SmackDown begins…Gaaaaaaaack!!!!!

Match #1: Cesaro def. Seth Rollins The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

By the power given to him by WWE Official Adam Pierce, Teddy Long revealed that if Cesaro beat The SmackDown Savior tonight,...

Welcome to this week’s Monday Night Raw review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and what do you call sex where a man pretends to put his penis in the vagina? …the Hokey Pokey. I’m here at the Bennington Public Library doing a live audio recording via the TalkTech for the revi… Librarian: Shish! Me: Excuse me? Librarian: Shish! Me: Do you mean “shush”? Librarian: Shish! Me: Shush? Librarian: Shish! Me: Shush! Librarian: Shish! Me: Shush! Librarian: Shish! Me: Shush! Librarian: Shish! Shish! Shish! Me: Shut the f— up! (neck breaking) Me: Oh s—! I…killed the librarian! Um…uh oh! Uh oh! Uh oh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Monday Night Raw starts…Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!! College Student: Shish! Me: You f—— b—-! (neck breaking)

Match #1: The New Day def. The Miz & John Morrison The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After The New Day staged a takeover of “Miz TV,...

Table For Three is back again, with a new episode on the WWE Network. I like this show but like I’ve said before, it’s not really long enough. This time we sit down with Jbl, Ron Simmons and Teddy Long, three guys who have a long friendship in wrestling.

We all know about the Simmons and Jbl history, with the two becoming The Acolytes and Apa back in the late 90s and 00s in WWE. A beer-drinking, brawling, ass-kicking tandem who were all about pounding-ass (remember that t-shirt?). Teddy Long would travel with the two of them between towns and a friendship blossomed between the three. You can see that here, with the three men all obviously comfortable around each other, joking about how cheap Long was during their time as touring WWE Superstars. We hear a lot about this, with Ron Simmons and John Layfield poking fun at the former SmackDown Gm.

Welcome to this week’s Major League Wrestling: Fusion review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have more exciting matches this week, like Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels and Lou Thesz versus Buddy Rogers an…those don’t seem right. Anyway, this will be a good show/Game Of Thrones pissed everybody off.

Match #1: Mance Warner & Sami Callihan defeated Hijo de La Park & Ricky Martinez The following is courtesy of mlw.com:

The war between Salina de la Renta & Promociones Dorado and Mance Warner & Sami Callihan is not over. Callihan and Warner won a battle in the ring on Fusion, then lost a battle backstage. Callihan was able to secure the pinfall in a hard-hitting, brutal matchup, when he nailed Martinez with a piledriver. But the four men battled into the backstage area. That’s where Salina and La Park were waiting. La Park joined...

Though Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Dave Bautista has been sounding the Independent Thought Alarm pretty often as of late and seemingly doesn’t care if he loses his gig at Marvel Studios, you’d think his alma mater, the WWE, would greet him with open arms whenever he has some free time, right? I mean, if that organization has been known for giving the royal treatment to even Z-list celebrities, then I see no reason why they should give the cold shoulder to one of their own who went on to star in bona fide blockbusters.

Well, as it turns out, the former World Heavyweight Champion may be sitting out the milestone 1000th episode of SmackDown that’s set to air on October 23rd – and originate from Bautista’s hometown of Washington, D.C., no less. It’s weird, sure, but confirmation actually came from social media of all places.

wwe.com

Today, Triple H is one of the biggest names in professional wrestling. It seems like ‘The Game’ – along with his wife Stephanie – is being groomed to take over WWE once Vince McMahon steps away from the helm. That’s a huge amount of responsibility, and it’s not something many wrestling fans would have attributed to a WWF mid carder in 1995.

Back then, the man was known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. WWE’s rewriting of history may like to tell people that Triple H was always over, but the fact is that he didn’t really hit the mark with fans for a good few years. Arguably, it wasn’t until he started teaming with Shawn Michaels as D-Generation X that Triple H started to get loud reactions from the watching audience.

Triple H features in this week’s article, one which aims to look at 10 different wrestling-related...

WWE developmental talent (and recent Tough Enough contestant) Patrick Clark has been slammed for no-showing an agreed date with Boston-based Millennium Wrestling Federation.

Co-founder Dan Mirade posted the above video to Mwf’s YouTube channel, criticising Clark for cutting of all contact regarding a pre-arranged appearance, and branding him a ‘total diva’ for his conduct throughout. He also disparages the youngster for ‘lucking into’ a reality show, rather than forging a more traditional path to WWE stardom.

According to Mirade, Clark agreed to appear at tonight’s ‘TV14 Fight Night’ as far back as August 31st, and even discussed transport with the promotion. He is then alleged to have ignored Mwf’s follow-up messages,

The promoter has also accused Patrick of lying to WWE officials, claiming that he never agreed to appear in the promotion, despite apparent video evidence to the contrary.

Mirade also cites various prominent figures who’ve previously performed in his promotion,...

WWE.com

The full content listing for the upcoming WWE DVD and Blu-ray set on the life and death of Owen Hart has been revealed, courtesy of the Wrestling DVD Network. The list includes all chapter titles for the documentary feature on disc one, as well as all extras, including the full list of matches selected for the package.

Bret Hart recently commented on the documentary portion of the set, sounding very pessimistic about the chances that the documentary will do a good job telling the full story of his brother’s life. Bret believes that WWE is having to walk on egg shells to cater to Owen’s widow, Martha, who is not supporting the DVD release.

Bret told the Fight Network:

“I’m looking forward to it but I’m not really optimistic that it’s going to be a great job. Martha handcuffed them so much. I...

WWE.com

For years, President Jack Tunney ruled over WWE storylines with an iron fist, not always making decisions that were met with open arms by fans, but decisions that were made in the best interest of the promotion. When Gorilla Monsoon replaced Tunney, he became the first real authority figure to experience increased television exposure. He stood up in the face of defiant villains such as Jim Cornette and Vader and even found himself on the receiving end of a vicious assault at the hands of the massive Coloradan.

It was not until Roddy Piper was named interim president and waged war with Goldust at WrestleMania 12 that the authority figure became an integral part of WWE television. Sgt. Slaughter followed suit, becoming commissioner in the summer of 1997 and engaging a relatively young Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a war that quickly became personal. Their Boot Camp match at the December pay-per-view,...

WWE.com

The machine that is Word Wrestling Entertainment never stops moving. It is a brutal business that waits for no superstar or Diva. As Stone Cold Steve Austin famously put it, one cog in the machine gets used up, and another is put in its place.

This ruthless streak has been shown in the past year with a number of high profile releases. WWE released 11 employees in June including Brodus Clay, Theodore Long the former 3Mb member and ‘chosen one’ Drew McIntyre, showing no one is ever safe in the company.

Last week, The Great Khali’s bio appeared in the Alumni section of WWE’s website, seemingly bringing an eight year stint with the company to a close.

2015 looks to be another transitional year for WWE as a number of Nxt superstars look to make their mark. WWE’s proving ground has made huge progress during 2014, narrowing the...

WWE.com

After our previous trip down memory lane spent looking at various WWE and Ecw gimmicks that could and should have had worlds of potential, but were given to the wrong person, for one reason or another… this one will be hopping the fence to the other side of the Monday Night War, and looking at WCW.

Maybe the person just wasn’t a very good wrestler, unable to keep the gimmick prospering in the ring. Maybe they simply had a run of bad luck, and things never quite fell into place. Maybe they just had injuries help to take fate out of their hands. Whatever it is, they simply were not able to hold up their end of the bargain after being given something special by writers.

WCW has certainly had their fair share of moments and decisions, bad and good, and this will be looking at both sides of that.

WWE.com

It’s been another newsworthy week in WWE because we found out that Daniel Bryan won’t be cleared to wrestle this month, so he’s been stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It was also a week of bad news for 11 employees that were released on Thursday. It seems like there’s always something going on in WWE even if it is a quiet time in the schedule.

The Bryan news is a shame, but there’s nothing else WWE could have done about it. He had surgery a month ago, they tried to wait it out to see when he could recover and they’re not sure about when he can come back now. They had to strip him. His absence means the WWE Title is vacant just like it was last September and it’s going to be up for grabs in a Money...

WWE.com

The WWE locker room and insiders are starting to react to the shocking WWE talent cull which took place on what is being termed ‘Black Thursday’.

In all 11 people got released from their WWE contract – Jtg, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Teddy Long, Camacho, Brodus Clay, Evan Bourne, Yoshi Tatsu and referee Marc Harris.

PWinsider has revealed details behind several of these releases. Regarding the Tatsu exit it is being said that there was an internal feeling for some time that the Japanese star had regressed in the ring.

As far as Brodus Clay goes, he had reportedly “fell out of favour” with the creative team. Clay had always put his best foot forward with his ‘Funkasaurous’ work, but clearly from media interviews he felt he should have been pushed more as a serious monster. He has previously noted that Mark Henry’s ‘Hall of Pain...

lolwrestling.com

You can add Jtg to the list of superstars officially released by the WWE today.

The former member of Cryme Tyme had been with the WWE for the best part of eight years but the countdown clock has finally stopped ticking. This website, setup in jest because no matter how worthless Jtg had proven to be with the company and how little he was ever used (some modern fans may not even know who he is), counted his miraculous stay with the company and had been up-and-running for a few years now, but it crashed just moments after his release was made public.

The superstar tweeted about his release;

Damn ! Why I pick up my phone !

— Jtg (@Jtg1284) June 12, 2014

Vince McMahon and his officials undertook their “Spring Cleaning” by relieving 11 names from their contracts today. It’s unknown whether any more are due.

Here is the updated list...

WWE.com

WWE.com have revealed that no less than Nine significant talent have today been released and no longer work for the company.

Those names;

Theodore Long, Evan Bourne, Drew McIntyre, Brodus Clay, Curt Hawkins, Yoshi Tatsu, Aksana, Jinder Mahal and Camacho.

When WWE did their original post today there were only five names on it. They then added four more to it twenty minutes later and it now appears that they have settled on nine names plus a referee. Unless more names are to be announced, that’s the end of a massive day of talent cutting that we haven’t seen the WWE inact on in a while.

Here’s more details of those superstars cut.

9. Teddy Long

WWE.com

Teddy Long is 66 years old and spent most of his time as the Gm of Smackdown where he was known for making a lot of tag matches.

WWE.com

Like many sports around the world, professional wrestling is an industry where performers from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds compete as (perceived) equals, vying against each other in a series of contests to capture championships, win matches and gain in-ring glory. While wrestling is escapism from the real world and should never be confused for anything else, often a bit of the real world creeps in. Race and racism often find their way into storylines, sometimes in an innocuous way, sometimes drawing fans’ focus away from what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called “the content of their character.”

Go back 20-plus years and it’s easy to find examples of racism littered throughout WWE, whether it’s Jesse Ventura calling Tito Santana “Chico” and his forearm the “flying burrito,” or Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco using terms like “yard ape,” “Puerto Rican hubcap thief” or honky.

WWE.com

The General Manager role is something that has been a part of WWE television since the brand extension started in 2002. There’s been GMs of Raw and Smackdown since that time as well as Ecw when it was around. Even Jbl is the Gm of Nxt these days although they really don’t have him do a lot.

This past week on Raw, the Gm Brad Maddox was fired. He was barely on television as the Gm, so it makes sense why he was fired. With Stephanie McMahon and Triple H assuming major roles on TV as heel authority figures there really isn’t a need for any Gm on Raw. Whether they will name somebody new for the job or not is something that is completely up in the air at this point.

With Maddox removed from the job, it’s time to reflect on the other GMs in WWE history.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_Cesaro_2013_A.jpg

Since his entry into the world of the WWE in 2012 (2011 in Fcw), Cesaro has shown that not only can he has a good match with anyone, no matter the size, but he can get the best match out of almost anyone. His acts of strength have put us in awe. The first time he Neutralized Brodus Clay, my jaw almost hit the floor. The way he can put any superstar in the Cesaro Swing is amazing and the fans love to see spectacles of the such.

However, since joining the main roster, he has had to endure some pretty bad booking and terrible gimmicks. He started as a ultra-euro rugby player/boyfriend of Aksana and was there just to torment Teddy Long. I will now say a word in five languages to tell you if this was a good idea: French,...

The overriding thought I had when watching WWE Raw this week was “Wow, this is exactly the same show I was watching 10 years ago… but nowhere near as good”.

Formulaic programming is a curse of the television industry in general. Take a look at some of the biggest commercial successes such as American Idol or The Apprentice. They do the same spots over and over again. WWE Raw is no different. The content is excruciatingly similar to the same creative concepts WWE has used for over two decades in some cases. The big problem is this – Raw is a three hour show. I could perhaps handle the regurgitation of creativity in a two hour show, but over three hours it is a draining process.

It is difficult to fully state it as a bad thing all this repetition. After all, Vince McMahon just needs to pull his accountant out to show that it works.

Last week, I was very critical in the way Daniel Bryan was just chosen by John Cena for the SummerSlam main event. I felt it was more pandering to the audience. It didn’t feel like Daniel Bryan was seen on the same level of the WWE champion. It was more of a charity case. That was all rectified this week, deep in the heart of Texas from Austin.

The show begins with a drum roll again. (I guess that’s Brad Maddox theme song?)

We have the customary contract signing with the Raw Gm and the two competitors. I like this for two reasons. I like this because there was no violence and they solidified why Daniel Bryan deserved the shot in the eyes of both John Cena and Daniel Bryan. I even like the effect of Brad Maddox showing doubts of the bearded wonder thanks to the influence of the higher power.

The close of this week’s Raw was an apt send-off into the oxymoronic PG-13 Extreme Rules, giving us something we don’t see every week, if ever: Triple H and Brock Lesnar engaging in fisticuffs. It almost didn’t happen; Lesnar was set to strut out of the arena until Hunter, inside of a steel cage, referred to him as “Brock Lesnar… the Bitch”. Up until that point, I was still admiring the fact that Lesnar shows up to collect a paycheque each week for simply standing there while Heyman speaks on his behalf. He’s truly living the American Dream.

Heyman divulged to Triple H that he and his client “enjoy the perverse pleasures in life”. I know, Heyman. I saw the pictures you posted to your Twitter account before this current WWE run, and they sure as hell weren’t PG-13. Heyman’s final taunt was to...

As wrestling fans, it is our due diligence to always complain about wanting to go back to the Attitude Era. It was a great time to be fan. Wrestling was the most popular it had been since the 1980s. Wrestling was also considered cool at that point in time. You weren’t made fun of for being a wrestling fan. Today people look at you with blank stares when you say you’re a wrestling fan. During the Attitude Era, you could almost say it was uncool to Not be a wrestling fan. Wresting was very racy, raunchy, violent and full of foul language. How could you not love Stone Cold flipping off his boss and drinking beer, and The Rock coming up with a new catch phrase to insult someone every week? It was definitely a fun time.

But that was 1999. It is now 2013. Wrestling isn’t as mainstream.

After a poor episode of Monday Night Raw, now is the time to question WWE’s longest running storyline, Vince McMahon as the owner. Now strictly speaking, Vince McMahon is the real owner of the WWE, but storyline wise Donald Trump, Ric Flair and Triple H have all ran the WWE at some point.

With Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox in charge of Raw and Booker-t and Teddy Long in charge of Smackdown, the WWE is looking a tad bland, something which was very obvious on this week’s edition of Raw.

Whilst everyone has their own opinion on the runnings of the WWE, a change at the top certainly wouldn’t hurt the company. I’m not saying Vince McMahon should actually step down as the owner of the company, but storyline wise to change the owner would change the whole balance of the WWE.

There are two potential new owners of the WWE,...

If there’s one message to take away from this week’s Monday Night Raw from Greenville, South Carolina it would be expect the unexpected. From quick upset wins over champions to out of nowhere attacks on certain superstars, it seemed like WWE was really trying to get people talking. But did it work? Let’s talk about it.

The show began with a handicap match featuring Sheamus and Randy Orton getting revenge once again on The Big Show. This time Randy and Sheamus are able to use their teamwork to easily dispatch the giant superstar with a Brogue Kick/Rko Combo clean for the win. After this, I wasn’t sure what was left in this feud since they just got the victory. Well, my questions were answered later on in the night as with a second attack on Sheamus Mark Henry has now been added to the mix...

Last night’s Raw was a bizarre one. From the strange opening segment to the Fifty Shades of Grey-eque contract signing, last night’s episode felt all over the place. Thankfully, some very solid wrestling took place to make up for the weirdness throughout. The WWE also put on a great mid-card title match that I cannot wait to talk about. They also did more of the same that I have been complaining about since this columns inception. Here we go, another week, another Raw review!

Opening Segment

Whenever I hear John Cena’s “Shbabbadooo” entrance start at the beginning of Raw, I immediately try to fast forward live TV. John Cena opening a show is the worst. You know it’s going to take way too long to get going and you run the risk of hearing either Preacher Cena (I Do It For These People Every Night!

Last night’s WWE Super SmackDown results live from Pittsburgh. Josh Matthews, Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield are on commentary.

The show opens with MizTV and his guests Dolph Ziggler and Aj Lee. They come out together with Big E Langston. They stop and kiss before heading to the ring.

Miz asks why Aj screwed John Cena and she asks why did Cena play with her heart. She thought their kiss was the start of something beautiful together but she was wrong. She says Cena was just messing with her heart and emotions. The crowd chants “Aj’s crazy” and she gets upset. Aj says Cena wanted to keep her hidden away like his dirty little secret. Aj says in the end he was no different to Cm Punk and Daniel Bryan, others who broke her heart. Miz asks Ziggler if he’s aboard the crazy train and Langston steps in between them.

Last night’s WWE Raw results from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler are on commentary.

1) WWE Tag Team Champions Kane & Daniel Bryan defeated The Prime Time Players in a non-title match when Bryan reversed a pinfall on Darren Young.

After the bell, Darren Ambrose and Roman Reigns attack Kane on the floor and when Daniel Bryan attempts to make the save, Rollins enters the ring and stops him. The beat down continues as the fans chant for Ryback as The Shield lay out Bryan with the three-man power bomb and leave the ring through the crowd.

2) Aj Lee defeated Tamina Snuka when she rolls her-up out of nowhere for the win.

WWE Champion Cm Punk comes out to the ring with Paul Heyman. Heyman has a copy of the new WWE Encyclopedia and they complain that there isn’t enough content about the WWE Champion included.

Last night’s WWE Raw Results from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

The show opens with a tribute video for Veteran’s Day with John Cena narrating. A preview video for tonight’s show is played hyping Jerry Lawler’s return, the John Cena/Aj Lee affair evidence from Vickie Guerrero, Brad Maddox controversy and more.

Michael Cole and Jim Ross are on commentary at this stage.

1) Randy Orton defeated Dolph Ziggler with a roll-up.

After the match, Ricardo, Ziggler and Del Rio beat Orton down before Kofi Kingston runs in and clears the ring. Teddy Long comes out and says Vickie Guerrero is way too obsessed with Aj Lee and makes a tag match that will take place right now…

2) Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler defeated Randy Orton & Kofi Kingston when Del Rio kicks Kofi in the head when Ricardo had him distracted.

Vickie Guerrero is in the ring with Dolph Ziggler.

Last night’s WWE Smackdown spoilers from the tapings in Providence, Rhode Island. This show will air on Friday night on SyFy (Us) and on Sky Sports (UK).

Dark Match;

Johnny Curtis defeated Sami Callihan

Smackdown results;

Randy Orton opens the show cutting a promo on Alberto Del Rio, who then comes out to the ring and they argue. Wade Barrett then attacks Orton from behind and escapes. Teddy Long announces that it will be Wade Barrett vs Randy Orton for tonight.

1) Kane defeated Cody Rhodes. Damien Sandow and Daniel Bryan were on commentary.

Big Show and Booker T had a backstage segment.

2) The Miz defeated Yoshi Tatsu

Booker T gathered together Eve Torres, Layla, Aksana and Kaitlyn backstage. Aksana says Eve made her attack Kaitlyn. Teddy comes in and has his say. Booker announces that at Hell in a Cell it will be Eve vs Layla vs Kaitlyn. For later tonight,...

Last night’s WWE SmackDown spoilers from the tapings in Memphis, Tennessee. The show will air Friday night on SyFy (Us) and on Sky Sports (UK).

Dark Match:

Johnny Curtis defeated indie wrestler Drew Haskins.

Appearing between tapings for Saturday Morning Slam and Smackdown, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler spoke to fans in his hometown of Memphis, in what was his first official live appearance since his heart attack a month ago. He said he hopes to return in the broadcast position within the next few weeks.

SmackDown results;

The Miz kicks off the show with another MizTV segment. He is upset about losing his Intercontinental Title to Kofi Kingston on WWE Main Event. He demands he gets his rematch at WWE Hell in a Cell. On his segment he is joined by WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan. The Miz predicts that the team...

Last night’s WWE SmackDown spoilers from Tuesday’s tapings in San Jose, California. The following will air on Friday night on SyFy (Us) and on Sky Sports (UK).

John Bradshaw Layfield and Josh Matthews are on commentary. No Michael Cole tonight.

The show opens with a Brogue Kick vs Wmd challenge between Big Show and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. There is a punching bag setup on stage and whoever hits it the hardest will win. Show wins and then Tensai comes out and attacks Sheamus from behind and a match is announced, next…

1) World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus defeated Tensai with the White Noise and a Brogue Kick in a quick match.

2) Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal (with Drew McIntyre) defeated Santino Marella and Zack Ryder.

3) Kane defeated Dolph Ziggler by Dq when Ziggler used his Money in the Bank briefcase. After the match they brawled and out came Daniel Bryan...

Last night’s WWE SmackDown spoilers from the tapings in Buffalo, New York. The show will air on Friday night on SyFy (Us) and on Sky Sports (UK).

Dark Match:

Johnny Curtis defeated Michael McGillicutty with a top rope leg drop.

SmackDown results;

Big Show kicked off the show wanting a World Heavyweight Title shot. Randy Orton comes out and hypes their match up tonight. Ricardo Rodriguez and Alberto Del Rio are out next and they say Del Rio is the one who deserves the next shot. Orton hits the Rko on Del Rio and facing off with Show.

1) WWE United States Champion Santino Marella defeated Antonio Cesaro to retain the title.

2) Beth Phoenix defeated Natayla

After the match, Eve Torres came out and announced that Beth Phoenix is suspended following the Kaitlyn attack from Night of Champions. She is suspended pending the full investigation of that night. Booker T...

Last night’s WWE Night of Champions 2012 results…

Pre-Match;

Zack Ryder wins the pre-show Battle Royal to become the new #1 Contender to the WWE United States Title. Also in the match were Brodus Clay, Primo, Epico, Justin Gabriel, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Michael McGillicutty, Darren Young, Titus O’Neil, Jinder Mahal, Jtg, Drew McIntyre, Ted Dibiase, Heath Slater, Santino Marella. Tensai was the last defeated.

As the PPV begins, Michael Cole talks about the Jerry Lawler incident from last week’s Raw and updates the WWE Universe on his condition. Cole says Lawler thanks the fans for their support and notes that Lawler will be returning home tomorrow. Former WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield comes out to join Cole on commentary for tonight.

1) WWE Intercontinental Fatal 4 Way Title Match: The Miz defeats Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes and The Miz. Finish came when Rhodes went for the Cross Rhodes on Cara but...

Last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings results from Bakersfield, California. The show will air Friday night on SyFy (Us) and on Sky Sports (UK).

Michael Cole and Teddy Long is on the commentary. Long replaces Josh Matthews who is out this week. It is indeed the state of the WWE commentary position that they didn’t trust anyone else with the job.

Randy Orton opens the show to talk about what happened on Raw. He says he wants a World Heavyweight Title shot and issues a challenge to anyone who has a problem with that. Sheamus comes out to a big pop and agrees with Orton. Then comes Alberto Del Rio, who also wants a title shot. General Manager of SmackDown Booker T then appears and orders Orton vs Del Rio for tonight with the winner facing Sheamus.

1) Ryback defeated Jinder Mahal. Ryback also cut a promo on Mahal before the match started.

Last night’s WWE SmackDown spoilers from last night’s tapings in Houston, Texas. The show will air on Friday on SyFy (Us) and Sky Sports (UK).

Dark Match

Wade Barrett returned to defeat Zack Ryder

SmackDown results;

General Manager Booker T opens the show with a huge big hometown pop. He talks about the incident on Monday’s Raw when Sheamus took Alberto Del Rio’s Ferrari for a ride. Booker thinks Sheamus should come out and apologise, which he does. Then Del Rio comes out and threatens he will get the police involved for Sheamus taking the car. Del Rio is upset with Booker T for not punishing Sheamus… the result is Booker granting Del Rio a World Heavyweight Title shot for tonight’s main event.

1) Sin Cara defeated Cody Rhodes in a fairly short match. Rhodes kept trying unsuccessfully to remove Cara’s mask.

2) Christian defeated Antonio Cesaro with a spear.

WWE Elimination Chamber is now available on Blu-ray & DVD from Silver Vision and we’ve got three copies of the Blu-ray to give away to our readers!

February’s pay-per-view extravaganza was the last major event before WrestleMania 28 and was headlined by two Elimination Chamber contests and an “Ambulance Match” between John Cena and Kane.

For your chance to win a copy of the Blu-ray, first like us on Facebook… Already a fan? You can skip this part.

… and then email contest@whatculture.com with the e-mail header WWE Elimination Chamber. Make sure you leave your full name and address and that you are over the age of 15.

Here’s the full matches on the card…

Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship

Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Cm Punk vs. The Miz vs. R-Truth

Santino Marella prepares for the Elimination Chamber

John Cena’s “Hard Knocks...

Last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings spoilers from Indianapolis, Indiana. The show will air on Friday night on Syfy (Us) and Sky Sports (UK).

The show kicks off with Vince McMahon making his way to the ring to a huge pop. He talks about the new General Manager of SmackDown and reveals it to be… Booker T. This gets a good reaction from the crowd.

Alberto Del Rio interrupts and comes to the ring which also brings out World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. Booker has Sheamus and Del Rio booked in separate matches tonight and Del Rio protests and says he announced on Raw that he isn’t wrestling until SummerSlam. Booker says he is in charge and he has booked Del Rio vs Randy Orton for tonight.

He has also booked Sheamus vs Tensai and that match is up next;

1) World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus defeated Tensai in a non-title match.

The last WWE Pay-Per-View before Wrestlemania 28, the 2012 Elimination Chamber unsurprisingly feels like a rush job – an afterthought by the company whose attention was firmly focused on their biggest event of the year.

Thankfully though, the Elimination Chamber matches, one for the WWE Championship, the other for the World Heavyweight Championship didn’t disappoint and managed to keep a sell-out crowd at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on their feet. Shame the other matches struggled to compete.

First Match:

Raw Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship

Cm Punk defeated Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, The Mix and Chris Jericho to defend his WWE Championship

Coming into this match-up first, the odds were stacked against Cm Punk. And with Jericho, Punk’s biggest rival at the time, and a veteran of the Elimination Chamber, winning the right to enter last, the chances of him retaining his title looked slim.

Kingston...

Last night’s live WWE Super SmackDown results from the Great American Bash event!

The show opens with a cookout involving Primo, Epico, The Usos, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Yoshi Tatsu, Hunico, Camacho, Hornswoggle, Rosa Mendes, Kaitlyn, Tamina and others. Teddy Long walks in and welcomes everyone to the Great American Bash.

Eve Torress is dressed in a name tag and says she has volunteered to clean up the party. Teddy Long introduces the United States Champion Santino Marella. He goes to light the grill when Kane appears and sets fire to the grill and everyone starts to dance. Yikes!

SmackDown opening video kicks off the show.

Josh Matthews, Michael Cole and Booker T are on commentary as we go to the ring with Ricardo Rodriguez introducing Alberto Del Rio.

A video package plays of his beat down on Sin Cara on Raw. He says he isn’t here to celebrate...

Last night’s WWE Raw SuperShow from Laredo, Texas. Michael Cole hypes that this is episode 997 of Raw and that tonight Teddy Long is the temporary General Manager and has set the main event as Cm Punk & John Cena vs Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho.

The Money in the Bank briefcase hangs above the ring as John Cena’s music hits.

He comes out to talk about last week. He thanked Chris Jericho and thanked Big Show. Jericho was right that Cena needed to prepare for Money in the Bank and that anything can happen in that match environment. Cena says Big Show gave him a crash course in education when he attacked him last week. Cena says he understands now what will happen at Money in the Bank. He says two things will happen – Big Show will lose and Cena will grab the contract, cash it in and become the next WWE Champion.

Tonight’s WWE Raw SuperShow comes from Laredo, Texas and the big storyline being hyped is Brock Lesnar’s answer to Triple H’s challenge for a match at WWE SummerSlam 2012. Brock won’t be on tonight’s show, instead it will likely be a pre-recorded message from Lesnar and/or his legal advisor Paul Heyman. Lesnar, who has a limited dates contract with the WWE, will return at the 1,o00th Raw episode and not before. Triple H is also not advertised for an appearance tonight.

Teddy Long is this week’s temporary manager of Raw and SmackDown, leading into the appointment of a full time replacement for John Laurinaitis on the 1,000th Raw. As Long is a face character, we can expect some fair contests tonight and probably another Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler match to determine the number 1 contendership to Sheamus’ World Title at WWE No Way Out.

WWE SmackDown spoilers from last night’s tapings in Evansville, Indiana. The show will air on Friday night on SyFy (Us) and on Sky Sports (UK).

Dark Match;

Brodus Clay defeated Drew McIntyre

SmackDown results;

WWE Divas Champion Layla defeated Aj Lee to retain her title. During the match, Daniel Bryan came out chanting “Yes, Yes, Yes!” and it distracted Aj, which allowed Layla to get the win.

Bryan then called out SmackDown General Manager for the night Vickie Guerrero and demanded Aj was banned from ringside for his WWE Title match against Cm Punk at Money in the Bank. Vickie agreed that she wouldn’t be at ringside but instead she will be the special guest referee.

Vickie announces that the SmackDown Money in the Bank match at the pay-per-view will have qualifying matches. They will begin tonight and next week. First one is up next…

1) Damien Sandow defeated...

It was announced at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings that Vickie Guerrero will be the Interim General Manager of Raw and SmackDown next week. For reasons unexplained, The Great Khali will be her assistant.

On this week’s Raw it was announced that until the WWE Board of Directors appoint new General Managers of both shows (which we imagine will probably happen at the 1,000th celebrations next month) there will be temporary hosts of the show each week, all of which will be former General Managers and Commissioners of Raw & SmackDown.

Mick Foley was the first guest host of the show this week and we now know Vickie Guerrero will be next week’s.

For future names that could serve as Interim Gm’s we are likely to see Teddy Long, William Regal, Paul Heyman, Vince McMahon (this one seems certain given his ability to boost ratings), Stephanie McMahon, Shawn Michaels,...