Hell weekend has arrived and I’ve got your final booking details.
Sept 16: Hell In A Cell
The Raw Tag Title scene continued its chaotic but predictable journey towards the PPV this week. The B Team lost their obligatory rematch against Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, thus removing them from the title picture just in time for Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to attack the current champs and enter the title scene. As the story unfolded later in the show, Rollins and Ambrose brought in a local Sheriff to help them pressure acting GM Baron Corbin into giving them a title shot on Sunday. It’s been clear since before the last PPV that Rollins and Ambrose vs Ziggler and McIntyre was a program that could be expected to continue for a while. Did they really need to involve the tag titles though? By doing so they’ve essentially buried the existing tag division, including former champs the B Team and their active program with the Revival (a team that deserves FAR BETTER than the main roster has treated them since coming up from NXT). Additionally, they also seem to be ignoring the IC title that Rollins still holds. These are the kind of inconsistencies that really hurt the overall product and turn away some viewers.
The other big news coming out of Raw this week was the addition of Mick Foley to the festivities. The legend appeared in a promo segment with Elias during which it was revealed that he will be serving as the special guest referee inside the Hell in a Cell for the Universal title match on Sunday.
On Smackdown this week Rusev Day defeated the Bar to earn the right to face New Day for the titles on Sunday.
It looks like there could still be room for the addition of a preshow match or two, but here’s what we know currently…
Announced matches:
Mixed Tag-Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella vs The Miz and Maryse
Smackdown Tag Title Match- New Day© vs Rusev Day
Universal Title- Hell in a Cell match- Roman Reigns© vs Braun Strowman with Mick Foley as special Referee
Raw Women’s Title- Ronda Rousey© vs Alexa Bliss
WWE Title-Aj Styles© vs Samoa Joe
Hell in a Cell match- Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton
Smackdown Women’s Title- Charlotte Flair© vs Becky Lynch
Raw Tag Titles- Ziggler and McIntyre© vs Rollins and Ambrose
The Women’s Revolution
Another milestone for the Women’s Revolution went down this week when Renee Young permanently joined Raw’s announce team. She’s the first woman to hold a full-time weekly announcing job for the WWE. Young is essentially trading jobs with Jonathan Coachman by taking his seat on Raw while he takes over hosting duties for PPV preshow panels. All things considered, given that he has often had to miss Monday night shows for his other sports commitments, this seems like a better fit for all parties.
The Johnson Family Dynasty
Independent filmmakers Jonathan and Justin Gejewski are reportedly developing a biopic about WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson. Canadian wrestling star Johnson began his career in 1964 and, as one of the black performers in the field, overcame tons of prejudice on his way to success. His biggest claim to fame of course is being the father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but it could be really interesting to look back on his own ring career.
Speaking of The Rock, his teenage daughter Simone has reportedly been working out at WWE’s performance center the last few months. She’s currently still in high school and only training part-time. However, if she shows promise, she could become a 4th generation star in the future. Given Ms. Johnson’s family lineage it’s hard to imagine her not having some of the natural talents and star power necessary to make it in the business.
Mae Young Classic 2
Here are your Round 1 results for this week:
Match 5: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Priscilla Kelly via Submission
Match 6: Luchadora Zeuxis defeated Clearwater’s Aerial Monroe with a Spanish Fly
Match 7: Former American Ninja Warrior star Kacy Catanzaro was victorious in a David vs Goliath battle against the much larger Reina Gonzalez
Match 8: Mercedes Martinez, a semi-finalist last year, used a Fisherman Buster to get the win over Ashley Rayne
PPV Planning
Finally this week we have more updates on the next 2 events after Hell in a Cell…
Oct 6: Super Show-Down from Melbourne, Australia
Announced:
Triple H vs The Undertaker
Daniel Bryan vs The Miz with a future WWE title shot on the line
John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs Kevin Owens and Elias
The Shield vs Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre
Ronda Rousey and the Bella twins vs Riott Squad
Cruiserweight Title Match-Cedric Alexander© vs Buddy Murphy
Naomi and Asuka vs the Iconics
Smackdown Tag Titles- New Day© vs The Bar
Smackdown Womens Title- Charlotte Flair© vs Becky Lynch
Oct 28: Evolution-All women’s PPV
There’s a leaked photo going around of a possible line up for the Evolution show. It seems a bit early yet for some of these to be fully set in stone. However, many have already been rumored or announced previously. Some also contain spoilers for as yet unaired shows, so for now I’ll leave out the actual contenders in those matches. Remember, this should all be considered RUMOR until confirmed by official WWE announcement:
- NXT UK Women’s Championship Match (4 way)
- *Special Announcement: rumored to be the womens tag titles
- Carmella Talk Show w/the Ladies of Glow
- Riott Squad vs Sasha Banks, Bayley and Ivory
- Mae Young Classic Final
- 20 Woman Battle Royal
- Asuka vs Ember Moon
- Naomi vs Melina
- Mickie James vs Lita
- NXT Womens Title Match: Kairi Sane vs winner of battle royal (#6)
- Alexa Bliss vs Trish Stratus
- Womens Tag Team Title Match(?): Alicia Fox & Kelly Kelly vs Iconics vs Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs Beth Pheonix and Natalya
- Smackdown Womens Title: Charlotte vs Becky Lynch
- Raw Womens Title: Ronda Rousey vs Nikki Bella
Some of these seem like great ideas while others seem questionable. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how much of it comes to fruition. In other Evolution news, rumors are now suggested that Renee Young, Beth Pheonix, and Paige might be the trio of women calling the action at the PPV. Renee is an obvious choice given that she’s now a full-time announcer on Raw. Beth has been at the desk for the inaugural Mixed Match Challenge as well as the current Mae Young Classic. I had honestly expected them to go with the MYC team of Young, Pheonix, and Michael Cole, but I do rather like the possible addition of Paige to make it an all female affair.
Announced:
Alexa Bliss vs Trish Stratus
Mickie James vs Lita
Expected:
Raw Womens Title Match, Smackdown Womens Title match, NXT Womens title match, NXT UK Womens title match, Final match of MYC2
Rumored:
Maryse vs Brie Bella
