BRM Books Raw 1,000 and beyond

[Big Red Machine]

WWE.com announces that both Ziggler and Sheamus won’t be on tonight’s Raw as they are recovering from the crazy bump they took last night at WrestleWar. Adrian Neville will be on Raw, but won’t be wrestling because of his injured ribs. Justin Gabriel’s ribs are also banged up, but not enough to keep him out of action. He faces Cesaro.
Tonight’s main event sees two teams of men who were enemies last night now have to work together as Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose team up to face Roman Reigns & Jack Swagger.

Raw: (12/15/2014) Chicago, IL

The announcers inform us that John Cena will not be here tonight because he is recovering from last night’s No Disqualifications match against Brock Lesnar. Cena will address the WWE Universe on Smackdown.

The show opens with The Miz coming out and announcing that it is Royal Rumble season, so he is entering himself in the Royal Rumble. Steph comes out and tells him that he will have to earn his way in. There will be a bunch of qualifying matches over the next few weeks, in addition to a few spots that WWE management has set aside for some surprises they have in mind. But, because Miz seems so anxious to get into the Royal Rumble, Steph will let him compete in the very first qualifying match, which will take place this Friday night on Smackdown, and Miz will face RANDY ORTON!

THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. THE USOS-
Usos win clean in ten minutes.

AJ announces that she’ll be taking some time off. JBL declares that AJ is a sore loser and a quitter, that Daniel Bryan is one as well (because he hasn’t returned since losing the WWE Title to Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series), and that he wishes the two quitters a very happy life together.

Randy Orton cuts a promo saying that he will dominate the WWE and become World Heavyweight Champion once again, and the first step to doing that is winning the Royal Rumble!


LUKE HARPER & RYBACK vs. THE COLONS (w/Rosa Mendes)-
Harper and Ryback dominate early on, but soon get angry at each other and get into a shoving match, allowing the Colons to hit some sort of double-team and pin Luke Harper.

BRODUS CLAY vs. BIG SHOW (w/Kofi Kingston)-
Big Show wins clean in ten minutes when he pins Brodus after hitting him with the WMD.



R-TRUTH vs. KALISTO-
Truth wins clean in eight minutes. He then cuts a promo pointing out that he has been on a winning streak recently, including a win over US Champion Dean Ambrose (which Cole is quick to point out is by DQ, but JBL tells him that it doesn’t matter. It’s still a win). Truth says that he deserves a shot at the US Title.

MARK HENRY (w/Big E. Langston) vs. CHRISTIAN (w/Paige)-
Mark wins clean in ten minutes with the World’s Strongest Slam.

ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman) vs. JUSTIN GABRIEL (w/Adrian Neville)-
Cesaro works over Gabriel’s injured ribs and eventually wins clean in twelve minutes after hitting the Gotch-style Neutralizer. After the match, Paul Heyman cuts a big promo putting over his entire stable. He tells us that Dolph will be back in action as soon as he is cleared, while Brock will be back in action the next time he has to defend the WWE Title and no sooner, because that’s what Brock wants and who is going to stop him?

TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya Neidhart) vs. KOFI KINGSTON (w/Big Show)-
They have an intense, back-and-forth match that ends in a double count-out after Kofi hits a big dive and neither man can recover in time. Both guys shake hands afterwards. Total time should be about fifteen minutes.

Cody Rhodes cuts a promo bragging about defeating Tyson Kidd at last night’s WrestleWar PPV

JACK SWAGGER & ROMAN REIGNS vs. DEAN AMBROSE & SETH ROLLINS-
Swagger and Reigns are able to work well together. Rollins and Ambrose work together well, too, but Seth often has to calm Dean down and stop him from grabbing weapons. Seth does seem to be getting through to Dean though, and Dean manages to keep his cool and eventually rolls Jack Swagger up for the win in twenty-five minutes.

[Big Red Machine]

Main Event: (12/17/2014)
THE MIZ vs. BIG E. LANGSTON (w/Mark Henry)-
Miz rolls Big E. up and pins him with his feet on the ropes for illegal leverage. Miz then cuts a promo saying that he will beat Randy Orton in his qualifying match on Smackdown, win the Royal Rumble, and go on to become world champion in the main event of WrestleMania XXXI.

Renee Young interviews Kofi Kingston about his match last night with Tyson Kidd. Kofi puts Tyson over as a great competitor and says he hopes they’ll have a chance to have a rematch and find out who is the better man.

NIKKI BELLA & EMMA vs. ALICIA FOX & SUMMER RAE-
Babyfaces win clean in ten minutes when Emma pins Fox.

DEAN AMBROSE vs. A JOBBER-
Dean immediately grabs a chair and destroys the jobber. He then grabs a mic and says that R-Truth needs to be careful what he wishes for: if he wants to face the Hardcore Monster for the US Title, he’s got it! Seth Rollins comes out to try to calm him down, but Dean shoves him away and says “I Don’t need you.”

ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman) vs. CHRISTIAN (w/Paige)-
Cesaro wins clean



WWE.com reports that Dean Ambrose vs. R-Truth for the US Title has been signed for tonight’s Superstars!

Superstars: (12/18/2014)

WWE UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH: Dean Ambrose(c) vs. R-Truth-
Dean gets frustrated early on and hits Truth with a chair for the DQ. The ref tries to stop him, but Dean shoves the ref down. This brief distraction allows Truth to escape further punishment. Seth Rollins comes out and manages to wrestle the chair away from Dean.

BRODUS CLAY SQUASHES A JOBBER-

Renee Young interviews Tyson Kidd about his match with Kofi on Raw, and Kofi’s kind words about him in an interview last night on Main Event. Tyson says equally nice things about Kofi. He respects him, thinks he’s a great athlete, and would love to be able to find out which of them is the better man.

RYBACK vs. HEATH SLATER-
Ryback squashes Slater

LUKE HARPER vs. CHRISTIAN (w/Paige)-
Harper wins clean in twenty minutes.





WWE.com reports that Adrian Neville has been medically cleared to return to action.

The hype for Smackdown revolves around John Cena’s address to the WWE Universe after losing to Brock Lesnar at WrestleWar, the Orton vs. Miz Royal Rumble Qualifier, and a big announcement from Steph that will kick off the show.


Smackdown: (12/19/2014)- Cleveland, OH
Steph comes out to open the show as the announcers wonder what her big announcement could be. She announces the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show on January 12th, 2015. One of the big matches on that show will be the finals of the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament, which will be an eight-team single-elimination tournament starting on next week’s Raw, and the winner of the tournament will get a shot at the WWE World Tag Team Titles on Smackdown’s big return to Thursday nights on January 15th.
Paul Heyman comes out and says he is out here to correct an injustice. He says that Ziggler and Cesaro were about to win the #1 contendership match on last week’s Raw, but Sheamus screwed them out of the match and cost them a shot at the tag titles. Now that Adrian Neville has been cleared to return to action, Paul is demanding that Neville and his partner, Justin Gabriel- who Heyman makes sure to remind us lost to Cesaro in singles action on Raw this week- defend the WWE World Tag Team Titles against his Paul Heyman Guys here in Cleveland, before any other team is allowed to have a title shot.
Heyman starts to milk the crowd, asking them if they want to see their hometown hero Dolph Ziggler win the WWE World Tag Team Titles tonight.
Steph counters by pointing out that in the #1 contendership match Heyman claims his guys were screwed out of, Heyman actually screwed Mark and Big E. out of a win by distracting the ref before Sheamus ever got involved… but, because Heyman did her a favor by having Cesaro wrestle Ryback at WrestleWar, and because she wants to give the fans in Cleveland a great show, she will make the match official if Heyman wants it… but if Heyman accepts the match, Ziggler and Cesaro will not be allowed to enter the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament. Heyman accepts the terms of the deal, and the match is booked as tonight’s main event.

KALISTO vs. ROMAN REIGNS-
Roman wins clean in nine minutes when he spears the sh*t out of Kalisto (who should be able to awe an awesome bump for it) and then gets the pin.

Mark Henry & Big E. Langston cut a promo saying that they want to win the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament so they can get a shot at the tag titles.

BIG SHOW & KOFI KINGSTON vs. BRODUS CLAY & RYBACK-
Just like on Raw, the former Bray Wyatt followers don’t get along with each other (or the referee), both running in to be the legal man. They shout at each other and eventually have a shoving match which allows Kofi, the babyface in peril, to escape their clutches and tag in Big Show, who nails Ryback with a WMD and pins him.
Byron Saxton gets a reaction interview from Kofi and Big Show. They are both happy about their win. Big Show expresses his disappointment that they won’t be able to team together in the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament because Big Show is ineligible to get any title shots until the Royal Rumble.
Kofi tells to look on the bright side: He will be able to enter the Royal Rumble and earn a word title match in the main event of WrestleMania. He points out that Big Show’s 27 eliminations are among the most of all-time, and that Big Show won the last Rumble he was in back in 2013. This seems to cheer Big Show up a bit, and he encourages Kofi to go for the tag titles without him. Kofi says that he already knows exactly who he is going to ask to be his partner.

John Cena comes out to address the WWE Universe. He is disappointed that he couldn’t get the job done against Brock Lesnar, but he vows that the next time, he will not fail. Paul Heyman comes out and points out how many times Brock has beaten Cena at this point, and tells Cena that the only way he’ll ever get another shot at Brock Lesnar’s WWE Title is if he wins the Royal Rumble.

PAIGE (w/Christian) vs. ROSA MENDES (w/the Colons)-
Before the match, Rosa cuts a promo saying that the Colons will win the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament, just like she will win her match tonight. Unfortunately for Rosa, Paige makes her tap out clean in three minutes with the Stretch Muffler.
Renee Young tries to get a reaction interview with Paige. She asks Paige about her win. Paige says it means she is one step closer to getting another shot at the Divas Title. Renee then notes that while Paige won her match tonight, Christian hasn’t been on the winning side of a match since Survivor Series (and even there he was eliminated before his team won), both on WWE TV and at WWE Live Events. She asks him to comment, and Christian says that he knows that he has been in a rut lately, but he is the greatest tag team wrestler of all time, and he thinks that this Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament is exactly what he needs to get him out of his rut. He also teases that he has a partner in mind, and that it is someone who no one will ever expect him to team with.

R-Truth comes out to the ring and cuts a promo saying that he deserves a rematch against Dean Ambrose for the US Title. Steph comes out and says that Truth definitely deserves a rematch, but she will do him one better: Truth will get his rematch next week on Raw in his home state of North Carolina. Truth says that’s great and all, but demands to know how Steph will ensure that Dean won’t try to worm to his way out of a title match by “pretending” to go nuts and attacking him with a weapon like he has in their last two matches. Steph replies by decreeing that if Dean gets DQed in that match, he will lose the title.

Renee Young interviews International Airstrike 2.0. She asks them if they think their ribs are recovered enough to defend the tag titles tonight. They say they’re not sure, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever they have in them, they’ll leave it all in the ring to defend their titles.

BRIE BELLA vs. NATALYA (w/Tyson Kidd)-
Nattie wins clean in four minutes making Brie tap to the Sharpshooter.

The Usos cut a promo saying that they want to win the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament so they can get a shot at the tag titles.


THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. CODY RHODES & JACK SWAGGER-
Cody and Swagger win clean when Swagger makes Titus O’Neil tap out to the Patriot Act.

Byron Saxton interviews Dean Ambrose, asking him about the stips for his US Title defense against R-Truth on Raw. Dean goes absolutely crazy, saying that Truth will take the US Title from him over his dead body, and starts ranting about all of the weapons he will use to cripple Truth to ensure that he doesn’t lose the title. Seth Rollins shows up and tries to calm Dean down, telling Dean that he needs to calm down and let Seth help him or else he’ll get DQed and lose the title.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: The Miz vs. Randy Orton-
Orton wins clean in ten minutes, making Miz tap to the Viper’s Bite.

WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. The Paul Heyman Guys (w/Paul Heyman)-
The Heyman Guys work over both Airstrike members’ ribs for a while. They eventually build to a ref bump which allows them to have all four guys fighting in the ring until Cesaro gets sent to the outside and Gabriel wipes him out with a big dive. Neville gets the advantage on Dolph in the ring until Dolph cuts him off with a low blow. Dolph gets a chair and is about to hit Neville in the ribs with it, but Sheamus comes out of the crowd and makes the save by nailing Dolph with a Brogue Kick. Neville manages to recover enough and climb to the top rope, then hits Dolph with the Red Arrow. At this point the referee has recovered enough to count the pin, and Airstrike retain their titles in fifteen minutes.

[Big Red Machine]

WWE.com announces that Tyson Kidd and WWE Divas Champion Natalya will not be at tonight’s Raw because they are doing a publicity appearance for WWE in their native Canada.

Throughout the day on Monday, the WWE Website features a banner promising that “the future of the Divas division starts tonight.”

Raw: (12/22/2014)- Greensboro, NC
The show opens up with Steph hyping things up for the crowd. She first announces the teams that have entered in the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament:
Big E. Langston & Mark Henry
The Prime Time Players
The Usos
The Colons
Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose
Tyson Kidd & Kofi Kingston
Jack Swagger & Kalisto
Roman Reigns & Christian
She also tells us that the tournament will kick off later tonight when PTP take on Mark & Big E.

Steph then announces this week’s slate of Royal Rumble qualifiers: Sheamus vs. Primo tonight, Heath Slater vs. Dolph Ziggler on Main Event, and Justin Gabriel vs. Ryback on Smackdown.
Talk of the Royal Rumble brings out World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes, who buries all of those matches by saying that it doesn’t matter who wins any of them, because even if that person wins the Royal Rumble, he won’t be able to take the World Heavyweight Title from Cody at WrestleMania. Steph is unhappy with Cody for burying her matches, and warns him that he had better watch his step.

Adrian Neville & Justin Gabriel cut a promo putting over the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament.

RAW 22ND ANNIVERSARY TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FIRST-ROUND MATCH: The Prime Time Players vs. Mark Henry & Big E. Langston-
PTP win by cheating in ten minutes when Titus pokes Big E. in the eye, allowing Darren to small package him for the win.

FATAL FOUR-WAY MATCH: The Miz vs. Randy Orton vs. Epico (w/Rosa Mendes & Primo Colon) vs. Antonio Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman)-
The three heels all team up on Orton, but fight over who will get the pin, which leads to their alliance breaking down. Orton eventually picks up the win after hitting Epico with an RKO. Strangely, Heyman seems to be chatting with Rosa and Primo rather than doing his managerial duties for Cesaro.

Heath Slater cuts a promo on Dolph Ziggler to build up their Royal Rumble qualifier on Main Event.


ROMAN REIGNS vs. RYBACK-
Roman wins clean in thirteen minutes with a spear. Christian is on commentary and puts Roman over as someone with a lot of potential who Christian thinks he can mold into a great tag team wrestler.

Renee Young interviews John Cena backstage. She asks him about Paul Heyman’s comments last week on Smackdown. Cena says that if winning the Royal Rumble is the only way he’ll get another shot at Brock Lesnar, then that’s what he’ll do.

THE USOS vs. BIG SHOW & KOFI KINGSTON-
The Usos win clean in fifteen minutes when Jey pins Kofi after a double diving splash.

BRODUS CLAY & LUKE HARPER vs. JACK SWAGGER & KALISTO-
Kalisto plays the babyface in peril until the Wyatts start getting angry at each other and have a shoving match, which allows Kalisto to sneak away and tag in Swagger who takes it to the two big men. Brodus gets a bit of offense in on Swagger and goes for the Fall of Man, but Swagger rolls out of the way, then locks in the Patriot Act and makes Brodus tap.


ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Sheamus vs. Primo Colon (w/Epico Colon & Rosa Mendes)-
Dolph Ziggler interferes while the ref is distracted and hits Sheamus with a Zig-Zag, allowing Primo to pick up the upset victory.

An unknown Diva comes out to the ring. The announcers wonder if she could be this “future of the Divas division” that we were told would debut tonight. Then her opponent is introduced… from Charlotte, North Carolina… NXT Women's Champion ASHLEY FLAIR!
ASHLEY FLAIR (w/Ric Flair) vs. A JOBBER-
Ashley squashes the jobber, pinning her after hitting Natural Selection. Ric cuts a promo putting his daughter over by saying that greatness is in her blood, and predicts that she will be the Divas Champion by the end of her rookie year.

WWE UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH IN WHICH THE TITLE CAN CHANGE HANDS ON A DQ: Dean Ambrose(c) (w/Seth Rollins) vs. R-Truth-
They have a back-and-forth match, with Ambrose often getting frustrated, but Rollins helping him to regain his cool before he does anything to get himself disqualified. Dean wins clean in twenty minutes, making Truth tap to the Regal Stretch to retain the title.

[Big Red Machine]

Main Event: (12/24/2014)
RANDY ORTON vs. CHRISTIAN (w/Paige)-
Roman Reigns is on commentary and explains why he has chosen to team with Christian in the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament. He wants to win the tag team titles, Christian is an experienced tag team wrestler, and Christian asked to team with him. Orton picks up the clean win with an RKO in twelve minutes

Dolph Ziggler cuts a promo in which he says that Heath Slater is an insignificant zit on the ass of the WWE who will never amount to anything.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Heath Slater vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Paul Heyman)-
Dolph has Slater beat, but starts to play with him. At one point he is beating Heath up on the outside while Heyman has the referee distracted. Sheamus runs in and lays Dolph out with a Brogue Kick. Slater gets back into the ring, Sheamus scares Heyman away, and Dolph is counted out (total time is six minutes).

CODY RHODES vs. SETH ROLLINS-
Cody cheats to win in fifteen minutes.




On Twitter, Sheamus gives Heyman and Ziggler and ultimatum: They can either go back and forth screwing each other out of matches, or they can fight it out like men. Heyman responds by saying that if Sheamus wants to get to Dolph, he’ll have to face “the Swiss Superman” Antonio Cesaro first. That match is signed for Superstars.

On Thursday, WWE.com announces that a HUGE match has been signed for Smackdown pitting Cody Rhodes against Sheamus, and they feature an article and a video going over their feud from this summer and fall.


Superstars: (12/25/2015)
CHRISTIAN vs. BRODUS CLAY-
Paige isn’t out here because she is preparing for her match later tonight. Brodus wins clean in ten minutes with the fall of man. The announcers wonder whether Christian’s losing streak will continue with him into the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament.

MARK HENRY (w/Big E. Langston) vs. HEATH SLATER-
Mark squashes Slater.

PAIGE (w/Christian) vs. SUMMER RAE-
Paige wins clean in four minutes.

SHEAMUS vs. ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)-
Dolph screws Sheamus out of the win in fifteen minutes.




Smackdown: (12/26/2014)- Columbus, GA
The show opens with Georgia native and World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes in the ring. He cuts a promo burying Georgia. Steph comes out and says she had already warned Cody about being on thin ice on Raw,a d then he cheated to beat Seth Rollins on Main Event. She warns him that there had better not be any funny-business in his match with Sheamus tonight.

RANDY ORTON vs. JEY USO (w/Jimmy Uso)-
Orton wins clean in seven minutes with an RKO.

THE MIZ vs. MARK HENRY (w/Big E. Langston)-
Mark wins clean in five minutes

Big Show cuts a promo vowing to win the Royal Rumble and go on to become world champion in the main event of WrestleMania.

EPICO COLON (w/Primo Colon & Rosa Mendes) vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Antonio Cesaro & Sheamus)-
Dolph wins by DQ when Sheamus attacks him. Sheamus bails before Cesaro can get his hands on him.

LUKE HARPER vs. KALISTO-
Harper wins clean in eight minuts.

Sheamus cuts a promo saying that he doesn’t easily forget when someone screws him over- and that is a message to both Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes.

EMMA vs. ASHLEY FLAIR (w/Ric Flair)
Ashley wins clean in four minutes with Natural Selection.

CODY RHODES vs. SHEAMUS-
They got for about ten minutes of back and forth action before Dolph comes out and distracts Sheamus, allowing Cody to roll him up for the win.

RAW 22ND ANNIVERSARY TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH: Kofi Kingston & Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya Neidhart) vs. Roman Reigns & Christian (w/Paige)-
Nattie and Paige trash-talk each other on the outside, with Paige indicating that she is coming for Nattie’s WWE Divas Title.
Tyson & Kofi win the match when Tyson pins Christian via backslide. After the match, Christian attacks Roman Reigns and lays him out with a spear, then hits him with a chair a few times.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Ryback vs. Justin Gabriel (w/Adrian Neville)-
Ryback wins clean in eleven minutes with the Shell Shock.


JOHN CENA, SETH ROLLINS, JACK SWAGGER, & DEAN AMBROSE vs. THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS, R-TRUTH, & ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)-
Babyfaces win clean in twelve minutes when Swagger makes Darren tap. Rollins and Ambrose get time to do some double-team moves, and also get to put over the idea that Ambrose needs Rollins to talk him out of a rage to prevent him from snapping and getting himself DQed.





WWE.com announces that WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns will not be on this weekend’s live events due to the injuries he suffered at the hands of Christian on Smackdown. Roman hopes he will be able to return for Raw, but as of right now, WWE doctors’ outlook is doubtful.



On Monday, WWE.com runs a big story that WWE General Manager Stephanie McMahon Helmsley has been in meetings all weekend with Paul Heyman.





Raw: (12/29/2014)- Washington D.C.
Raw opens with Steph and Heyman in the ring and a whole big “contract signing” type set-up. Steph calls out Sheamus and announces the following: She and Heyman have been negotiating all weekend, and have made the following deal, but acceptance of the deal all hinges on Sheamus’ approval:
1. Brock Lesnar will defend the WWE Title in two weeks on the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show against Mark Henry.
2. Dolph Ziggler will receive a shot at the World Heavyweight Title next week on Smackdown
3. Sheamus will receive a shot at the WWE Champion no matter whether it is Henry or Lesnar, at the Royal Rumble
BUT… Sheamus must first agree to a truce between himself and the Paul Heyman guys until both title matches are done.
Sheamus smells a rat, so Paul explains his reasoning. He wants to manage champions, and this was a great way to get Dolph a World Heavyweight Title shot. However, he doesn’t want Sheamus to screw Dolph out of the world title, so he is offering Sheamus a title shot against Brock Lesnar as leverage. Sheamus thinks about, then accepts.

RYBACK vs. BIG SHOW-
Big Show wins clean in nine minutes with the WMD

SETH ROLLINS & DEAN AMBROSE vs. TWO TAG TEAM JOBBERS-
Seth & Dean squash the jobbers and show off their tag team skills.


Christian cuts a promo explaining that he attacked Roman Reigns after their tag team loss on Smackdown because Roman didn’t break up Tyson’s pin on him like a good tag team partner should. He also claims that Roman stole the spear from him, the man who perfected it.

EMMA vs. PAIGE (w/Christian)-
Paige wins clean in six minutes with the Stretch Muffler.

LUKE HARPER vs. MARK HENRY (w/Big E. Langston)-
Mark wins clean in eight minutes with the World’s Strongest Slam.

At this time the announcers inform us that Paige has been granted a shot at the WWE Divas Title this week on Smackdown.

JACK SWAGGER & KALISTO vs. R-TRUTH & CHRISTIAN (w/Paige)
Kalisto is the babyface in peril, but eventually he makes the tag to Swagger, who makes Christian tap clean to the Patriot Act.

Nattie cuts a promo to hype up title match with Paige on Smackdown.

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: John Cena vs. The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman)
Cena and Cesaro fight while Miz always tries to sneak in and steal pins. The finish comes when Cena nails Cesaro with a big move and feints like he is going for the cover to bait Miz into coming after him, then catches Miz in the STFU and makes Miz tap.

DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Paul Heyman) TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya Neidhart)-
Ziggler pins Tyson clean in twenty minutes.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Brodus Clay vs. Adrian Neville (w/Justin Gabriel)-
Brodus wins clean in twelve minutes, pinning Neville after the Fall of Man. The announcers point out that Brodus and Ryback now both have singles wins over the tag champs, but they don’t seem to be getting along themselves.

SHEAMUS vs. BIG E. LANGSTON (w/Mark Henry)-
The announcers wonder whether the Heyman Guys will live up to their end of the truce. They do. Sheamus wins clean in ten minutes with the Brogue Kick.

Steph comes out to announce that on Smackdown, the entire Divas Division (aside from Nattie and Paige) will have a battle royale to determine who will challenge for the Divas Title at the Royal Rumble. She then announces that Smackdown will have another big match with championship implications: Anyone who has qualified for the Royal Rumble will be able volunteer for a big scramble match in which the winner will give up his spot in the Royal Rumble in exchange for a one-on-one shot at the World Heavyweight Title on the first Thursday Night Smackdown… but the person who is pinned or made to submit will also lose his spot in the Royal Rumble.
Cody Rhodes comes out to complain that he already is being forced to defend his title against the unworthy Dolph Ziggler, and now Steph is booking him in yet another title defense. Steph tells him that she had warned him not to step out of line, but he did so, using outside help to defeat Sheamus on Smackdown.


ASHLEY FLAIR vs. SUMMER RAE-
Ashely wins clean with the Natural Selection.

The Prime Time Players cut a promo saying that they will win the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament and win the tag titles back from those pesky high-flying, crowd pleasing International Airstrike guys so that they can make millions of Dollas

RANDY ORTON vs. KOFI KINGSTON-
Orton wins clean in twenty minutes the Viper’s Bite. During this match they also push a newly signed match for Superstars as the first WWE match of the new year: CENA VS. ORTON

RAW 22ND ANNIVERSARY TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH: The Usos vs. The Colons (w/Rosa Mendes)-
Usos win clean in twenty-five minutes.






Main Event: (12/31/2014)
ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: R-Truth vs. Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso)-
Truth wins clean in eight minutes.
Roman Reigns cuts a promo responding to Christian’s promo on Raw. Roman says that Christian saying he was “selfish” because he wasn’t able to break up a pin is ridiculous, and that Christian is only saying that because he can’t bring himself to admit that the only person to blame for Christian getting pinned is Christian himself. He says that he wants revenge on Christian for attacking him, and that he will prove to Christian that he has the superior spear.

BRODUS CLAY & RYBACK vs. TWO JOBBERS-
Brodus and Ryback squash the jobbers, but shove each other around and start to brawl afterwards.

Ashley Flair cuts a backstage promo saying that she will win the Divas Battle Royale on Smakdown and win the WWE Divas Title at the Royal Rumble because she is a Flair, and Flairs are champions.

PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. SETH ROLLINS & DEAN AMBROSE-
PTP’s antics get to Dean at first, but Seth is able to calm him down. Rollins & Ambrose win clean in fifteen minutes.





Superstars: (1/1/2015)
We start off with a big video package recapping WWE in 2014 and promising great things in 2015.

Christian cuts a promo on Roman Reigns saying “your selfishness cost me a title shot, so if you want to get your hands on me, you’ll have put your Intercontinental Title on the line.

Paige cuts a promo hyping up her Divas Title match with Nattie tomorrow night on Smackdown

JOHN CENA vs. RANDY ORTON-
Orton wins clean in thirty minutes, pinning Cena after an RKO.



WWE.com reports that as a result of his recent winning streak, Randy Orton has been named as the #1 contender to the US Title, and he will get his title shot on the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show!

[Big Red Machine]

Smackdown: (1/2/2015)- Norfolk, VA

The show opens with Paige coming out to the ring and telling everyone that she doesn’t want to wait any longer for her title shot. She says we’re about to see the first title change of 2015.
WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya Neidhart(c) (w/Tyson Kidd) vs. Paige (w/Christian)-
Tyson and Christian jaw-jack a bit on the outside but don’t affect the match in any way. Nattie wins clean in twelve minutes with the sharpshooter.


ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFIER: Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso) vs. Antonio Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman)-
Cesaro wins clean in nine minutes with the Gotch-Style Neutralizer.

It is announced that, by virtue of having defeated the tag champs in singles matches, Brodus Clay and Ryback will receive a WWE World Tag Team Title match in three days on Raw.

RAW 22ND ANNIVERSARY TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Jack Swagger & Kalisto-
Orton shows up and starts trying to antagonize Ambrose. Rollins yells at Orton for this. Orton eventually starts tossing weapons into the ring, and Ambrose grabs one of them and hits Kalisto for the DQ. Swagger runs in to protect Kalisto from any further assault while Rollins tackles Dean and tries to restrain him. Orton walks away with an icy but determined and calculating look in his eye.

Roman Reigns cuts a backstage promo responding to Christian’s challenge. He offers to put the IC Title up against Christian in three days on the first Raw of the new year.


BATTLE ROYALE FOR A SHOT AT THE WWE DIVAS TITLE AT ROYAL RUMBLE:
The whole division is involved aside from the injured Tamina, AJ (who is taking time off), and Paige and Nattie who have already wrestled. Ashley Flair has a good showing, but is ganged up on and eliminated by the other four women left in the ring at the time. The match is eventually won by the returning Cameron.


LUKE HARPER vs. JOHN CENA-
Cena wins clean in fifteen minutes

We get a video package of Ziggler training for his World Heavyweight Title shot next week.

SHEAMUS vs. THE MIZ-
Sheamus handily defeats the Miz in four minutes. The announcers use this time to put over the truce Sheamus signed with Ziggler & Heyman, and the various big title matches resulting from that deal.

Cody cuts a promo about all of his upcoming defenses, saying that guys like Ziggler and whoever wins tonight’s main event have no chance against him- just like Sheamus had no chance against him. He also buries guys like Big Show and Cena who have talked about winning the rumble, saying that they have no shot of beating him either.

BIG SHOW (w/Kofi Kingston) vs. MARK HENRY (w/Big E. Langston)-
Henry wins clean in eleven minutes with the World’s Strongest Slam.

WINNER TRADES HIS ROYAL RUMBLE SPOT FOR A WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH ON THE FIRST THURSDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN AND THE PERSON WHO GETS PINNED OR SUBMITTED LOSES HIS RUMBLE SPOT: Randy Orton vs. Heath Slater, Brodus Clay vs. R-Truth vs. Ryback vs. Antonio Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Primo Colon (w/Rosa Mendes & Epico Colon)-
Brodus and Ryback control the match by working as a team, but when it comes down to who gets to make a cover, they argue. Orton takes advantage of this by dropkicking Ryback in the back, sending him into Brodus. Those two start to brawl, allowing Orton to steal their pin on Truth and earn a shot at the World Heavyweight Title in thirteen days on Smackdown’s return to Thursday night.

[Big Red Machine]

SUNDAY 1/4- THE RETURN OF TOTAL DIVAS:
Yes, that big cliffhanger for Cameron that I teased in my synopsis of the first half of this season of Total Divas would be that not only is she getting called back up to the main roster once January comes around, but they will be giving her the title shot at the Royal Rumble. BUT… Steph emphasizes to her that this is a test. They are going to help her in every way they can: They’ve given her a good return angle and a quest, they’ll give her promo time and give her matches more time, and they’re putting her in there with freakin’ NATTIE… but that will only carry her so far. SHE needs to connect with the fans and deliver her part in the ring. This is HER opportunity to make herself: If they think she is connecting well and delivering in the ring, they’ll put the title on her… but if she doesn’t deliver in the ring, then they’ve done everything they can for her at this point, and she’ll definitely be on the chopping block the next time they need to make cuts.
The first few weeks (basically everything that airs before the Rumble) has a lot of focus on Cameron and on her nerves and this big opportunity- all in the hopes of getting Total Divas viewers to subscribe to the Network… and if they don’t, it will hopefully be a good story at the least.
I’d also follow up on the Bellas by having them kinda-sorta work out their differences: enough to where they agree to keep it going for one more month so they can get a pay-off at Survivor Series, but ask Steph to limit their interaction as much as possible, which Steph approves of. This would necessitate Nikki getting a new travel partner, so you could use that to introduce a new character.

[Big Red Machine]

Raw: (1/5/2015)- Corpus Christi, TX

MARK HENRY & BIG E. LANGSTON vs. THE MIZ & R-TRUTH-
Truth starts the match for his team and takes it to Big E. The announcers note that Truth seems to be extra aggressive and speculate that perhaps he is angry at himself for losing his Royal Rumble spot on Smackdown. Mark Henry eventually picks up the win for his team, pinning Miz in nine minutes with the World’s Strongest Slam.


We get a video package of Sheamus training for his WWE Title match at Royal Rumble against whoever wins next week’s big match between Mark Henry and Brock Lesnar. The announcers talk about the deal worked out between Steph and Heyman to set up those matches, as well as the truce between Sheamus and Dolph and Dolph’s World Heavyweight Title match against Cody Rhodes in a few days on the final Friday Night Smackdown. They use this as to segue to a video package with Dolph training for that match. All of these video packages bring out Cody Rhodes basically repeats his promo from Smackdown, calling everyone losers, from Sheamus, who he has already beaten, to Orton and Dolph, who have title shots coming up against him, to guys like Big Show who have said that they want to win the Royal Rumble and challenge him for the World Heavyweight Title.

LUKE HARPER vs. DEAN AMBROSE (w/Seth Rollins)-
Randy Orton once again shows up to antagonize Dean and try to get him to snap and use weapons. Rollins yells at Orton for this and tries to stop him, but with Rollins yelling at Randy, there is no one to calm Dean down when he loses his temper, grabs a kendo stick that Randy had thrown into the ring and attacks Harper for the DQ.

Big Show cuts a promo to hype up his Royal Rumble qualifying match against Epico Colon. He says he’ll show Cody Rhodes and the whole world that he’s not a loser. He’s seven foot, 500lb giant, and he’s going to win the Royal Rumble, then go on to main event WrestleMania and win the world title.

TITUS O’NEIL (w/Darren Young) vs. KALISTO (w/Jack Swagger)-
Titus wins clean in ten minutes when he counters one of Kalisto’s big flying moves by catching him with Clash of the Titus.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Big Show vs. Epico Colon (w/Primo Colon & Rosa Mendes)-
Epico wins by count-out when Cody Rhodes manages to sneak down to ringside and grab hold of Show’s leg for just the split second necessary to prevent Show from getting back in the ring before the ten count.

Cesaro cuts a backstage promo to hype up his big singles match tonight against John Cena. Renee notes that Cesaro’s manager, Paul Heyman, isn’t here tonight because he is back at Heyman’s camp helping Ziggler and Lesnar train for their big upcoming world title matches. She asks Cesaro if he thinks he will be able to beat Cena without Paul Heyman at ringside (he lost to Cena at Night of Champions, but then beat Cena clean on Raw in Boston a month and a half later after he joined up with Heyman). Cesaro says that while Heyman is a strategic genius, he still thinks he has what it takes to beat Cena even without Heyman’s insight.

RAW 22ND ANNIVERSARY TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL MATCH: The Usos vs. Kofi Kingston & Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya)-
Usos wins clean in twenty minutes when Jey pins Tyson after a big splash.

Cameron cuts a big babyface promo talking about the nine months she was forced to spend town in NXT after her loss to Naomi in a Divas Title match back in March and how she has worked her ass off every single day of the past nine months to get back to the main roster so she could get another shot at the Divas Title, and this time she vows that she won’t squander it.

ANTONIO CESARO vs. JOHN CENA-
Cesaro wins clean in twenty-five minutes, pinning Cena after a Gotch-style Neutralizer.

Renee Young is interviewing Randy Orton about his two big opportunities next week: a US Title shot on the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show, and a World Heavyweight Title match on Smackdown’s return to Thursday night. Seth Rollins shows up and confronts Randy about the way he has been antagonizing Dean Ambrose and temping him to give in to his urges to use weapons. Seth says he is trying to help Dean overcome his problem and that Randy of all people- with his public history of Intermittent Explosive Disorder- should know how important it is that someone not try to antagonize Dean and knock him off the wagon. Orton tells Rollins that he will take every advantage he can get to help him win, and if that means personal troubles for Dean Ambrose, he really doesn’t care. Rollins slaps Orton and they have a quick pull-apart.


WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. Brodus Clay & Ryback-
The Wyatts use their superior size to dominate, as they did in their singles Royal Rumble Qualifier victories against these two men, but this is a tag team match and what it really comes down to is teamwork, so while Airstrike are able to work together, Brodus and Ryback are not, which eventually results in an Airstrike victory. Brodus and Ryback have a shoving match afterwards, which then comes to blows before security (and a chunk of the locker room) come out to break it up.

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Christian (w/Paige)-
Roman wins clean to retain the title in eighteen minutes, kicking out of Christian’s spear and later connecting with one of his own to get the pin.


WWE.com reports that Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton has been signed for Smackdown!



Main Event: (1/7/2015)
SETH ROLLINS vs. PRIMO COLON (w/Epico Colon & Rosa Mendes)-
Seth wins clean in nine minutes.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Darren Young (w/Titus O’Neil) vs. Jack Swagger (w/Kalisto)-
Swagger wins clean in twelve minutes, pinning Darren with a roll-up.

RANDY ORTON vs. THE MIZ-
Orton wins clean in twelve minutes, making Miz tap out to the Viper’s Bite.



NXT SPECIAL: (1/7/2015)- Winter Park, FL
KEVIN OWENS vs. CJ PARKER-
Owens debuts with a win. In fact, just imagine they had the exact same match they had in real life. After the match, Sami Zayn comes out to celebrate with Owens.

BATTLE ROYALE FOR A SPOT IN THE ROYALE RUMBLE-
Erick Rowan wins

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Leo Kruger vs. Bull Dempsey vs. Finn Balor (w/Tensai)-
Balor wins clean, pinning Dempsey. After the match Kruger grabs a mic and cuts a promo about how frustrated he has been being stuck in developmental for so many years. He says he knows he is good enough to be on the main roster and demands the chance to prove it.

NXT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Someone wins and someone loses.

HIDEO ITAMI vs. ?
Itami wins

NXT WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Ashley Flair(c) vs. Alexa Bliss-
Ashley wins clean in fifteen minutes (I’d use this as a test to see how well Ashley can carry someone).

NXT TITLE MATCH: Sami Zayn(c) vs. Tyler Breeze-
Breeze wins clean to become the NXT Champion. Kevin Owens comes out to console Zayn after his loss.


NEWS FROM THE NEXT DAY’S NXT TAPINGS:
It is announced that Charlotte is officially moving up to the main roster, so she must vacate the title.
Also on this show, it is announced that Sami Zayn has been given a spot in the Royal Rumble because WWE officials want to move him up to the main roster as well. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens does commentary and rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

[Big Red Machine]

Superstars: (1/8/2015)
CAMERON vs. BRIE BELLA-
Cameron wins clean with her finisher in seven minutes

Jack Swagger (and Kalisto) cut a backstage promo to hype up their semifinal match in the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament tomorrow night on Smackdown against PTP. Swagger points out that he has PTP’s number and predicts a victory for his team.

We get a big announcement about the future of WWE programming, including a new format for Superstars starting next week in its new Friday timeslot. More details will be released over the weekend.

We get a video package of Mark Henry training for his big WWE Title match against Brock Lesnar in just four days on the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show.

R-TRUTH vs. HEATH SLATER-
Truth is very aggressive right out of the gate and pretty much squashes Slater.

Kofi Kingston cuts a backstage promo about his Royal Rumble qualifying match tonight against Titus O’Neil. Big Show shows up and says that he will be in Kofi’s corner to make sure that Darren Young doesn’t screw Kofi out of a spot in the Royale Rumble like Cody Rhodes did to him.

It is announced that tomorrow night on the last edition of Friday Night Smackdown, John Cena will have his Royale Rumble qualifying match against the returning David Otunga.

We get a video package hyping up the Rhodes vs. Ziggler World Heavyweight Title match tomorrow night.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Titus O’Neil (w/Darren Young) vs. Kofi Kingston (w/Big Show)-
Kofi wins clean in nine minutes.




Smackdown: (1/9/2015)- Laredo, TX
Smackdown opens with Steph and Heyman in the ring to hype up both tonight’s World Heavyweight Title match between champion Cody Rhodes and Paul Heyman’s client Dolph Ziggler as well as the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show where Mark Henry will challenge Paul Heyman’s client Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title. Cody Rhodes soon comes out and interrupts them. He buries Big Show for being a loser and for claiming that Cody screwed him out of his Royal Rumble qualifying match on Raw. Cody claims that he was just enforcing justice because it would have been a crime if a loser like Big Show had been allowed to enter the Royal Rumble in the first place.
Cody says that no one will take the World Heavyweight Title from him: Not Dolph Ziggler tonight, not Randy Orton next week, and not whoever wins the Royal Rumble. Cody says he can beat absolutely anyone. He even says he could beat Sheamus with one hand tied behind his back but he won’t do that because Sheamus is barred from ever getting another shot at the title for as long as Cody is champ.
Big Show comes out and chases Cody away. Steph says that Cody has really done it now, and then tells Heyman that she hopes Dolph Ziggler takes the title from Cody tonight.

Christian cuts a backstage promo saying that he will turn his losing streak around at the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show when he has his Royal Rumble qualifying match.

CAMERON vs. SUMMER RAE-
Cameron wins clean with her finisher in four minutes

Kofi Kingston cuts a backstage promo talking about earning his spot in the Royal Rumble last night on Superstars. He says he’ll win the Royale Rumble and go on to main event WrestleMania.

R-TRUTH vs. EPICO COLON (w/Primo Colon & Rosa Mendes)-
Truth is very aggressive right out of the gate and dominates the match. The announcers note Truth’s aggressiveness and sell the idea that it really caught Epico by surprise. Truth wins clean in four minutes with the Hat Rack Crack.


ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: John Cena vs. David Otunga (w/Naomi)-
Cena wins clean in six minutes.


LUKE HARPER, BRODUS CLAY, & RYBACK vs. ROMAN REIGNS, SHEAMUS, & ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)-
Heyman often yells at Sheamus and the announcer remind us of the uneasy truce between them and the big title matches that have stemmed from it. We also get a few spots where Cesaro “accidentally” hits Sheamus, which gets Sheamus angry, but Heyman reminds him of their deal (a truce between Cesaro and the Heyman Guys in exchange for Dolph getting a World Heavyweight Title shot against Cody tonight and Sheamus getting a WWE Title shot against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble).
The former Wyatts also have trouble working together and eventually devolve into fisticuffs. Sheamus nails Harper with a Brogue Kick, but Cesaro makes a blind tag and steals the pin.

Naomi cuts a backstage promo calling Cameron an unworthy challenger for the Divas Title.

RANDY ORTON vs. SETH ROLLINS (w/Dean Ambrose)-
The announcers note that the last time these two faced off, Orton won, but he also had the advantage of Summer Raw having given away Rollins’ game plan. Without that advantage, they wrestle an even match for about ten minutes. At that point Orton starts to antagonize Ambrose on the outside so Rollins has to keep going to the outside to stop Ambrose from charging into the ring. The finish comes when Rollins and Orton are at a standoff and Orton starts to yell at Ambrose again. Rollins looks over at Ambrose to tell him to keep his cool and stay out of the ring, but this distraction allows Orton to drop him with an RKO and get the pin. Orton then scurries out of the ring and up the ramp to the back before an angry Ambrose can get at him.

International Airstrike 2.0 cut a promo putting over the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament and say that they can’t wait to defend their titles against the winners in six days on Smackdown’s return to Thursday night.


RAW 22ND ANNIVERSARY TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL MATCH: The Prime Time Players vs. Jack Swagger & Kalisto-
Swagger starts for his team and gets shined up until PTP get the heat Kalisto. Kalisto eventually makes a hot tag to Swagger who runs wild. Swagger tags in Kalisto and they do a Swagger Bomb followed by a flippy move from the top rope by Kalisto but the pin gets broken up. PTP then take over and pick up the clean win in twelve minutes, pinning Kalisto after hitting the Prime Time Play.

We get a video package of Mark Henry training for his big WWE Title match against Brock Lesnar in just three days on the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show.

The Usos cut a promo hyping up the finals of the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament. They note that they defeated PTP the last time the two teams met- just a few weeks ago- and that they are now on top of their game and are going to win the tournament on Raw, then go on to Smackdown and finally defeat International Airstrike 2.0 and win the WWE World Tag Team Titles!

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Paul Heyman)-
Cody wins clean in twenty-five minutes. After the match Sheamus charges out to the ring. Cody bails through the crowd, but Sheamus just makes a bee-line straight for Ziggler and nails him with a Brogue Kick.





After Smackdown is over, Jack Swagger sends a Tweet at the WWE demanding a match with Kalisto on Raw. A few hours later, Kalisto accepts the challenge via Twitter and the WWE Twitter account (and WWE.com) confirm the match.

WWE.com also uploads a video of Paul Heyman screaming and ranting and raving about how Sheamus broke their truce and thus should have his WWE Title match against Brock Lesnar at the Royale Rumble taken away.



IMPORTANT UPDATES ON WWE PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE:
Main Event will now air on Tuesday Nights, but after this week it will be available on Hulu Plus rather than the WWE Network.
Smackdown moves to Thursday Nights starting THIS WEEK!
Superstars moves to Friday nights and will feature much more of a focus on the WWE Superstars themselves as well the quality in-ring action you’ve come to expect from WWE!

[Big Red Machine]

WWE.com spends all weekend hyping up Monday’s big Raw 22nd Anniversary Show. Over the course of the weekend, we get the following announcements:
1. Cody Rhodes will defend the World Heavyweight Title against a mystery opponent.
2. The status of Sheamus’ pending WWE Title match at the Royal Rumble- which is now up in the air pending his apparent violation of the truce he signed will Paul Heyman’s stable a part of the deal to receive that title shot- against the winner of Raw’s Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Henry WWE Title match will be determined.
3. One of the most personal feuds in Raw’s history will be revisited in our Royal Rumble Qualifying Match as Christian takes on Tyson Kidd.
4. Big Show, John Cena, and WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns will team up to face The Miz, R-Truth, and “The Swiss Superman” Antonio Cesaro.
5. WWE COO and Head of Talent Relations Triple H will make an important announcement about the future of one particular NXT developmental wrestler.
6. WWE General Manager Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley will make an announcement regarding some of the remaining spots in the Royal Rumble match.
7. Brie Bella will wrestle Ashley Flair… and the legendary “Nature Boy” Ric Flair will be in his daughter’s corner!
8. Jack Swagger’s request for a singles match against Kalisto has been granted
9. Naomi vs. Cameron has been made official.
10. The first inductee of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015 will be named!
11. To mark Raw’s 22nd anniversary, many big names from Raw’s past will be in attendance, including, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, the New Age Outlaws, Trish Stratus, and a few surprises as well!




Raw 22nd Anniversary Show: (1/12/2015)- New Orleans, LA
The show opens with the Paul Heyman guys coming out to the ring. Heyman first builds up Brock’s title defense against Mark Henry, then starts to talk about Sheamus. He says that by attacking Dolph Ziggler last week, Sheamus broke the terms of their deal and thus should not get his WWE Title shot at Royal Rumble.
Sheamus comes out onto the ramp and says that he lived up to the spirit of their deal: he kept up the truce until after Dolph got his World Heavyweight Title shot. He didn’t hurt Dolph before the match and didn’t attack him during the match… even though Cesaro actually broke the truce when he kept taking shots at him during their tag match earlier in the night when they were supposed to be a team. Sheamus says that he knows Paul E. well enough to know that he had no intention of keeping the truce because once Dolph had gotten his title shot, his guys would have nothing to lose by breaking the truce.
Steph comes out and agrees with Sheamus- that Paul E. is a snake and that Cesaro’s attacking Sheamus during their tag team match, even if it was by accident- which she severely doubts- would constitute breaking the truce. Therefore she rules that Sheamus will still get the WWE Title shot at the Royal Rumble. But… she doesn’t want Dolph Ziggler to interfere in that match, either, so she is going to let Sheamus and Ziggler get it all out of their systems tonight in a Hardcore Match! That means everything is legal and falls count anywhere!

KALISTO vs. JACK SWAGGER-
Swagger wins clean in fifteen minutes, making Kalisto tap out to the Patriot Act. Swagger does not break the hold after the match until Kofi Kingston comes out and pulls him off. Kofi yells at Swagger as Swagger heads to the back. Kofi helps Kalisto, who is noticeably limping, to the back.
BRODUS CLAY, LUKE HARPER, & RYBACK vs. DAVID OTUNGA & THE COLONS (w/Rosa Mendes & Naomi)-
The match never gets started as Brodus and Ryback brawl with each other as soon as they come out, and Harper then rushes the ring and joins in the brawl as well. Otunga, Naomi, Rosa, and the Colons bail. The former Wyatts brawl all over the place until billions of security guys run out from the back to break them up.

Short nostalgia segment

CAMERON vs. NAOMI (w/David Otunga)-
The announcers remind us that Cameron was sent down to NXT for nine months as per the stips of a match she had with Naomi back in March and has just returned to the main roster, so there is history here. Cameron wins clean in seven minutes.
After the match, Triple H comes out and not only puts Cameron over, but puts over the work of the NXT trainers who have worked with her for the past nine months. He then segues into talking about NXT talent Leo Kruger. He plays the footage of Kruger’s promo from last week’s NXT special. He says that he and Steph have decided to grant Leo Kruger a chance to prove himself. This Wednesday night on Main Event, Leo Kruger will face Dean Ambrose in a Royal Rumble qualifying match. If Kruger wins, not only will he not only get a spot in the Royal Rumble, but a spot on the main roster as well, but if loses, he will be fired.

Renee Young interviews Cameron backstage. Cameron cuts a promo hyping up her Divas Title match at the Royal Rumble. Then Trish Stratus shows up and puts her over for working hard. Cameron thanks Trish for the complement and says that something like that means so much coming from the greatest Diva of all time.

Steph comes out and calls Cody Rhodes out to the ring. His World Heavyweight Title match is right now, and his mystery opponent is a man he owes a World Heavyweight Title shot to… and a man he put on the shelf two months ago… MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY!

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Michael McGillicutty-
Cody wins clean in twenty minutes.

Hulk Hogan comes out to announce the first inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015… RANDY SAVAGE!

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya Neidhart) vs. Christian (w/Paige)-
Tyson wins clean with the Springboard Elbow Drop in twelve minutes.

Nostalgia segment

Mark Henry cuts a backstage promo saying that he will beat Brock Lesnar and win the WWE Title tonight.

RAW 22ND ANNIVERSARY TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS: The Prime Time Players vs. The Usos-
PTP cheat to win in fifteen minutes. The New Age Outlaws did guest commentary and put over both of these teams as well as the WWE World Tag Team Champions International Airstrike 2.0.

Renee Young is backstage interviewing Tyson Kidd and Natalya. Trish shows up and congratulates Tyson on his win, then puts Nattie over huge. Nattie thanks Trish and puts Trish over and they shake hands.

JOHN CENA, ROMAN REIGNS, & BIG SHOW vs. THE MIZ, R-TRUTH, & ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)-
The announcers push Truth’s newfound aggression. Cody Rhodes comes out to do commentary and buries all six men. The babyfaces wind up picking up the win in thirteen minutes when Big Show pins The Miz. Even after this win, Cody grabs a mic and tells the Big Show that he’s still a loser.

BRIE BELLA vs. ASHLEY FLAIR (w/Ric Flair)-
Ashley wins clean in five minutes with Bow to the Queen.

Byron Saxton interviews International Airstrike 2.0 backstage. He asks them about the finish to the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament Finals. They say it sucks that PTP cheated their way to victory, but that’s how PTP operate. They say that they will be on the lookout for PTP’s cheating ways when they defend the tag titles against them in three days on Smackdown’s big return to Thursday night.

WWE UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH: Dean Ambrose(c) (w/Seth Rollins) vs. Randy Orton-
Seth often shouts encouragement to Dean, reminding him to stick to his the game-plan. The announcers push the fact that by the end of this week, Orton could be not just the US Champion, but also the World Heavyweight Champion.
Orton tries to antagonize Ambrose to get him angry so that he will make a mistake, but Ambrose manages to mostly keep his cool. They go for about fifteen minutes, with Ambrose getting the best of Orton. When Ambrose mounts Orton and starts to really lay some punches in, Orton pokes Dean in the eye, then kicks him in the nuts for the DQ and quickly bails.

Renee Young is backstage interviewing Ashley Flair. Trish Stratus once again shows up and puts Ashley over big time, predicting that Ashley will be the biggest star the Divas division has ever seen. Trish extends her hand for a handshake, but Ashley snubs her, walking right past her.

We cut to Steph’s office where she is about to make an announcement. The announcement in question is that two of the remaining spots for the Royal Rumble will be chosen by herself and Triple H this week. The first of those spots will be one of the most dominant competitors in Royal Rumble history and the man who holds the record for the most eliminations in a single Rumble… “The Big Red Machine” KANE!
She tells us that the second spot will be announced this Thursday on Smackdown.
Dusty Rhodes then shows up in Steph’s office. Dusty says that he approves of Steph throwing so many challenges at Cody and say that it’s not cool how Cody disrespects both WWE management and his challengers. Dusty says he has a suggestion for yet another challenger for Cody. He whispers it into Stpeh’s ear and her face lights up. She tells Dusty she thinks that’s a great idea, and that the person in question will face the winner of Smackdown’s Rhodes vs. Orton World Heavyweight Title match at the Royal Rumble!

Paul Heyman comes out with his guys and says that normally Brock Lesnar only wrestles in main events, but because he hates this crap-hole town so much, he wants to go on now so he can get out of here as quickly as possible.

WWE TITLE MATCH: Brock Lesnar(c) (w/Paul Heyman, Dolph Ziggler, & Antonio Cesaro) vs. Mark Henry (w/Big E. Langston)-
Brock wins clean ten minutes, dominating most of the match. After the match, Brock, Heyman and Cesaro all grab their bags and head out of the arena after Ziggler assures them that he can handle Sheamus alone.

We get a hype video for Smackdown’s return to Thursday night, including Randy Orton challenging Cody Rhodes for the World Heavyweight Title and the Prime Time Players challenging International Airstrike 2.0 for the WWE World Tag Team Titles. Also announced is a Royal Rumble qualifying match pitting Luke Harper against NXT’s Xavier Woods, and a one-on-one match between former Wyatt Family members Brodus Clay and Ryback.

HARDCORE MATCH: Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus-
They go crazy all over the place nuts for thirty minutes until Sheamus finally picks up the win. After the match, Brock Lesnar comes out and attacks Sheamus while Heyman laughs, and the night ends with Lesnar and Heyman standing tall over Sheamus’ fallen body.

[Big Red Machine]

WWE.com announces that Damien Sandow has been awarded a spot in the Royal Rumble. Sandow will address the WWE Universe tonight on Main Event.


Main Event: (1/13/2015)-
R-TRUTH vs. KALISTO-
The announcers bring us up to speed on the fact that Jack Swagger injured Kalisto’s ankle in a fit of rage last night, but Kalisto is so courage and brave that he will wrestle this match as scheduled. Truth aggressively goes after the injured body part and wins with some sort of ankle submission.

We get a video package recapping Leo Kruger’s promo from the NXT special and also Triple H’s announcement from Raw that Kruger will put his career on the line in a Royal Rumble Qualifying match tonight against WWE United States Champion Dean Ambrose.
Renee Young interviews the Brain Trust. Sandow announces that he has returned from the horrible injury he suffered at the hands of that barbarian Jack Swagger, and WWE management has given him a spot in the Royal Rumble so that he will be able to get his revenge on Swagger. He vows not only to do this, but also that either he or his Brain Trust partner David Otunga will win the Royal Rumble. Renee points out that Otunga is not in the Royal Rumble and actually already lost his qualifying match to John Cena. Sandow and Otunga evilly laugh and say that they “we will be.”

We get a video package hyping up Smackdown’s return to Thursday night in just two days, headlined by Randy Orton challenging Cody Rhodes for the World Heavyweight Title and the Prime Time Players challenging International Airstrike 2.0 for the WWE World Tag Team Titles.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH WHERE IF KRUGER LOSES, HE WILL BE FIRED: Leo Kruger vs. Dean Ambrose (w/Seth Rollins)-
Ambrose wins clean in twelve minutes. Kruger is fired. WWE wishes him well in his future endeavors.


Zack Ryder announces on Twitter that the doctors say he’ll be medically cleared to return by the Royal Rumble, and he launches a Twitter campaign to get a #Broski_InTheRumble


Smackdown: (1/15/2015)- Baton Rouge, LA
ROMAN REIGNS vs. SETH ROLLINS (w/Dean Ambrose)-
Roman wins clean in fifteen minutes with the spear.

We get a video package hyping up the Brock Lesnar vs. Sheamus WWE Title match at the Royal Rumble, then we get a pre-taped promo from Sheamus about Brock’s attack on him last night, and vowing to get his revenge and beat Brock, just like he did at WrestleMania last year.

BRODUS CLAY vs. RYBACK-
Neither guys listens to the referee so it quickly becomes a no-contest. Security comes out and breaks them up.

We get backstage promos from Seth Rollins and Michael McGillicutty hyping up their Royal Rumble qualifying match tomorrow night on the new WWE Superstars.

JACK SWAGGER vs. A JOBBER-
Jack squashes the jobber dead and breaks his ankle with the Patriot Act and has to be pulled off by the referee. Kofi Kingston comes out to confront Jack about his anger. He says that he understands that Jack is frustrated that he and Kalisto got beaten last week in the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament, but he needs to stop blaming Kalisto for the loss, stop taking his anger out on innocent people and move past it. Kofi warns Swagger that he is starting to act like Big Show did last year after his team lost at Survivor Series. He asks Jack “do you really want to go down that path? Do you want to put someone else through the pain you went to, losing months of your career?”
Swagger angrily walks of, apparently ignoring Kofi’s warnings.

MARK HENRY & BIG E. LANGSTON vs. THE MIZ & CHRISTIAN…
Or not. Because Christian has apparently no-showed tonight’s show. Instead, R-Truth comes out and says he will be Miz’s partner, so we get…

MARK HENRY & BIG E. LANGSTON vs. THE MIZ & R-TRUTH-
Truth starts for his team and gets some offense in early on, but eventually the large babyfaces take over and Mark Henry pins Miz after the World’s Strongest Slam in six minutes. After the match, Steph comes out and announces that on Raw, in one of the final Royal Rumble qualifying matches, it will be Teacher vs. Student as Mark Henry takes on Big E. Langston!

We get a video package focusing on Cameron’s time in NXT and her journey to the Royal Rumble where she will challenge Nattie for the WWE Divas Title.



ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Luke Harper vs. Xavier Woods-
Harper squashes Woods in five seconds. Soon afterwards Brodus and Ryback come out brawling and all three former Wyatts brawl until zillions of security people come out to break them up.


Paul Heyman cuts an in-ring promo putting over Dolph Ziggler (who isn’t here tonight because he is selling his injuries from his hardcore match from Raw against Sheamus) for being tough, then puts Cesaro over as the future of the WWE.

JOHN CENA, BIG SHOW, & TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya Neidhart) vs. THE COLONS & ANTONIO CESARO (w/Rosa Mendes & Paul Heyman)-
Cesaro gets featured well, but the babyface eventually pick up the win in twelve minutes, pinning Epico after a chokeslamming both Colons.
Renee Young gets a reaction interview with Cena. He says that his team won the match, so he has accomplished his first goal for tonight. His second is to drum up support for Zack Ryder’s #Broski_InTheRumble campaign.

WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. The Prime Time Players-
PTP get the heat on Neville working over his ribs. We get a ref bump during which PTP use a chair to work over Neville’s ribs even more. Justin Gabriel comes to make the save and wrests the chair away the heels, then levels Darren with it, but by this point the ref has recovered and sees it and calls for the DQ.

We get a video package announcing WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns as an entrant in the Royal Rumble.


WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Randy Orton-
Cody wins in twenty minutes after he distracts the ref and hits Randy with a low blow, then nails him with the Cross Rhodes for the pin. Steph comes out and introduces the man that Cody’s own father “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes has suggested Cody defend the WWE World Heavyweight Title against at the Royal Rumble… THE BIG SHOW!



Superstars: (1/16/2015)-
The NEW Superstars is more of an in-studio show. It starts off with some recaps of the important stuff of the week, then we get to the meat of the show. Two video packages, one for each of the guys in tonight’s main event, to build them up and make you the viewer care about them. In this case, we have Seth Rollins vs. Michael McGillicutty in a Royal Rumble Qualifier.
ROLLINS VIDEO PACKAGE- we focus on how cool and athletic he is. He says that he has put his own career on the backburner a bit recently to help his friend Dean Ambrose deal with his issues, but now he is ready to focus on himself again. He points out that he has only been in two Royal Rumbles, but he has been the runner up in both of them. This year he will win!

MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY VIDEO PACKAGE- we focus on him as an up-and-comer who has finally started to really make a mark in the past few months. He, too, says that he will win the Royal Rumble.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Michael McGillicutty vs. Seth Rollins (w/Dean Ambrose)-
Rollins wins clean in fifteen minutes.


WWE.com reports that Christian has been fined for no-showing Smackdown.

WWE.com reports that Christian missed this weekend’s WWE live events and has been fined for each.

[Big Red Machine]

On Monday morning, WWE.com announces that a Triple Threat No Disqualifications match has been signed for tonight’s Raw between the three former members of the Wyatt Family who have been going at it for weeks now: Brodus Clay vs. Ryback vs. Luke Harper!
Also announced for Raw is Kalisto vs. Sheamus, as well as Mark Henry vs. Big E. Langston in a Royal Rumble Qualifying match, a contract signing for the World Heavyweight Title match between Cody Rhodes and Big Show, and a blockbuster tag team main event featuring the team of Randy Orton and Roman Reigns taking on John Cena and Tyson Kidd!
One superstar who will not be appearing on Raw is Christian, who has been suspended for missing this weekend’s WWE live events. Christian will return to action this Thursday night on Smackdown.
Rosa Mendes will also not be at tonight’s Raw because she is doing an appearance for WWE to promote WWE’s upcoming tour of LOCATION X.



Raw: (1/19/2015)- Dallas, TX
SIX-WAY ELIMINATION MATCH: Primo Colon vs. Epico Colon vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Heath Slater vs. Michael McGillicutty-
The story of the match is that the Colons work together as a team not only hitting double teams moves but also saving each other from elimination, while the other all work only for themselves.
The first man eliminated is Heath Slater after he eats the Colons double finisher and is pinned by Primo. The second man eliminated is McGillicutty, when they do that three-way spot where guy rolls another guy up, but a third guy comes in and breaks up the pin by rolling up the second guy, with Epico saving Primo from elimination and also eliminating McGillicutty with the same roll-up. The third guy out is Kofi, who is also pinned by Primp after eating the Colons double-team finisher. The fourth man out is Rollins, who is eliminated when he is setting up for a Curb Stomp on Epico, but Primo runs in from behind and hits him with a back-stabber, then both Colons pile onto Seth for the cover.
The match then comes down to Primo and Epico who spend a few minutes doing a bunch of technical stuff and basic stuff like dropkicks until Epico wins by catching his cousin with an inside cradle. They shake hands after the match. Total time is about twenty minutes, with the Colon vs. Colon stuff lasting about three.
The announcers put over that just like in an elimination match, forming alliances is a great strategy for the Royal Rumble, and in this match it certainly paid off for the Colons, and especially for Epico.

Dean Ambrose cuts a backstage promo saying that he has some aggression to work out, and the No DQ’s match between the other former disciples of Bray Wyatt seems like a great place to do it, so he wants to be added to that match.

THE USOS vs. INTERNATIONAL AIRSTRIKE 2.0-
The babyface announcers put this match over as the match we SHOULD have gotten four nights ago on Smackdown’s return to Thursdays, but we didn’t because the Prime Time Players cheated to beat the Usos in the finals of the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament. The match goes about seven minutes of fast-paced, back-and-forth action before the Prime Time Players come out and assault both team with steel chairs, causing a double disqualification. Once the Usos are incapacitated, PTP really focus their assault on the tag champs. They claim this is just them getting even for Gabriel using a chair on them last week, and claim that Justin Gabriel got his team disqualified intentionally because he knew they were going to lose the tag titles, so they are demanding another shot at the titles.
The babyface announcers put over PTP’s hypocrisy, pointing out that they were the first ones to use a chair in the Smackdown title match, but JBL says it doesn’t matter who used it first: both teams used it so no one has the moral high ground, but PTP are right that they deserve another title shot because they did beat the champions.

We get the standard Royal Rumble “numbers” video package except only with relevant or interesting facts. No crap about the number of women or midgets or whatever that have competed in the Rumble because it’s not relevant to the hype!

Kane cuts a pre-taped promo about this being the year that he not only finally wins the Royal Rumble, but also breaks HBK’s record for most cumulative eliminations.

We cut to Steph’s office where she makes some announcements:
1. She has accepted Dean Ambrose’s petition to be inserted into tonight’s no DQ’s match between his former Wyatt Family compatriots.
2. Kalisto was scheduled to wrestle tonight, but he is injured so Miz will now take his place in his match against Sheamus.
3. Zack Ryder will be given a spot in the Royal Rumble thanks to the great support the WWE Universe has shown him with his #Broski_InTheRumble campaign.
4. She has granted the Prime Time Players request for another shot at the WWE World Tag Team Titles, but to make sure we get a decisive winner this time, the match will be a No Disqualifications match… and it will take place at the Royal Rumble!
Damien Sandow and David Otunga come into Steph’s office. Sandow says that because Steph is letting him into the Royal Rumble specifically so that he could get revenge on Jack Swagger for injuring him, she now needs to let David Otunga into the Rumble for that same reason or else Otunga will sue WWE for discrimination. Steph gives in to this demand, but does so in a way that makes it clear that she is giving in simply because she knows that fighting this would be more trouble than it is worth… but she also gets some revenge by telling that them that if they want revenge on Jack Swagger so much they can try to get some tonight as well, because tonight they will face the team of Jack Swagger and R-Truth.

Paige calls Cameron out, noting that she had a Divas Title match when Cameron won her #1 contendership, so Cameron has not yet beaten her. Steph comes out and makes the match for right now…
PAIGE vs. CAMERON-
Cameron wins clean in seven minutes.

We get a video package highlighting past Royal Rumble winners, especially when they have gone on to win the world title at WrestleMania.

Nattie cuts a promo putting Cameron over huge, but saying that she will still retain her Divas Title at the Royal Rumble. Renee asks her about Ashley Flair snubbing WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus last week at the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show. Nattie says that she’ll deal with that when he time comes, but right now she is totally focused on her match with Cameron. She says it is no secret that Cameron is possibly fighting for her career here, and that makes her desperate… which means she will be fighting harder than she ever has before, and Nattie knows that she might well be in for one of the toughest matches of her life.

Byron Saxton interviews Seth Rollins and asks him for his thoughts on Dean Ambrose participating in this four way No Disqualifications match with his former Wyatt Family compatriots. Seth says he thinks it is a bad idea and that Dean putting himself in a situation where he is encouraged to use weapons might cause him to have a setback, but Dean is pretty strong-willed and trying to stop him from doing this might only make things worse. Maybe this will help Dean get it all out of his system and it will be good for him… but if it isn’t Seth says he will be there for Dean to help catch him if he falls off the wagon.

FATAL FOUR-WAY NO DISQUALIFICATIONS MATCH: Luke Harper vs. Brodus Clay vs. Ryback vs. Dean Ambrose-
They have a crazy hardcore brawl with lots of weapon use and stuff. Dean goes over in twenty minutes, pinning Brodus. The announcers note that while Dean is just as violent as ever, he no longer seems to have that look of sadistic glee in his eyes when he uses weapons.

MIZ vs. SHEAMUS-
Before the match, Sheamus cuts a big promo saying he’ll beat Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble and win the WWE Title. Sheamus wins by DQ in ten minutes when Cesaro attacks him. Cesaro tries to injure Sheamus while Heyman laughs on the ramp.


ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Mark Henry vs. Big E. Langston-
Henry wins clean with the World’s Strongest Slam full of big strong men running into each other.

Big Show and Cody come out for their contract signing. Show cuts the big money promo, talking about his journey over the past year, starting with his one year title shot ban and attacking others and blaming them for his problems, then turning babyface by owning up to his actions and making amends and trying to help others not make those same mistakes… Good things come to only to those who wait, but also to those who work for them and deserve them, and after his year of penance he is now finally worthy of a title shot so nothing will stop him from walking out of the Royal Rumble as the World Heavyweight Champion.
Show then signs the contract. Cody signs the contract as well, then cuts a dickish promo burying Big Show, Sheamus, Tyson Kidd, Michael McGillicutty, and everyone else he’s beaten, until Big Show finally cuts him off by knocking him out with a WMD.

R-TRUTH & JACK SWAGGER vs. THE BRAIN TRUST (w/Naomi)-
Truth and Swagger are both very aggressive. Brain Trust clearly don’t want to be facing these two angry men, and after a few minutes they walk off and take the count-out loss.
Kofi is on commentary and says that he thinks Jack Swagger is headed down a dark path, blaming others for losses and being overly aggressive like he was with Kalisto last week and like he is being here. It is the same path that Big Show went down last year and wound up causing Big Show so many problems.

RANDY ORTON & ROMAN REIGNS vs. JOHN CENA & TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya Neidhart)-
Orton makes Kidd tap out to the Viper’s Bite in twenty-five minutes.



Announced for Tuesday’s Main Event is the final Royal Rumble qualifying match, which will be contested between two mystery wrestlers!




Main Event: (1/20/2015)
The Usos cut a promo demanding a match with PTP on Smackdown so they can get revenge on PTP for attacking them last night on Raw. They also say that they should be added to the tag title match at the Royal Rumble because PTP cheated to beat them in the tournament finals and then ruined their chance to earn a title shot by beating the champions in a non-title match last night.
Other than that, the show is lots of Royal Rumble hype, including promos from the participants all saying that they will win the Rumble.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Billy Gunn vs. IRS-
Yes, really. Will the match suck? Almost certainly. But the point is to have the announcers emphasize the many possible surprise entrance for the Rumble, who could be someone from any point in WWE history!
They brawl around for a few minutes until we wind up with a double count-out. Because this is the final qualifier and it ended with no clear winner, we go off the air with the announcers wondering how Steph will fill the final spot.



On Wednesday, WWE.com announces that the final Royal Rumble spot will be filled with a special “second-chance qualifying match” in which the names of two superstars who failed to qualify for the Royal Rumble will be drawn at random and those two men will battle it out for the final spot.




On Thursday morning, WWE.com announces that Bray Wyatt’s sixty-day banishment is now up, and Bray is free to return to the WWE if he so chooses.

[Big Red Machine]

WWE.com announces that both International Airstrike 2.0 and Sheamus will not be at Smackdown due to injuries suffered during post-match attacks on Raw, but we will hear from them live via satellite tonight on Smackdown.

Due to the random nature of the drawing for the Second Chance Royale Rumble Qualifier and the many wrestlers who are eligible to be picked for the match, WWE has not been able to put together an official card for tonight’s show, but have many possibilities in mind and as soon as the drawing happens at the beginning of tonight’s show, a card will be finalized… but WWE.com can report that one half of the main event is set in stone: it will be a six man tag team match featuring the blockbuster team of John Cena, Randy Orton, and the Big Show, and that they will take on a team that will include Big Show’s opponent this Sunday at the Royal Rumble, World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes!




Smackdown: (1/22/2015)- Austin, TX
The show opens with Steph in the ring with a hopper full of balls to pick the two lucky superstar who will get a second chance to qualify for the Royal Rumble. We have split-screen shot, with one side showing Steph in the ring and the other side showing the affected Superstars, crowding around a monitor backstage to watch with excitement. The announcers point some of them out to us, including Miz, who lost the first qualifying match this year, Christian, who is returning from a suspension for no-showing a bunch of shows last week, Dolph Ziggler, who is returning from injuries sustained in his BRUTAL Hardcore match against Sheamus a week and a half ago on the Raw 22nd Anniversary Show.
The first name drawn from the hopper is The Miz, and JBL comments on how long Miz has had to wallow in misery over not being in the Royal Rumble, but will now get a second chance. The second name drawn is that of Michael McGillicutty. Miz and McGilliutty are ecstatic, while everyone else is very sad.
We now end the split-screen shot and are only focused on Steph, who tells us that she will now be going back to her office to put together tonight’s card, but there is one match that she can now officially announce first: Tonight’s Smackdown will feature a blockbuster six man tag team main event that will see John Cena, Randy Orton, & Big Show take on World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes, Antonio Cesaro, & Dolph Ziggler!
As Steph starts to head up the ramp, Bray Wyatt’s music plays, and Bray returns to the WWE Universe for the first time since Survivor Series. Bray tells Steph that he doesn’t think it’s very fair that Miz and McGillicutty get a second chance to qualify for the Royal Rumble when he himself hasn’t even had a first chance. Steph tells him that she is sorry but there are no spots left. All of the others have been allocated to the exciting surprise entrants that WWE has lined up. Bray suggests that she add him to the Miz vs. McGillicutty match. He abided by the rules of the banishment and no contact stipulation at Survivor Series fair and square, and because McMahon always like to act in the interests of fairness, he thinks she should give him this chance. Steph reluctantly agrees.

We then go to a commercial and when we come back, we get some Royal Rumble hype commercials, as well as promos by John Cena and WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns both saying that they will win the rumble.

We then go out to the ring where the Usos have mics. They say that Steph and the producers are still backstage trying to put together the card, so they figured they’d give them a little help. On Main Event They challenged the Prime Time Players to come out and fight them tonight… well tonight has come, so the Prime Time Players had better get their asses out to the ring!
The Usos wait for PTP to show up, and they keep talking. They bring up the fact that they know they can beat PTP- they proved it five weeks ago on Raw when they beat them clean in the middle of the ring. That’s why PTP had to cheat to beat them last week on Raw in the finals of the Raw 22nd Anniversary Tag Team Tournament.
PTP then come through the crowd steel chairs and attack the Usos from behind and beat the crap out of them. Titus grabs a mic and says that the Usos wanted a fight, so PTP brought it to them, just like they are going to bring it to International Airstrike on Sunday at the Royal Rumble at take the WWE World Tag Team Titles from them.

After this all, we cut to pre-taped promo from Sheamus hyping up his WWE Title match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.

After this we go to a commercial, and when we come back, we go to Steph’s office where she announces the rest of tonight’s card:
Natalya vs. Nikki
Christian vs. R-Truth
The Colons vs. the Brain Trust
Big E. Langston vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger
Bray vs. Miz vs. McGillicutty in a Royal Rumble qualifier
Cena, Orton, & Big Show vs. Cody, Ziggler, & Cesaro…
And things will start off with the four-way match, which will take place right after this interview, live via satellite, with International Airstrike 2.0.
We then cut to the ring where Renee is standing by to interview Airstrike, who are on the TitanTron. She asks them about their injuries and they both say they are pretty banged up- especially Neville’s ribs- but not only will they be at the Royal Rumble on Sunday, but they vow to defeat PTP and retain their titles. Renee asks them if they think that the No Disqualifications stipulation, combined with their injuries, will put them at a disadvantage. They say that it definitely will, but they won’t let that stop them from giving their all to defend their titles.

JACK SWAGGER vs. TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya Neidhart) vs. BIG E. LANGSTON (w/Mark Henry) vs. KOFI KINGSTON (w/Big Show)-
The announcers spent most of the match discussing the comments Kofi made on Raw when he did guest commentary for Swagger’s match. The babyfaces agree with Kofi that Swagger’s aggression has more led to him keeping holds on after a match, and there is a big difference between winning a match and trying to injure someone, and Jack’s new attitude seems to be leading him down the path towards the latter. The heel, on the other hand, says that it is working well for Swagger and winning matches is what is important, so if this is what helps Swagger win, then he should keep heading down this path.
The match goes about nine minutes, and the finish comes when Swagger makes Tyson tap to the Patriot Act. He leaves the hold on a little too long, and Kofi and Big Show rush in and pull him off. Jack goes to the back without saying a word to either of them, while Nattie rushes into the ring to check on her husband.

Paul Heyman cuts a backstage promo. He says that the word around the locker room is that Randy Orton is looking for an opponent for Royal Rumble, so Paul has the perfect opponent for Randy: Dolph Ziggler! He says that if Randy has the balls to accept, he just needs to tell Steph and they will work out a contract.
Heyman also hypes up Lesnar vs. Sheamus, saying that Lesnar will retain, and also says that Cesaro will go on to not only win the Royal Rumble, but to win the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania so that Heyman will be managing BOTH world champions!

NATALYA NEIDHART vs. NIKKI BELLA-
The announcers tell us that Tyson Kidd is not out here supporting his wife because he is having his ankle looked at by the trainer after the unnecessary extra damage Jack Swagger did to it after the four-way match earlier tonight. Nattie beats Nikki clean in three minutes, making her tap to the Sharpshooter, and the announcers put over her title defense against Cameron at the Royal Rumble.

CHRISTIAN vs. R-TRUTH-
Once again, Christian is nowhere to be found. The announcers wonder how this is possible, as we saw him in the building earlier tonight. Steph comes out and says that Christian apparently left the arena before his match, which isn’t cool, so she is officially awarding R-Truth a victory by forfeit, but she also doesn’t want to cheat the fans out of a match, so she has found another opponent for Truth…

HEATH SLATER vs. R-TRUTH-
Truth kicks Slater’s ass and wins in two minutes with the Hat Rack Crack.

Mark Henry cuts a promo saying that he will win the Royal Rumble.

THE COLONS (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. THE BRAIN TRUST (w/Naomi)-
Colons wins clean in eight minutes. The announcers point out that both members of both of these teams are in the Royal Rumble, and put over the strategy of teamwork and making alliances in the Royal Rumble.

Cameron cuts a backstage promo saying that Nattie was right when she said that Cameron was not just fighting for the Divas Title at the Royal Rumble, but fighting for her entire career so she will give absolutely everything she has to make sure she wins the Divas Title on Sunday.

The announcers give us some injury updates: Tyson Kidd’s ankle should be healed up by Sunday and he has been cleared to compete in the Royal Rumble. The Usos, on the other hand, will have to miss a few weeks because of injuries suffered during the dastardly attack by the Prime Time Players earlier tonight.

ROYAL RUMBLE QUALIFYING MATCH: Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz vs. Michael McGillicutty-
Bray wins clean in ten minutes, pinning McGillicutty after a Monster Tamer.

JOHN CENA, RANDY ORTON, & BIG SHOW vs. CODY RHODES, DOLPH ZIGGLER, & ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)-
Heyman’s guys come out first, and Heyman breaks the news to the world that Orton vs. Ziggler for the Royal Rumble has been officially signed!
The match gets as long as it can be given (which is hopefully somewhere in the 25-30 minute range- this show seems like it’d be REALLY hard to time) and hopefully they go blow everyone away. Babyfaces win clean when Show pins Ziggler after a Chokeslam.


WWE.com announces that for no-showing his match on Smackdown, Christian has once again been suspended by the WWE… and this time, his suspension is indefinite.


Superstars: (1/23/2015)
The show is all focused around the Royal Rumble with lots of promos and hype. We get videos of past winners talking strategy like hiding in the corner (have King talk about 96, when he spent a good chunk of the match hiding under the ring), picking your spots, and forming alliances.
The match for this week’s show is Kane’s return to action after missing three months because of the injuries he suffered at the hands of Bray Wyatt in Hell in a Cell.
KANE vs. HEATH SLATER-
Kane squashes Heath.

[Big Red Machine]

WWE Royal Rumble 2015: (1/25/2015)- Philadelphia, PA
(I tried to really tell a story with this year’s Rumble. I hope it came across clearly).

PRE-SHOW:
We gets lots of the standard Royal Rumble hype.

R-TRUTH vs. THE MIZ-
Truth wins clean in ten minutes, dominating most of the match.

Paul Heyman cuts a promo saying that Brock will defeat Sheamus, Dolph will defeat Orton, and Cesaro will win the Royal Rumble.

Big Show cuts a big babyface promo about winning the World Heavyweight Title tonight. Sheamus stops by and says that he really hopes that Big Show takes the title from Cody Rhodes, then cuts his own big babyface promo saying that he will defeat Brock tonight and win the WWE Title.

MAIN SHOW:
RANDY ORTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Paul Heyman & Antonio Cesaro)-
Orton wins clean in twenty minutes, making Dolph tap to the Viper’s Bite.

WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya Neidhart(c) (w/Tyson Kidd) vs. Cameron (w/her boyfriend Vinny)-
We hype this up as the biggest match of Cameron’s life. They get about fifteen minutes and Nattie goes over clean. The finish is Cameron going for a flying corssbody but Nattie moves out of the way, causing Cameron to crash face-first into the mat, then Nattie locks in the Sharpshooter. Cameron tries for the ropes for few times, but Nattie always pulls her back, and Cameron eventually passes out from the pain.

NO DISQUALIFICATIONS MATCH FOR THE WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. the Prime Time Players-
PTP use lots of weapons to work Airstrike over, especially targeting their injured ribs, but Airstrike fight through it like good babyfaces, and eventually pick up the win after Gabriel hits a 450 onto Darren through a table while Neville holds a chair on top of Darren’s ribs.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGH TITLE MATCH: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. The Big Show (w/Kofi Kingston)-
Show gets shined up, but Cody pokes him in the eye to start the heat. Cody talks a lot of trash, calling Big Show a loser. Big Show makes his comeback, but Cody eventually picks up the win in eighteen minutes when he counters a chokeslam by getting behind Show, catching Show’s neck on the way down, then hitting the Cross Rhodes.

WWE TITLE MATCH: Brock Lesnar(c) (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Sheamus-
Brock wins clean in twenty-five minutes, pinning Sheamus after an F-5.

2015 ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH:
We start out with the ring announcer reminding us of the rules: A new participant will enter every ninety seconds. In order to be eliminated you must go over the TOP rope, and BOTH FEET must touch the floor. The last man standing is the winner. The announcers put over how big the Royal Rumble is, and also wonder who the as-of-yet unannounced surprise entrants could be.

The first entrant is Epico, who is greeted with a lukewarm response by the crowd. The crowd then comes alive for the #2 entrant… the surprise return of Brian Kendrick! Kendrick and Epico wrestle around for two minutes with Kendrick getting most of the offense in and even teasing an elimination, but Epico is able to fight him off. After two minutes, the third entrant makes his way to the ring: Zack Ryder! He proceeds to run wild for a bit, but things then even out between the three men.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns enters and #4 and takes over the match. Hits all three guys with Superman punches, and lays out first Ryder and then Kendrick with spears. Then, as Lillian Garcia begins to lead the crowd in the ten second countdown, Roman manages to force Epico over the top rope and tries to eliminate him. Epico hangs on for dear life as the fans count down the ten seconds until the fifth entrants comes out.
Fortunately for Epico, his cousin Primo has drawn #5, and he immediately rushes in and saves his partner from elimination. The Colons spend the next ninety seconds dominating the match using teamwork, and manage to work together to eliminate Zack Ryder.
Entrant #6 is the hometown favorite, ECW icon, The Sandman, who wallops everyone with his trademark Singapore Cane. He runs wild with it for a bit, but eventually the Colons manage to work together to disarm Sandman and knock the cane out of the ring, then they start to work together to control the match once again.
Entrant #7 is Luke Harper. At 6’5” and 275 lbs, Harper is easily the biggest man in the match, and it shows. He gets into the ring and immediately starts to dominate, swatting the others aside like flies. Surprisingly, the man who manages to put a halt to Harper’s momentum is the smallest man in the match, Brian Kendrick, who charges off the ropes to get some momentum and hits a shoulder block to the gut, both doubling Harper over and sending him staggering backwards. Kendrick grabs Harper’s head and runs towards the corner for Sliced Bread #2, but Harper uses his strength to counter the moves and launches Kendrick over the top rope and onto the floor.
Soon the others all start to work together and force him back against the ropes, but he roars and sends them flying in all different directions, then continues to run wild until the entrance of the eighth man in the match… BUBBA RAY DUDLEY!
Bubba runs down the ramps and runs wild on everyone but Sandman and Harper. Bubba tries to take Harper down with a shoulder tackle, but Harper shrugs it off. Bubba then turns to his fellow ECW alumnus, The Sandman, and proposes that they form an alliance. The Sandman accepts Bubba’s offer, and together they manage to get some sustained offense in on Harper.
Bubba and Sandman keeping working over Harper while the Colons take it to Roman Reigns on the other side of the ring before the two teams finally face off… but just as they are about to start throwing punches, the music for entrant #9 plays, and “the World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry makes his way down the ramp.
Mark gets into the ring and he dominates, out-powering first the Primo, then Epico, then Roman, then, Sandman, then Bubba… and then he finds himself face-to-face with Luke Harper. Luke gets a big running start off the ropes… but Mark out-powers him, too. Bubba and Sandman come at Mark as a duo and manage to get some offense in. Then the Colons join in. Then Roman. Then Harper… and they manage to push Mark back against the ropes. They try to force him over the ropes to eliminate him, but he does a ROAR spot as well and sends them all flying.
The ring starts to fill up with more superstars. First is Brodus Clay, who squares off with Henry. Then comes Erick Rowan, who goes after both big men. Then comes Dean Ambrose, who grabs the Singapore Cane that The Sandman had dropped and starts to take it to everybody. Then comes Ryback, and as Dean tries to hit Ryback with the cane, Ryback blocks it, then snaps it over his knee (you’d probably have to gimmick the cane to do this, but I think it’d look really cool, and also get over Ryback’s strength). The former Wyatt family members start to go after each other, with Bray’s only remaining follower, Erick Rowan, getting in the mix as well to go after the traitors. The other remaining competitors seize the opportunity to attack the ex-Wyatts while they are distracted. Henry squares off with Ryback, The Colons square off with Rowan. Bubba and Sandman square off with Brodus, and Roman Reigns goes after Harper, and rather than attack the interloper, Dean Ambrose joins with him to take it to Harper.
Then the music for the fourteen entrant plays, and Bray Wyatt makes his way down to the ring. He immediately goes after the Colons, catching them from behind and freeing his follower Erick Rowan from their abuse.
Rowan starts to repay the Colons with stomps while Bray makes his way over to where Luke Harper is being pounded on by Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. He knocks Roman down with a big shot from behind. He then grabs Ambrose and slaps him right across the face! Dean freezes, startled. Harper starts to get up, and as he does so, Bray slaps him across the face as well.
Bray then turns and points to where Bubba and Sandman and taking it to Brodus, and Dean and Harper rush over to take out the pair of ECW alumni, while Bray walks over to Brodus and slaps him across the face as well. Bray then orders Harper, Rowan, Ambrose and Brodus to go over and restrain Mark Henry, while Bray comes up behind Ryback, grabs his shoulder and spins him around, then slaps him in the face as well. Bray’s four followers force Mark back against the ropes. Then Bray and Ryback join in, and the entire reunited Wyatt Family works together to send the gigantic Mark Henry over the top rope and down to the floor. Bray sets his minions loose on the remaining wrestlers while he stands there in the middle of the ring, laughing, as the fans count down for the next entrant.
Entrant #15 is Heath Slater, who bravely charges right into the lion’s den. Heath actually manages to land a punch or two on Bray before Bray fires back with a big clothesline and knocks him down. Bray then hits Heath with the Monster Tamer and unceremoniously dumps him over the top rope and down to the floor.
The Wyatts beat the crap out of people and Ryback dumps Sandman out of the ring. Brodus and Bray beat Reigns down while Rowan beats up Bubba. Harper tries to eliminate Epico, but Primo escapes from Ambrose for long enough to make the save. They team up and almost eliminate Dean, but the other Wyatts make the save, then all gang up on the Colons and dump both of them (with Ambrose dumping Epico and Brodus dumping Primo).
David Otunga is the next man in, but the Wyatts all destroy him and Bray dumps him over the top rope. Bubba makes a brief comeback on them, but he also gets ganged up on and destroyed. Roman tries to save him (the announcers tell us that Roman has realized having Bubba around as an ally is his only chance to not get destroyed by the Wyatt Family), but he gets beaten down as well, and then Ambrose eliminates Bubba.
Entrant #17 is Santino Marella. Santino sees that the Wyatts are destroying everyone, so rather than get in the ring, he tries to hide under it. Bray slides under the top rope the try to drag Santino out, but he can’t find him, and it turns into a comedy chase with Santino running around the ring and cutting under it, with more and more of the Wyatts joining in on the search for Santino until they are all surrounding the ring and manage to catch him. They force him into the ring the ring and then Harper dumps him over the top rope to eliminate him.
While Santino did nothing but entertain the audience, this comical chase have given Roman Reigns time to recover, and he now starts a big comeback with Superman punches all around and a spear to Ryback. Reigns connects with another Superman punch to Rowan, knocking him back into the ropes, then charges off the opposite ropes and hits and even bigger Superman punch to send Rowan tumbling backwards over the top rope and down to the floor.
He connects with a big Superman punch to Bray, then gives Harper another one, sending Harper stumbling back just like Rowan. Roman repeats the process of charging off of the ropes and hitting Harper with an even bigger Superman punch. Like with Rowan, it sends Harper backwards over the top rope, but Harper manages to land on the apron. Reigns runs over to try to force him off, but the other Wyatts come up from behind him and pull him away, and as the Wyatts begin to beat Roman down again, the eighteenth entrant’s music starts to play…
JOHN CENA sprints down the ramp at full speed, slides into the ring and starts to run wild on the Wyatts, laying them out with shoulder tackles all around the ring before managing to send Brodus Clay over the top rope to the floor with a HUGE clothesline. Cena and Roman quickly form an alliance actually manage to take it to the Wyatts two-on-four for a bit, but the numbers game catches up to them and the Wyatts take over.
Damien Sandow comes in at #19 and starts to work with Cena and Reigns, but just as the count-down for the next entrant starts, Bray eliminates him. Sandow composes himself on the outside, next to his tag team partner David Otunga, who is just now getting up after the beating the Wyatts gave him. The two Brain Trust members head up the ramp together, but when the countdown reaches zero, they freak out as they see that the next entrant is the man they both claimed they were here to get revenge on: Jack Swagger. Strangely, instead of attack Swagger, Sandow and Otunga quickly run off into the crowd.
Swagger pays them no heed as he just charges down the ramp, gets in the ring, and starts to take it to the Wyatts. Unlike Damien Sandow before him, though, Swagger starts to attack Cena and Reigns as well, making it clear he is only out for himself. Things progress with Swagger tossing people around and stomping them until the next entrant comes out.
Kofi Kingston comes in at #21, but as soon as he slides into the ring, Swagger is on him as well, hitting him with vicious stomps. Bray Wyatt takes this chance to try to eliminate Swagger from behind, but John Cena makes the save and appeals to Swagger and Kofi to join together and join with himself and Reigns so that they can negate the Wyatt Family’s numbers advantage. Unfortunately, Swagger is unwilling to do so, and shows this by immediately punching Cena in the face, then going after Kofi once again. To make things worse for this attempted anti-Wyatt alliance, the Wyatts come in and beat up Cena and Roman, with Harper eliminating the IC Champion.
As the next countdown starts, Swagger peels away from beating Kofi up to go run wild on everyone else, and by the time Tyson Kidd has made his way down the ramp, Swagger has eliminated Luke Harper. Tyson helps Cena fight the three remaining Wyatts while Swagger goes back to Kofi. Kofi makes a short comeback on Swagger, but that ends when Swagger blocks an attempted Trouble in Paradise by locking in the Patriot Act. Kofi writhes in pain and crawls towards the ropes… but the ropes are no salvation in a Royal Rumble match...
Or are they?
Kofi manages to hand-walk up the ropes and “crawls” his way over the top rope. Swagger keeps the Patriot Act locked in tight, and as Kofi tumbles down to the arpon, Swagger is propelled out of the ring and onto the floor… BUT HE STILL HAS THE HOLD LOCKED IN!
Swagger yanks Kofi down onto the floor as well, still keeping the hold locked in… but Kofi isn’t eliminated because Swagger is keeping his left foot up in the air by applying the Patriot Act! Kofi fights through the immense pain and manages to roll out of the hold, sending Swagger flying off of him. Security quickly rushes out to stop Swagger from going after Kofi… and Kofi has still miraculously managed to keep his left foot from hitting the ground by lying on his back and bringing his knees to his stomach. Kofi manages to scuttle his way over to the steps and rest his feet on them for a much needed break.
Meanwhile, Tyson Kidd hits some moves and is now standing tall in the ring… until Christian jumps the barricade and attacks him from behind, eliminating him. Christian starts raining punches down on Tyson until security runs out and takes him away.
The twenty-third entrant is Cesaro, who makes an immediate impact by eliminating Ryback. He then offers to ally with Cena to fight the two remaining Wyatts (Bray and Ambrose). The two pairs go back and forth while Kofi recovers on the steps, until the next man’s music plays, and Seth Rollins runs down to the ring.
As Ambrose is raining punches down on Cena in the corner, Bray levels Cesaro with a big clothesline. Rollins slides into the ring and takes Cesaro’s spot, facing off against Bray. He ducks an attempted clothesline and nails Bray with a superkick, sending him stumbling backwards into the ropes. Seth then charges off the opposite ropes and clotheslines Bray over the top rope to the floor.
While Seth was eliminating Bray, Cesaro saved Cena from Dean, and now Cena and Cesaro are trying to force Ambrose over the top rope to the floor. Rollins sees this and saves his friend from elimination. Seth proposes an alliance and Dean accepts. The two good friends start to take it to Cena and Cesaro, and with a few seconds left before the next countdown starts, they nail Cena with a double clothesline, sending him over the top rope and down to the floor (which should make the Philly crowd pop huge).
As the next countdown starts, the lone Cesaro stares down the team of Rollins and Ambrose. The count reaches zero, and the twenty-fifth entrant is the returning Wade Barrett! The announcers remind us that Wade is Cesaro’s tag partner, and that he has been on the shelf for almost seven months with a shoulder injury. Wade stands shoulder to shoulder with Cesaro, and the European Union start to exchange blows with Ambrose and Rollins. The next minute and a half is a like a short tornado tag team match both members of each team saving each other from elimination at one point.
The next entrant is NXT Champion SAMI ZAYN! Sami charges down to the ring and starts throwing Helluva Kicks. Sami poses in the middle of the ring, but turns around just in time to see Kofi Kingston spring off the turnbuckle and hit him with a ridiculously high crossbody. Sami and Kofi then do some cool spots together until it is time for the lucky number 27th entrant, and it’s…
ME, IT’S ME, IT’S D-D-P!
Diamond Dallas Page returns to WWE and runs wild with Diamond Cutters and doing his signature stuff. During this time, the European Union takes out Kofi by attacking his injured ankle, then tossing him out of the ring. The next man in is Joey Mercury, who is quickly eliminated by DDP after eating a Diamond Cutter and getting dumped over the top rope.
Meanwhile, Cesaro and Barrett and trying to eliminate Ambrose. Seth comes over to make the save, but Barrett sees him coming and catches him with a spinning backfist, sending Seth collapsing down to the mat. Barrett then turns back to Cesaro and Ambrose and helps his partner force Dean over the top rope and down to the floor. Proud of themselves, the Europeans exchange a high five. Wade points out Seth’s limp body and Cesaro goes to pick Seth u- BARRETT NAILS CESARO IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH THE SPINNING BACKFIST! Cesaro collapses to the mat, and Barrett dumps him over the top rope. Cesaro’s limp body lands on the apron, and Wade pushes him off with one foot, with a look of utter disgust on his face.
Wade now tries to eliminate Rollins, but Rollins regains his wits at the last second manages to fight is way out as the twenty-ninth entrant comes out…
It’s Billy Kidman, who gets to run wild for a bit until Rollins cuts him off. Rollins tries for the Buckle Bomb, but this is a mistake as everyone knows that you can’t powerbomb Kidman, who counters it with a facebuster. Stuff happens until it is time for the final entrant. The countdown clock reaches zero and the stage erupts in flame as the man who holds the record for most eliminations in a single Royale Rumble, Kane, comes out.
As Kane is on his way down to the ring, the announcer remind us that he has made it his goal this year to not only win the Royal Rumble, but also to reclaim the record for most eliminations of all-time from Shawn Michaels, who he is currently four behind. Cole points out that in order to regain the record, Kane will have to eliminate every remaining competitor in the match. JBL notes that Kane not eliminated anyone from a Royal Rumble since 2011, hasn’t eliminated multiple people from a Royal Rumble since 2009, and, in fact, has been dispatched quickly without eliminating anyone for the last two years. Can he break HBK’s record?
Like the past two years, Kane runs wild as soon as he steps over the top rope, chokeslamming people all around. He first eliminates Kidman with a big clothesline over the top rope, then he does the same to DDP, with both men conveniently landing near the body of Joey Mercury, who is just now recovering from the Diamond Cutter he took. Sami Zayn bravely charges at Kane, but winds up being chokeslammed over the top rope, right down onto the other three men. After another minute or two, Kane also eliminates Wade Barrett, meaning the final two men in the 2015 Royal Rumble are Seth Rollins and Kane.
They go for a minute or two before…

Hidden text.

Seth Rollins wins the 2015 Royal Rumble, countering a chokeslam by landing behind Kane, then nailing Kane with a dropkick to the back, sending the Big Red Monster over the top rope and down to the floor.

[Big Red Machine]

Figured I'd post this separately from the rest of the stuff that builds to the next PPV because this doesn't actually build to the PPV. I hope to have the PPV build up in the next day or two.

Tyson Kidd vs. Christian
Christian says he has realized that he has never truly gotten over the fact that he can’t beat Tyson Kidd. That’s why he lost to Cena at TLC even though it was his own match and his own hometown and then go on a big losing streak: because the loss he suffered at Tyson’s hands just a few days before that had made him doubt himself. He NEEDS another match with Tyson so he can finally beat him.
Steph tells him that she’s not inclined to give him what he wants because he no-showed a bunch of shows, and then, after she suspended him, he showed up and interfered in the Royal Rumble. Christian declares that if he can’t beat Tyson and get this monkey off of his back it will haunt him forever and there would be no point in continuing his career… so he is willing to put his career on the line. Steph consents, and books the match for the February 16 Raw in Tampa. Christian loses and is forced to retire (and the show is close to the city where he resided, so his wife and kids can show up). Christian gets a big tribute after we go off the air that is posted on the Network.

[Big Red Machine]

WWE TITLE PICTURE:
On the first show after the Rumble, Brock doesn’t show up. Heyman tells us that Brock is refusing to show up until WWE tells him who his next challenger will be. On the 2/6 Raw we get our first hint as AJ Bryan returns to WWE TV to tell us that Daniel Bryan will be on next week’s show to make a HUGE announcement. On that Raw, Bryan announces that he is coming back and he wants his rematch against Brock at Elimination Chamber. On Smackdown we learn that Bryan has requested a match against Mark Henry on Raw. Everyone wonders why he would do this. On Raw, Bryan makes Henry tap to the ankle lock to prove that he can beat a much larger opponent.
For Brock’s part of things, Heyman cuts his promos for him.
We also get a bunch of video of Seth Rollins training from his “training camp” for his main event match at WrestleMania. This keeps Rollins off TV most of the time, but he will be around to do commentary on both world title matches at Elimination Chamber.


WADE BARRETT vs. ANTONIO CESARO:
Everyone wants to know why Wade Barrett turned on his European Union tag team partner and eliminated him from the Royal Rumble. Wade says that this is because Cesaro sold out on their message and started working with filthy stinking Americans like Heyman and Ziggler. Cesaro tries to tell Wade that they were wrong and not all Americans are bad, but Wade attacks him again. A singles match is booked between the two of them for the PPV.

TAG TEAM TITLE PICTURE:
On the live Thursday Smackdown (the first show after the Rumble), The Usos defeat Co-Bro in dominant fashion (we can work around Santino’s injury-induced limitations by having Ryder get his ass kicked quickly and have Santino run away in comedic fear or something like that). The featured match for Superstars is the Usos vs. Brain Trust. In the video packages to build the teams up, Brain Trust focus on the fact that they’re back from injury and are going to prove that they are better than ever, while The Usos focus on their need to earn a title shot and avenge their embarrassing defeats at the hands of International Airstrike 2.0 back in the fall. The Usos win the match cleanly.
Because of these two wins, on the next week’s Raw Steph announces that if the Usos win a big four-way tag team match on Main Event, they will be awarded a tag title shot at Elimination Chamber. The match is the Usos vs. PTP vs. Cesaro & Ziggler vs. Big Show & Kofi. The Usos manage to hit their double splash finisher on Kofi and appear to have things won, but Titus O’Neil yanks the Uso making the cover out of the ring and steals the pin for himself.
On that week’s Smackdown (Feb. 5) PTP jump Airstrike backstage. They later cut a promo saying that because they won the match on Main Event instead of the Usos, they should be getting a tag title shot instead of the Usos. Steph comes out and tells them that they have lost to Airstrike so many times that they really don’t deserve a title match… but if Airstrike are okay with it, she will give PTP a title shot… but it will have to be a Last Chance match, meaning that if they lose, they can’t get another title shot for as long as Airstrike are champions.
On Raw the next week, Airstrike come out to announce whether or not they have accepted the deal, but PTP jump them from behind and then take out their oft-injured ribs with ladders. On Smackdown Airstrike show up and not only demand the match, but say that they want it to be a ladder match. Steph approves. On the go-home week, both teams get a win and get to cut promos. The Colons are on commentary for all of the matches and they put over how long they had to wait to get another shot at the tag titles after they lost their Last Chance match to PTP back at Money in the Bank 2013 (which you can go back and watch if you subscribe to the WWE Network for just $9.99 a month).


WYATT STUFF AND MIDCARD TITLE PICTURES:
On the Wednesday after the Rumble, two stories come out on WWE.com. One is that Steph has been negotiating with Paul Heyman. The second is that Bray Wyatt has requested some TV time on the live Smackdown.
On the live Smackdown, they keep plugging that Bray Wyatt will be cutting a promo on the show. The announcers hype this up as possibly answering the question of “is the Wyatt Family back together?” But the promo just never happens.
What does happen is a US Title match between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler with everyone barred from ringside. The announcers comment on how strange it is, as Ziggler usually has Heyman with him while we would expect Dean to Seth Rollins with him or maybe have the Wyatts with him as they all seem to be back together again. It is also noted that Dolph has lost quite a bit recently, and thus it seems strange that he would get a title shot. The announcers wonder if Heyman offered Steph some sort of deal to set this match up. Dean wins the match cleanly to retain his title.

A similar thing happens on Raw, with a Bray Wyatt promo being hyped up but never coming, and with Dean defending the US Title in a match with everyone barred from ringside. His opponent tonight is Jack Swagger. The finish sees the angry and aggressive Swagger so intent on getting Dean to tap out to a rear naked choke that he doesn’t realize Dean has forced his shoulders to the mat for a three count.
On this same Raw, Roman Reigns defends his IC Title against Tyson Kidd, who is screwed by Christian to further that feud. It is also announced that on Superstars, Dean Ambrose will defend the US Title against a challenger who will be named tomorrow night on Smackdown.
The day of Smackdown, WWE.com reports that US Champion Dean Ambrose has asked for some time to address the WWE Universe. On Smackdown, we go backstage to Dean… and standing right beside him is the entire Wyatt Family. Rather than say anything himself, Dean just hands his mic to Bray.
Bray calls Steph out for not giving him promo time, saying that she is still afraid of his message. He claims that she is trying everything she can to get the US Title off of Dean so that Dean can’t demand promo time as US Champion and then give that promo time Bray to spread his message. Bray tells us that he has set things straight in his family and they are now stronger than ever.
Later on Smackdown, it is announced that Michael McGillicutty, who has been winning his matches recently, will get a shot at the IC Title on Raw. It is also announced that Big Show will receive a the US Title shot at Ambrose on Superstars, and everyone will be barred from ringside.

All of the pre-match videos on Superstars build up the fact that Big Show is too large for Dean to apply the Regal Stretch. The only video that isn’t is footage of people talking about how Bray Wyatt is dangerous. Within this video is an interview of Seth Rollins that they keep coming back to in which Seth talks about how he thinks that Dean Ambrose does not need Bray Wyatt’s help and it would be healthiest for his good friend Dean to leave the Wyatt Family.
In the title match itself, Dean indeed cannot lock the Regal Stretch on the giant, so he instead busts out his new Dirty Deeds finisher to get the win and retain his title cleanly.
Over the weekend, it is announced that Barrett and Cesaro will each get a title shot at Ambrose this coming week because they eliminated him from the Royal Rumble. Cesaro’s shot will be on Main Event and Barrett’s shot will be on Smackdown.
On Raw, McGillicutty’s IC Title shot ends in a double DQ as the Wyatt Family shows up and attacks both guys. Bray grabs a mic and cuts a promo saying that if Cesaro and Barrett are getting title shots for eliminating Ambrose from the Rumble then Harper should get an IC Title shot because he eliminated Reigns from the Royal Rumble. He says that if Steph is truly as fair as she claims to be, she will do this. Steph comes out and agrees, awarding Harper an IC Title shot on Smackdown.
Barrett and Cesaro screw each other out of their US Title shots, while Roman defeats Harper clean. The next week on Raw, it is announced that Michael McGillicutty will be getting an IC Title shot at Elimination Chamber to make up for the title shot the Wyatts ruined.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE PICTURE:
While all of this is happening, World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes keeps running his mouth about being the best (including constantly referring to a big match Steph made for the PPV, Big Show vs. Sheamus, as “the clash of the losers.” To punish Cody for being such an asshole, Steph says that he will be defending his title inside the Elimination Chamber. She signs a bunch of three-ways to determine who will get the title shots. The first three-way, taking place on the Feb. 9 Raw, is won by Randy Orton. The second, taking place on the Feb. 12 Smackdown, is won by John Cena. The third, taking place on the Feb. 13 Superstars, is won by Dolph Ziggler.
On the Feb. 16 Raw, Bray points out to Steph that he and Dean have both won almost all of their most recent matches, so if Steph is really as fair as she claims to be (Cody has been calling her out for picking on him but Steph claims she is just doing what any promoter would do), she should give them both chances to earn a spot in the elimination chamber. Reluctantly, Steph agrees, and Bray wins a qualifier on the Feb. 16 Raw while Dean wins his on the Feb. 17 Main Event. The angle the announcers are pushing out of this is that Cody is a huge jerk whose mouth has run him into a lot of trouble, as he will now be defending his title in the chamber against such highly-rated superstars.


KOFI KINGSTON/JACK SWAGGER/R-TRUTH STUFF:
Jack Swagger continues to be fueled by his anger, using his aggression to help him in his matches. Kofi Kingston and Big Show try to tell him that this is a dangerous path to take in life. R-Truth comes out to back Swagger up. He calls Kofi out for being a hypocrite, saying that what Swagger is doing right now is the exact same thing that Kofi dumped Truth as a tag partner a few years ago for not doing. Kofi and Big Show say that following your anger will cause you to lose matches because you’ll be blinded by your rage, while Truth and Swagger insist that the rage helps them focus. They agree to put their methods to the test Elimination Chamber in a singles match between Kofi and Swagger.
Meanwhile, Kane has been bulldozing through jobbers and under-card guys like the Big Red Machine he is.

WWE DIVAS TITLE PICTURE:
We build Paige up as a challenger as she runs through all of the undercard girls. Meanwhile, Ashley is being disrespectful to everyone. Nattie says she will teach Ashley a lesson in the wrestling business just like she taught Summer Rae, but Ashley doesn’t back down, insisting that she is a Flair “and those rules don’t apply to Flairs! WOO!”
We build to a big #1 contendership match on Raw between Ashley and Paige in which Ashley suffers her first loss, which comes by a roll-up. Paige offers her a handshake after the match, but Ashley snubs her, WOOOOOing her way up the ramp. It will be Nattie vs. Paige at Elimination Chamber.

[Big Red Machine]

ELIMINATION CHAMBER RUNDOWN

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015: (2/22/2015)- Memphis, TN

WWE TITLE MATCH: Brock Lesnar(c) (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Daniel Bryan (w/AJ Bryan)
Three months after being dominated by "the Conquerer" Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan says he is back to reclaim his WWE Title. On Raw he proved that he can defeat a much larger man by chocking out Mark Henry, but will be able to defeat "The Beast" himself, Brock Lesnar?

ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Paul Heyman)
Has Cody's mouth finally written a check that his rear end won't be able to cash?

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Michael McGullicutty
Two of WWE's top up-and-comers face off for the prize that has launched the careers of so many WWE legends!

WADE BARRETT vs. ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)
Civil war in the former European Union!

LAST CHANCE LADDER MATCH FOR THE WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. The Prime Time Players
Will PTP's dastardly attacks pay off for them, or will this be their last title match for a long time?!

WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya Neidhart(c) (w/Tyson Kidd) vs. Paige
Tyson Kidd recently forced Christian into retirement. Will Natalya be able to put down Christian's cohort, or will Paige get some retribution on Tyson Kidd's wife?

THE BIG SHOW vs. SHEAMUS
Two of WWE's biggest superstars facing off in a rematch from WrestleMania XXIX. Both are looking to pick up a big win to avoid being dubbed, in Cody Rhodes' mind, at least, the "Loser of Losers."

KOFI KINGSTON (w/Big Show) vs. JACK SWAGGER (w/R-Truth)
Is anger an asset to a WWE competitor, or is it a weakness?

PRE-SHOW MATCH: Ashley Flair vs. Naomi (w/the Brain Trust)
Can the Nature Boy's daughter once again put her money where her mouth is and defeat one of WWE's top Divas?

[Big Red Machine]

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 (2/22/2015)- Memphis, TN

PRE-SHOW:
Daniel Bryan (w/AJ) cuts a big promo about how he is returning from injury to reclaim what is rightfully his.

ASHLEY FLAIR vs. NAOMI (w/the Brain Trust)-
Ashley wins clean with the Figure 8, then announces to everyone that she’ll be doing commentary for the Divas Title match later tonight… and who knows what she might decide to do?

The Prime Time Players cut a promo to hype up their Last Chance Ladder match for the tag titles.

Paul Heyman cuts a promo on behalf of his three clients to hype up their big matches tonight.
We also get quick promos from the other five guys in the Elimination Chamber. In his promo, Cody buries everyone else, as well as Big Show and Sheamus.

MAIN SHOW:
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Michael McGillicutty-
Roman wins clean in about fourteen minutes to retain the title, pinning McGillicutty after a spear.

JACK SWAGGER (w/R-Truth) vs. KOFI KINGSTON (w/the Big Show)-
Swagger wins clean in thirteen minutes when he makes Kofi tap to the Patriot Act. Swagger doesn’t release the hold after the match until Big Show comes in and tries to knock him out with a WMD. Swagger and Truth head to the back while Big Show helps Kofi backstage.

WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya Neidhart(c) (w/Tyson Kidd) vs. Paige-
Ashley Flair comes out to do commentary. Nattie wins clean in nine minutes, making Paige tap. After the match, Ashley grabs the Divas Title and poses with it on the announce table. When Nattle angrily goes to get it, Ashley tosses the belt on the floor behind Nattie and scampers off.

SHEAMUS vs. BIG SHOW-
Cody Rhodes comes out to do commentary and buries both guys, calling them losers and bragging about his successful title defenses against them. Sheamus wins clean with a Brogue Kick in fifteen minutes.

WADE BARRETT vs. ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)-
Cesaro wins clean in twenty minutes, avoiding the Barrett Barrage and finally putting Barrett down after the Gotch-style Neutralizer.

LAST CHANCE LADDER MATCH FOR THE WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. The Prime Time Players-
PTP work over Airstrike’s injured ribs, but the babyfaces persevere and win the match to retain their titles in eighteen minutes.

ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Paul Heyman)-
Seth Rollins comes out to do commentary. Cena and Ambrose start off and are even for a few minutes. Rollins talks up Ambrose and is actively cheering for him, talking about how cool it would be to face his friend for the World Heavyweight Title on “the Grandest Stage of Them All.”
Bray enters first and he and Ambrose team up to beat Cena up. The commentators ask Seth what they think of this. Seth says that he understands the strategy of making alliances in matches like this… but he doesn’t think that Dean needs Bray’s help at all, and that Dean would be doing just as well for himself without the Wyatt Family.
The Wyatts beat Cena down until Orton enters the match, and we get a tense alliance between Orton and Cena to fight off the Wyatts. The next pod open is Cody’s but Cody tries to hide in his pod. Orton comes over and pulls Cody out, but this leaves the Wyatts to double-team Cena. When Dolph enters, he goes off to brawl with Orton and Cody, so the Wyatts are still double-teaming Cena…
Until Cena manages to make a big comeback. To finish this comeback off, he first hits Ambrose with an AA, then hits Bray with an AA right across Ambrose’s chest. Then Dolph Ziggler runs in from behind and catches Cena with a Zig-Zag!
ONE!

TWO!



THRE-NO!
Cena kicks out!
But as Cena and Dolph both recover, the referee notices that Ambrose has been lying on his back this whole time, unmoving, with the equally unmoving Bray Wyatt draped on top of him… meaning that Wyatt is technically pinning Ambrose!
The ref makes the count:
ONE!



TWO!



THREE!
Dean Ambrose has been eliminated!

The recovered Ziggler then rushes over and pins Bray:
ONE!


TWO!



THREE!
Bray Wyatt has been eliminated!

The two pairs meet up and swap dance partners, so Cena is now brawling with Cody with Orton is brawling with Ziggler. Cena is barely able to get the best of Cody, but Orton kicks Ziggler’s ass from pillar to post. Ziggler desperately manages to whip Orton right at Cena. The two old rivals bump into each other, face off, and then start to trade blows.
Cena gets the better of the exchange and manages to dump Orton over the ropes and onto the steel floor of the chamber. Dolph runs in from behind and punches Cena in the back of the head… and Cena drops like a sack of potatoes. Dolph makes the cover:
ONE!


TWO!




THREE!
John Cena has been eliminated! The announcers are shocked!...
Until JBL notices the glint of metal on Dolph’s hand, and while the referee helps Cena out of the cage, Dolph brazenly shows off the brass knuckles he got from Paul Heyman that he used to knock John Cena out.
Ziggler goes over to Orton and drags him back into the ring. He pulls the groggy Orton to his feet and rears back to give Randy and brass knuckle sandwi-RKO OUT OF NOWHERE!
BUT ORTON IS TOO EXHAUSTED TO FOLLOW UP!
CODY SEES HIS CHANCE!
He runs out of the corner he has been hiding in and picks Randy up for the Cross Rhodes…
BUT RANDY SPINS OUT OF IT! BIG DROPKICK TO CODY!
Ziggler is trying to push himself back up, but the adrenaline is now flowing through Randy Orton, and he puts a stop to that by running over and PUNTING DOLPH IN THE HEAD!
ONE!


TWO!



THREE!
Dolph Ziggler has been eliminated.

As the referee goes to Dolph to help him out of the ring, Randy Orton goes to Cody to take the fight to him. Randy hits a few big moves, but Cody then stops him in his tracks with a low blow. As the ref is helping Dolph out of the cage, Cody rushes past him and out the door. Cody grabs a steel chair and tries to get back in the ring. Referees try to stop him, but Cody shoves them off. Cody gets in the ring and starts to assault Orton with the chair… but SHEAMUS rushes into the cage, and as Cody comes at him with the chair, Sheamus nails Cody with a Brogue Kick!
As the referees take Sheamus to the back, the two remaining wrestlers recover their wits. They get back to their feet at the same time and wrestle for about five more minutes until Randy Orton makes Cody Rhodes tap out to the Viper’s Bite to become the new World Heavyweight Champion in about 32 minutes.


WWE TITLE MATCH: Brock Lesnar(c) (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Daniel Bryan (w/AJ Bryan)-
Seth Rollins is on commentary for this match as well.
Bryan tries his best to avoid Brock’s grasp, peppering him with quick strikes, hit-and-run moves, and trying to set up the sleeper choke he had beaten Mark Henry with. When he finally gets the choke, Brock almost goes down, but manages to power Bryan off. The finish eventually comes when Brock makes Bryan tap out clean to the Kimura in about twenty-eight minutes to retain the WWE Title.

[Big Red Machine]

The Elimination Chamber post-show includes a furious Cody Rhodes ranting about being screwed out of the World Heavyweight Title and demanding a rematch with Randy Orton tomorrow night on Raw. Before the post-show goes off the air, it is announced that the match has been made official.

Dolph Ziggler will not be at tonight’s Raw as he is recovering from injuries sustained inside the hellacious Elimination Chamber.
On tonight’s Raw, in addition to the World Heavyweight Title rematch between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes, we will also see Nikki Bella vs. AJ Bryan, Big Show vs. Big E. Langston, and John Cena vs. Kane!


Raw: (2/23/2015)- Indianapolis, IN
The show opens with Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar & Cesaro in the ring. Heyman cuts a promo putting over all of his guys, talking about how Dolph pinned Cena in the Elimination Chamber, how Cesaro defeated Wade Barrett, and how Brock Lesnar defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Title. Heyman goes on and on and on about how no one can beat Brock Lesnar. No one is strong enough, no one is skilled enough.
This brings out Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins. Seth says that he has been dreaming of being WWE Champion ever since he was a little kid. It has been a month since he won the Royal Rumble, and he doesn’t want to wait any more. Brock might be an amazing wrestler- one of the most dominant WWE has ever seen- but Rollins has been training intensively for a month and he can beat him… and he wants to do so tonight!
Cesaro jumps in and asks how Rollins can possibly hope to beat Brock Lesnar if he (Rollins) couldn’t even beat him (Cesaro) the last time WWE was in Indianapolis back on the 11/24 Raw. Cesaro declares that “the only person strong enough and skilled enough and tough enough to beat Brock Lesnar is me!”
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Heyman screams at him. Brock, for his part, looks amused that either of these guys thinks they can beat him.
Before things can erupt any further, Hunter and Steph come out and say they will discuss all of this tonight. For now, they ask Seth Rollins to come backstage to talk with them.

Throughout the night, the announcers throw us to a cameraman they have stationed outside of Steph’s office to interview the guys once they come out of their meetings with Hunter. The first interview we get is Rollins. He says that he understands Hunter and Steph’s position, and that he now has a big decision to make.
For the second interview, we see Cesaro waiting outside the office. We then see Brock come out of the office and Cesaro starts to go in. We then hear Hunter yelling at Heyman to get out. Heyman is licensed to negotiate on Cesaro’s behalf, but that doesn’t mean that Cesaro can’t do his own negotiating when he wants to, and Hunter and Steph want to talk to Cesaro alone. Heyman angrily walks out of the office, but when he sees the camera, he puts his game face back on. He reaffirms Brock’s dominance to the camera, and assures us that anyone would be foolish to challenge Brock when they could challenge Orton instead.


Instead of a third interview, we are told that Cesaro declined to comment.
At the end of the show, Hunter appears on the TitanTron and explains everything: He didn’t want to give Rollins his WWE Title match tonight because WWE has spent the past few weeks promoting Wrestlemania with Rollins challenging for a world title. That being said, he, like Rollins, grew up dreaming of being WWE Champion, and a precedent was set for the Royal Rumble winner to cash in before Mania with John Cena in 2008, so if Rollins really wants the title shot, he will give it to him… but with some strings attached:
Rollins has one week to make a decision: He can either get his title shot at Mania, which Hunter would like him to do, or he can defend his #1 contendership next week on Raw against Cesaro. If Rollins wins that match and still wants to cash in early, he will challenge Brock for the WWE Title live on Monday Night Raw the week after.

Randy Orton cuts a promo saying that if anyone thinks he is losing the World Heavyweight Title just one day after working so hard to win it, they have another thing coming.

WADE BARRETT vs. TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya Neidhart)-
Wade wins clean with the Barrett Barrage in thirteen minutes. The announcers plug the fact that Nattie has promised us that later in the night, she will call out Ashley Flair.

We get word that Dean Ambrose has asked for promo time, which we all know has been code for “Bray Wyatt ordered Dean Ambrose to ask for promo time so that Bray can preach his message and attempt to recruit followers.” The announcers are shocked when we cut backstage and Dean is the only one around. They are even more shocked when instead of talking about how great Bray Wyatt is, Dean uses his promo time to wish his friend Seth Rollins good luck in his upcoming WWE Title match, whenever he will get it.

ZACK RYDER vs. R-TRUTH (w/Jack Swagger)-
Truth all but squashes Ryder.

International Airstrike 2.0 cut a promo talking about the how hard they have fought and all of the injuries they have fought through in their war against the Prime Time Players, but the war is finally over and they are ready for their next challenge.

ROMAN REIGNS & THE USOS vs. MIZ & THE COLONS (w/Rosa Mendes)-
Babyfaces win clean when Roman spears and pins a Colon.

NIKKI BELLA vs. AJ BRYAN (w/Daniel Bryan)-
Dragon sits in on commentary and tells us that he sustained some minor injuries in his match against Brock, but he will be back in action on Smackdown.
Nikki manages to pull out the clean upset win, pinning AJ after hitting the Rack Attack in nine minutes.

Renee Young interviews Sheamus about his interference in the Elimination Chamber match, costing Cody the World Heavyweight Title. Sheamus says that what goes around comes around, and Cody got what was coming to him for his months of cheating. She asks if he is planning on making an appearance in tonight’s main event. Sheamus says that all depends on Cody.

The Prime Time Players come out and cut a promo whining about their loss in the Last Chance Ladder Match for the tag titles last night, and how this will inhibit their ability to make millions o’ dollas. They rant on and on until the Wyatt Family’s music starts to play and Lillian pics up her mic and lets us know that she has just been informed that, per orders of WWE General Manager Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, the Prime Time Players will face off against Brodus Clay and Ryback of the Wyatt Family RIGHT NOW.

THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. THE WYATT FAMILY (w/Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose, and Bray Wyatt)-
Ryback and Brodus win clean and decisively, each laying a member of PTP out with a finisher. The real story, though, takes place on the outside where rather than his usual words of encouragement or semi-cryptic advice, Bray spends the entire match glaring at Dean Ambrose.
After the match Bray grabs a mic and explains to us that Stephanie offered him a few minutes of promo time in exchange for shutting PTP up. Bray says that he had thought that having a title in his stable would be enough to guarantee him promo time whenever he wanted it, but recent events (*he glares at Dean*) have caused him to reconsider this. In order for his freedom of speech to truly be safe- in order to ensure that his message to reach and help the most people- he needs to have a title a little closer to home. Bray points out to us that he was the one who pinned Dean last night in the Elimination Chamber… and thus he should be entitled to a shot at the US Title… and he wants that title shot this week on Smackdown!
Dean is unhappy about this, but a bit of preaching from Bray about how him being champion will allow his message- the same message that saved Dean from the insanity that was eating him up inside; that helped him tame the monster that he had become- to reach and help even more people, makes Dean calm down and feel more comfortable about this.

We get a promo from Mark Henry and Big E. Langston talking about what a big opportunity tonight’s match against Big Show is for young Big E.

Renee Young interviews John Cena about Dolph using brass knuckles to eliminate him from the Elimination Chamber last night. Cena is angry about this, and he says that tonight, that means bad news for Kane.

BIG SHOW vs. BIG E. LANGSTON (w/Mark Henry)-
Big E. gets to show off his power, but eventually show defeats him with a WMD.

Truth cuts a backstage promo saying that he and Swagger have been showing everyone what tapping into your anger can do for you (with their wins over Kofi and Ryder last night and tonight respectively)

KANE vs. JOHN CENA-
They have a big slugfest. I’d almost have them go strong-style and just take turns smacking the sh*t out of each other and barely selling it. On commentary, JBL says that he can’t help but think about what R-Truth just said and what Cena said earlier and he said that it seems like both guys here are being fueled by their anger, and this has been an awesome match.
A few minutes later, Kofi comes out to do commentary and tries to put the kibosh on JBL putting over people for tapping into their anger. The match ends when they spill to the outside and Kane whips Cena into the steps, and when Kane follows Cena in for an attack, Cena defends himself by quickly picks the steps up and hitting Kane with them, causing a DQ. Kofi takes this as proof that he is correct, pointing out to JBL that Cena’s anger cost him that match.

Nattie calls out Ashley Flair and, in as babyface a manner as possible, she gives Ashley a lecture about respect in the wrestling business and tells Ashley she had better start shaping the f*ck up.
Ashley, who has been standing there looking bored the whole time, asks “or else what?”
Nattie responds “or else, I’ll take you to school,” and walks off, leaving Ashley alone and angry in the ring.

WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton(c) vs. Cody Rhodes-
They wrestle for a while until we get a ref bump. Cody knocks Orton out with a chair but Sheamus runs in brawls with Cody, ending in Cody eating a Brogue Kick on the outside. Orton and the referee both recover soon after the Randy wins by count-out.
After this match ends, we cut to the TitanTron for Hunter’s promo about Rollins’ upcoming big decision, as detailed earlier. The announcers react with the standard mix of shock and excitement, then begin their signoff when THE LIGHTS IN THE ARENA GO OUT!
GONG!
GONG!
GONG!
And when the lights come back on… STING is standing in the ring, holding his trademark black baseball bat in one hand and a microphone in the other. He wears an amused expression on his painted face and lightheartedly asks “what? Were you expecting someone else?”


WWE.com announcers that despite WWE management’s reservations, Bray Wyatt did technically pin Dean Ambrose in the Elimination Chamber and thus does deserve a US Title shot, so that match will take place, as Bray requested, this Thursday night on Smackdown.


Main Event: (2/24/2015)-
NIKKI BELLA vs. ROSA MENDES (w/the Colons)-
Nikki wins clean.

BRODUS CLAY & RYBACK (w/the Wyatt Family) vs. TWO JOBBERS-
They squash the jobbers.

BIG SHOW vs. DAMIEN SANDOW (w/the Brain Trust)-
Show wins clean with the WMD.



Smackdown: (2/26/2015)- Atlanta, GA

DANIEL BRYAN (w/AJ Bryan) vs. DAMIEN SANDOW (w/the Brain Trust)-
Dragon wins clean in eight minutes, pinning Sandow after a Busaiku Knee.
After the match, Dragon cuts a promo saying that he might have failed to win the WWE Title back at Elimination Chamber, that doesn’t mean he is down and out. He vows to work hard and climb the mountain and be champion once more, and AJ will do the same and they will once again be champions together.

Renee Young interviews John Cena about his DQ loss to Kane on Raw. Cena admits that he lost because he let his anger get the better of him. It’s not something he usually does, but this time it happened and he lost because of it and he has to live with the consequences of having a big fat L on his record.

THE USOS vs. THE COLONS (w/Rosa Mendes)-
Usos win clean. International Airstrike 2.0 put in an appearance on commentary and put both teams over.

Byron Saxton is backstage with Paul Heyman. He wants to know if Heyman has talked to Cesaro at all since Monday. Heyman tells us that he and Cesaro have been talking, and they will talk more later tonight after Cesaro’s match against Sheamus.

PAIGE vs. NIKKI BELLA-
Nikki pulls out another big upset, pinning Paige clean after hitting the Rack Attack.

Renee Young interviews Seth Rollins to ask him if he has made a decision about putting his Royal Rumble title shot on the line on Raw against Cesaro in order to be able to cash it in early the next week. He says he hasn’t made up his mind yet.

We get a promo from Cody Rhodes screaming and raving and yelling about how Sheamus screwed him out of the World Heavyweight Title yet again on Raw, and how he is going to take it out on Roman Reigns tonight.

EMMA vs. NATALYA NEIDHART (w/Tyson Kidd)-
Nattie wins clean in six minutes, and they shake hands afterward.

ROMAN REIGNS vs. CODY RHODES-
Cody is angry and quickly winds up getting himself DQed for shoving the ref when the ref tries to get him to break in the corner.
Kofi Kingston is on commentary for this match and once again talks about the dangers of letting your rage guide to. JBL counters Kofi’s arguments by saying that Truth and Kane and Swagger all seem to be pretty successful when they do that. Kofi argues that it also leads them to do things like injure people intentionally after a match when they get frustrated like Swagger did to Kalisto.

ASHLEY FLAIR vs. LAYLA EL-
Ashley dominates the match, working over Layla’s leg. The finish see Ashley do her big WOOO and go for the Figure 8… but then grabs Layla’s other leg was well and turn her over into a Sharpshooter instead, WOOOOing the whole time as Layla taps out.

The Prime Time Players cut a short promo saying that they are angry at Steph for siccing the Wyatts on them and declare that they are going on strike. They say that the fact that she was willing to give Bray Wyatt mic time- something she has been doing everything in her power to prevent because she thinks it is dangerous- JUST to silence them is evidence that she is biased against them.

WADE BARRETT vs. HEATH SLATER-
Wade destroys Heath in thirty seconds with a bunch of strikes, ending in a Barrett Barrage.

Randy Orton cuts a backstage promo in which he mocks Daniel Bryan and heels on the fans for cheering him. Orton compares himself to Bryan, saying that after he lost his match to Brock Lesnar, he spent months devoting himself to becoming a better wrestler and adding new moves to his arsenal like the Viper’s Bite, all working towards overcoming his loss to Brock by proving to everyone that he is the best by winning the World Heavyweight Title. Daniel Bryan, by contrast, just went out and gotten beaten by Brock again. He says that Bryan is weak and soft and doesn’t have what it take to be a true champion.

FOUR WAY ELIMINATION MATCH: Big Show vs. The Miz vs. Michael McGillicutty vs. Mark Henry (w/Big E. Langston)-
Big Show wins, eliminating all three of his opponents with the WMD. The announcers put the Big Show over as the best striker in the WWE.

WWE UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH: Dean Ambrose(c) (w/the Wyatt Family) vs. Bray Wyatt (also w/the Wyatt Family)-
Bray wants Ambrose to lie down for him. Ambrose is reluctant, but Bray starts to preach to him about the important of being able to spread his message- the same message that helped Dean, and without which Dean would never have won that title in the first place.
Ambrose seems to accept Bray’s wisdom and lies down, but Seth Rollins comes charging out of the back like a bat out of hell, manages to slip through the Wyatts out on the outside who try to intercept him, slides into the ring and breaks up the pin for the DQ. He yells at Dean, telling Dean that he did it on his own and he doesn’t need Bray Wyatt. Bray, Ryback, Harper, and Brodus try to attack Seth, but he manages to slip past all of them and escape into the crowd, leaving Bray furious.

SHEAMUS vs. ANTONIO CESARO (w/Paul Heyman)-
Cody tries to interfere and attack Sheamus but Sheamus and Cesaro work together to kick him his butt and send him running. Cesaro wins clean in twenty minutes, pinning Sheamus after an Alpamare Waterslide (we’ll give it a new, cooler name).
After the match, Heyman and Cesaro have their talk. Heyman says he understands Cesaro’s competitive drive and need to find out if he is the best, but he implores Cesaro to not go after Brock Lesnar’s WWE Title. Heyman tells Cesaro that he has negotiated for him and Ziggler to get a tag title match tomorrow night on Superstars and encourages him to focus on his tag team with Dolph so that the Paul Heyman Guys will dominate two divisions.
Cesaro still says that he wants to go after Brock and win the WWE Title in the main event of WrestleMania. Heyman then makes it clear to Cesaro that if Rollins does decide to take the match next week, and Cesaro wins, Heyman will not support Cesaro in his quest to defeat Brock. Cesaro says “so be it.”



Superstars: (2/27/2015)-
All of tonight’s focus is on the history of the Paul Heyman Guys together. Cesaro talks about how Dolph and Heyman helped him learn that not all Americans are bad and about how much being Heyman’s client has helped his career- so much that it was Cesaro who convinced Heyman to recruit Dolph to the group. We also push Heyman’s relationship with Brock and Brock’s dominance as champion.
We also get some focus on Airstrike’s now almost year-long tag title reign and how they have beaten everyone there is to beat in the tag team division…but they have never cleanly defeated Dolph & Cesaro since Heyman started to manage them.

WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Antonio Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman)-
Airstrike win cleanly with Neville pinning Dolph after both guys hit him with their flippy finsihers.



Tonight’s Raw is not one to miss! In addition to Seth Rollins’ big decision- and possibly putting his WrestleMania main event title shot on the line against Cesaro- we will see TWO big title matches as Nikki Bella and the Big Show are rewarded for their respective impressive performances last week with shots at the Divas and Intercontinental Titles respectively.
Also announced for Raw…Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena!
Tyson Kidd will not be at Raw because he is home in his native Canada promoting WWE’s next tour there.


Raw: (3/2/2015) Newark, NJ-
We get a video package focusing on the decision that Seth Rollins must make tonight. Throughout the night we go backstage to Byron, who is waiting by Seth’s locker room. Byron always reports that Seth hasn’t come out of his locker room to say anything.

THE USOS vs. INTERNATIONAL AIRSTRIKE 2.0 vs. THE BRAIN TRUST (w/Naomi)-
They have an action-packed three-way opener. At one point during the match the Usos hit their double splash on Neville and have him pinned but the Brain Trust breaks it up. The Usos eventually triumph after hitting Otunga with their double splash finisher.

We hear the sounds of thunder and lighting in the arena while a message appears on the TitanTron, declaring “those who would mock The Lord of Darkness shall rest… in… peace.”

MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY & THE COLONS (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. THE WYATT FAMILY (Luke Harper, Brodus Clay, & Ryback) (w/Bray Wyatt & Dean Ambrose)-
Wyatts win in dominant fashion with Harper pinning McGillicutty.

Sheamus is cutting a promo backstage when Cody Rhodes attacks him from behind with a weapon and lays him out.

WADE BARRETT vs. MARK HENRY (w/Big E. Langston)-
Barrett wins clean in eight minutes. The finish sees Mark have the bearhug locked in but Wade fights out of it with a bunch of strikes to the head, then hits the Barrett Barrage for the win.

Renee interviews Paul Heyman about what he thinks Seth Rollins will choose to do tonight. Paul says he doesn’t know what Seth will choose, but he hopes that Seth chooses to wait until WrestleMania because he truly believes in Antonio Cesaro and doesn’t want to lose him as a client… but even more than he believes in Cesaro, he believes in THE quintessential Paul Heyman Guy: the WWE Champion… the Conqueror, the Beast, BBRRRROOOOOOCKKKKK LLLLLLESSSSNNNARRRRR!

KANE vs. HEATH SLATER-
Kane squashes Slater

Dolph Ziggler cuts a promo saying that he thinks Cena is just making up excuses for why he got himself DQed last week against Kane when we all know that what really happened was that Cena got himself DQed on purpose because he knows, deep down inside, that he just doesn’t have it anymore.

R-TRUTH vs. THE MIZ-
Truth attacks Miz right out of the gate and doesn’t let up the pressure. Every time Miz gets the advantage and starts acting like his cocky, trash-talking self, Truth gets more aggressive and makes Miz pay for giving him any time at all to catch his breath. Truth wins clean in eight minutes with the Hat Rack Crack.

Backstage, Jack Swagger is cutting a promo, using the previous match as an example of how tapping into your anger and letting it fuel you can help you win a match. Kofi shows up and points out that allowing yourself to be fueled by your anger can make you a slave to your emotions and cause you to get DQed like happened to Cody Rhodes on Smackdown. Even John Cena fell victim to this last week on Raw, and he is one of the most level-headed Superstars in the WWE. Kofi says that giving yourself over to your anger can make you vulnerable to manipulation and if someone who can take advantage of that comes along, they can use it to control you like Bray Wyatt controls people… to the point where you are even willing to lie down and give away a title like Dean Ambrose was willing to do on Smackdown.
Swagger counters by telling Kofi that tapping into his anger has worked for him, and it is exactly what he did to beat Kofi at Elimination Chamber. He tells Kofi to stop bothering him and leave him alone… or else he will get very angry at Kofi.

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Big Show-
The announcers push the Big Show as the most dangerous striker in WWE and tell us that if Big Show can hit the WMD, he will definitely put Reigns down for the count. They build the match around this point with Show going for the WMD and Reigns dodging it. The finish comes when Roman ducks under a WMD, hits the ropes, and as Big Show turns around, Roman catches him with a spear and pins him to retain the title in fifteen minutes.

Randy Orton cuts a backstage promo responding to fans who he claims clearly didn’t understand his reasons for calling Daniel Bryan weak… so he will be on hand on commentary during Bryan’s match with John Cena to explain it again.

WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya Neidhart(c) vs. Nikki Bella-
Nattie wins clean in twelve minutes, making Nikki tap to the Sharpshooter. They shake hands, and while this is happening, Ashley Flair jumps out of the crowd, grabs the belt from the timekeeper, and lays them both out with it. She stands over Nattie, poses with the title, and says “you said that if I didn’t start to show you some respect, you’d take me to school? Well how about instead I just kick your ass and take your title, b*tch?”
The announcers react in horror to both the dastardly attack and Ashley’s foul language.

JOHN CENA vs. DANIEL BRYAN (w/AJ Bryan)-
Orton comes out to do commentary. Dragon wins clean in twenty and gets in Orton’s face after the match, telling Orton “if you think I’m weak, why don’t you go ask John Cena?”

Seth Rollins finally emerges from his locker room and tells Byron that after much consideration… he just can’t wait any longer than is necessary for his chance to live out his boyhood dream and become the WWE Champion! He’ll face Cesaro tonight… and next week he will defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title!

SINGLES MATCH FOR SETH ROLLINS’ TITLE SHOT AGAINST BROCK LESNAR: Seth Rollins(c) vs. Antonio Cesaro-
They have a great back and forth match for about twenty minutes before we get a ref bump and a double-down. Then the Wyatt Family- except for Dean Ambrose- all come out and attack Rollins, then drag Cesaro’s body onto Rollins for the win. Antonio Cesaro is going to WrestleMania XXXI to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title!

[Big Red Machine]

The Rest of the Build to WrestleMania XXXI:


WWE TITLE PICTURE:
We get around the Thirty Days Rule by having Heyman claim that Brock should be given more time to prepare for Cesaro because he has spent the last week training for Rollins instead and needs more time to prepare. Hunter and Steph find this request reasonable. We keep building Cesaro up with wins and babyface promos, and on the go-home show, we do a big contract-signing and stare-down. Heyman maintain friendly relations with Cesaro and in public tells everyone how happy he is that two of his clients are facing off for the WWE Title, but we get the sense he is unhappy about it because it is really Brock who he is loyal to and who really wants to win.

JOHN CENA VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER:
We build off of the brass knuckles finish in the Elimination Chamber. Maybe do an Eddie Guerrero type of finish where Heyman tries to throw the knux into the ring but Cena intercepts it so Dolph plays dead and Heyman convinces the ref that Cena used the brass knuckles and Cena gets DQed. Dolph cuts a bunch of promos about how he is going to steal the show at WrestleMania because no matter what else happens, the only thing people will be talking about Monday morning is how Dolph Ziggler dominated John Cena.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE PICTURE:
Orton keeps insisting that Bryan is “weak” so they have a non-title match on the 3/9 Raw in which Bryan wins cleanly by roll-up. Orton attacks him after the match, and on Smackdown Orton claims that only someone who is weak would let their guard down after a match like Bryan did. Because of his victory from Raw, Bryan is named the #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania. Bryan wants to win the title, Orton vows to prove that Bryan is too “weak” to defeat him.

STING VS. THE UNDERTAKER:
It’s Sting vs. The Undertaker. That’s all it needs… but of course we also have the fact that it is Sting’s first match in the WWE and The Streak is on the line. I’d have them cut some promos but not interact much (if at all). I’d go very “shades of gray” in this one, with Sting clearly being a bit of a dick about the way he is challenging Taker, but Taker would also come off as maybe a bit uptight about Sting using his signature blackout/gong combo on his debut to get his attention and claiming that was “disrespectful.” Taker says that Sting might be a legend, but he doesn’t have the thing that matters most in WWE: Taker’s respect.

CODY RHODES vs. SHEAMUS:
They attack each other in every match and fight backstage all of the time, both vowing to never give up until the other guy is unable to get up and come after them again. This results in Steph booking them in a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania to blow off their feud.

WWE DIVAS TITLE PICTURE:
Ashley Flair winds up being named #1 contender for WrestleMania. The build continues with her being a brash young punk and disrespecting veteran champion Nattie. When someone calls her on this breach of etiquette, she always replies with the mantra “I’m a Flair. Flairs are winners. The rules don’t apply to Flairs.”
On the 3/9 Raw, she comes out and starts to cut one of her usual promos on Nattie, when she is interrupted by Naitch himself. Ashley is clearly surprised, as she didn’t know Ric was even in the building. Ric starts to lecture her on how veterans deserve to be respected because they are the people who blazed the trail that you are now walking on, etc. etc. He puts over Nattie as one of the best women in the history of the WWE, the only woman to every graduate from the Dungeon, etc. etc.. Throughout the whole thing Ashley hangs her head in shame, reply with the occasional “yes, sir” when required, just like a child being lectured by a disappointed parent- which is exactly what she is.
“Dammit, girl,” Ric shouts, “what did I teach you?!”
“Always work your hardest. Eyes and ears open. Mouth shut. And ALWAYS respect the veterans,” Ashley recites.
“And what’s the most important rule of all?” Ric asks.
And together they recite “You’re a Flair! Flairs are winners! The rules don’t apply to Flairs!”
They hug, and Ric raises Ashley’s hand. He grabs a mic and declares Ashley to be the next WWE Divas Champion, and Nattie Neidhart has two choices: She can do nothing, or she can like it.

Later that week on Smackdown, we get a surprise appearance by Bret Hart, who runs Ric Flair down for not teaching his daughter the business properly. Bret insists that the training that Nattie received in the Dungeon has instilled her with the skills and discipline, both physical and mental, needed to be a successful WWE Superstar- something Ashley will never be so long as she doesn’t have the necessary respect for the business and those in it.
This leads to Flair and Bret being in their respective kin’s corner for WrestleMania.

WYATT FAMILY & OTHER CONNECTED STUFF:
Bray Wyatt says that he cost Seth Rollins the WWE Title shot which he worked so hard to earn as a warning to stay out of the Wyatt Family’s business. Instead of taking the hint, Seth redoubles his efforts to help Dean Ambrose, as Seth and Bray begin waging a verbal battle for Dean’s soul.
Bray says that Dean needs his help to be successful. Without his help in controlling his inner monster, Dean will become unstable, just like he was before he met Bray. Bray using Ryback, Brodus, and Harper as examples of how Dean will fail without him. While Bray was on his two-month suspension, those three went wild and crazy with no direction, just fighting each other and often losing matches because of it… or just getting DQed on their own because they couldn’t control themselves. Now that Bray is back, though, he has once again turned them into the most dangerous destructive force the WWE has ever seen (and we’ll give them some trios wins to prove that).
Seth points out that while Bray was gone, Dean was able to successfully retain his US Title without him. And Dean didn’t need Bray’s help to win the IC Title back in the fall of 2013, or when he beat Mick Foley at WrestleMania XXIX. Seth says he is Dean’s friend has been for years, while Bray is just trying to take advantage of him. This eventually builds to a match at WrestleMania where Dean must choose a side. It will be a tag team match with Bray and Harper taking on Seth and Dean, or it will be a three-on-one handicap match.

Tangentially related to this is the stuff going on with Jack Swagger and R-Truth and Big Show and Kofi. Kofi and Big Show worry that Swagger giving in to his anger will make it easy for someone like Bray Wyatt to manipulate him, as almost happened to Big Show himself last year when he was in a similar place mentally. Bray does, in fact, try to recruit Swagger, but Swagger tells Bray to f*ck off (not in those words, of course). This seems to assuage Big Show and Kofi’s fears, and they decide that at this point it is best to just let Swagger see for himself that tapping into your anger to help mentally fuel yourself does not work.
For Truth and Swagger, though, tapping into their anger actually does seem to be helping them. Unfortunately, it occasionally leads to them getting carried away and attempting to hurt others after the match has already ended. One such occasion occurs when Swagger is randomly paired with Kane to take on the mentor/student team of Mark Henry and Big E. Langston. Swagger makes Big E. tap to the Patriot Act but doesn’t release the hold afterwards. Mark comes over to make the save, but Kane surprisingly runs over to stop Mark and beats him up a bit. This puts Big E. out for a week or two, and during that time, Kane joins up with Swagger and Truth, as he, too, follows the philosophy of letting his anger fuel him. Kalisto returns and swears revenge on Swagger for injuring him back in January. Big E. also returns and wants some revenge, too, so we get a six man tag match signed for the WrestleMania pre-show.

INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE PICTURE:
Since winning the title back at Night of Champions, Roman has been dominant, never being pinned, never submitting, or even getting counted-out or DQed. As WrestleMania approaches, Roman starts to seem off his game a bit, and winds up taking three separate pinfall losses: one to Kofi, one to Tyson Kidd, and one to The Miz. This results in a Fatal Four-Way title match being signed for Mania, with announcers noting that Roman’s only WrestleMania match has been an eight-man tag (which his team lost) while the other three are tenured veterans with many WrestleManias under their belts. Could the pressure of performing on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” be getting to the young champion?

WADE BARRETT VS. BIG SHOW:
Both men are pushed as “the most dangerous striker in the WWE” and get wins with their big striking finishers, which are never kicked out of. They have a match at WrestleMania to see who really is “the most dangerous striker in the WWE.”

TAG TITLE PICTURE:
The Usos run through the division and earn another title shot at International Airstrike 2.0. The build then revolves around the fact that the Usos have failed to beat Airstrike so many times before. The Usos hint that if they lose this time as well, they will probably split up again- and this time for real. They talk about how their boyhood dream was to be tag champs together, and if they can’t accomplish that, then there is no point in teaming together.

[Big Red Machine]

WRESTLEMANIA XXXI RUNDOWN

WWE WrestleMania XXXI: (3/29/2015)- Santa Clara, CA

WWE TITLE MATCH: Brock Lesnar(c) (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Antonio Cesaro
Brock Lesnar has been an unstoppable force in the WWE this year, and has lost only three matches since returning to WWE three years ago. Now, with the WWE Title on the line and arguably at his mot dominant, Brock faces an unexpected challenge from his fellow Paul Heyman Guy, Antonio Cesaro! Cesaro appears willing to risk everything- including his association with Paul Heyman, for a shot at the WWE Title on "The Grandest Stage of Them All."

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton(c) vs. Daniel Bryan (w/AJ Bryan)
Orton believes that Bryan is an unworthy challenger and a "weak" man. Bryan looks to prove Orton wrong by winning his World Heavyweight Title!

UNDERTAKER vs. STING
The dream match we never thought we'd see! The Icon makes his WWE debut... and he is going after The Streak!

LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Cody Rhodes vs. Sheamus
A war that has been raging for over seven months finally comes to an end at WrestleMania... but only when one of these warriors is too beaten to make it back to his feet.

WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya Neidhart(c) (w/Bret Hart) vs. Ashley Flair (w/Ric Flair)
The Flair family looks to start a dynasty of their own by going after wrestling's most famous dynasty in this match about family, respect, and the richest prize in women's wrestling.

JOHN CENA vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Paul Heyman)
Ziggler and Heyman have used dirty tricks to get under Cena's skin, but will that be enough to defeat on the greatest of all-time at "The Greatest Spectacle in Sports Entertainment?"

DEAN AMBROSE MUST CHOOSE A SIDE: Seth Rollins (& Dean Ambrose?) vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper (& Dean Ambrose?)
The rest of the Wyatt Family will be barred from ringside, but Dean Ambrose MUST choose if he will side with his old friend Seth Rollins or his "savior" Bray Wyatt. This will either be a tag team match or a three-on-one handicap match. The choice rests solely in the troubled mind of Dean Ambrose.

WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: International Airstrike 2.0(c) vs. The Usos
The Usos have one more chance to get the monkey off their backs and defeat International Airstrike for the tag titles But if they fail to achieve their boyhood dreams once again, will this be it for the Usos as a team?

FATAL FOUR-WAY MATCH FOR THE WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz vs. Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya Neidhart)
Roman has been dominant for most of the past year, and has only increased his dominance since capturing his first championship in September. As WrestleMania has loomed closer, though, he has started to falter. Will Roman's WrestleMania butterflies get the better of him and allow one of his three much more experienced challengers to take home the the title he has worked so hard for?

WADE BARRETT vs. BIG SHOW
It's the WMD vs. The Barrett Barrage! Who is the most dangerous striker in the WWE?

PRE-SHOW MATCH: Jack Swagger, R-Truth, & Kane vs. Mark Henry, Big E. Langston, & Kalisto
It turns out that when you use your own anger to motivate yourself, you wind up doing things that make other people angry, too. Will Mark, Big E., and Kalisto give Kane, Swagger and Truth a taste of their own medicine?