The final Raw of 2020 ended with a cliffhanger heading into the new year.
In the main event angle of last night’s Raw, Alexa Bliss challenged Randy Orton to do the same thing to her that he did to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in their Firefly Inferno match at TLC. Bliss gave Orton a gas can and matches and challenged him to set her on fire. When he wouldn’t, Bliss said Orton doesn’t have the guts to do it and called him a bitch. Bliss then poured the gasoline over herself.
Orton said he wanted to set Bliss on fire, but he knew that’s what she wanted him to do. The lights started to go out as Orton was deciding what to do. When they came back on, Orton had a lit match in his hand and appeared like he was going to light Bliss on fire. The lights then went off again as the show ended.
Drew McIntyre’s next challenger was also determined last night. Keith Lee defeated Sheamus in a number one contender’s match and will challenge for McIntyre’s WWE Championship on Raw Legends Night next Monday.
The night after defeating “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in their Firefly Inferno match, Randy Orton received a warning from Alexa Bliss.
Bliss returned to WWE television for the first time in three weeks on last night’s post-TLC episode of Raw. Orton cut an in-ring promo on last night’s show and declared that The Fiend is no more. The lights then started to go out and it looked like The Fiend was about to appear, but Alexa’s Playground was in the ring when they came back on.
Bliss taunted Orton and asked him if he was expecting someone else. Bliss said The Fiend is now home after being burned by Orton, but he may come back to Alexa’s Playground. Bliss said if The Fiend does return, it will be like nothing Orton has ever seen before.
Last night’s Raw was headlined by a six-man tag team holiday street fight. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Sheamus & Keith Lee defeated AJ Styles, The Miz & John Morrison, but dissension between Sheamus and Lee led to Sheamus laying out Lee with a Brogue Kick after the match. After vouching for him earlier in the night, McIntyre wasn’t happy with Sheamus as the show went off the air.
Alexa Bliss resurfaced tonight on Raw, warning Randy Orton that The Fiend could someday come back.
The end of last night’s TLC event had Orton defeat The Fiend after initially setting him on fire on the outside of the ring. While he was still on fire, Orton RKO’d The Fiend, then poured gasoline on him. He then took a match and lit The Fiend on fire as the show abruptly went off the air.
Orton came out on tonight’s Raw and explained that he liked what he did the previous night. He said that a normal man would have regrets over setting a man on fire, but The Fiend was not a man, and Orton was not normal.
After Orton declared that The Fiend was no more, the lights went out in a manner similar to when The Fiend appears ringisde. Instead, it was Alexa Bliss, swinging on a swing set inside the ring. She joked that The Fiend could be at the beach as he looked a little pale, or could be at his favorite restaurant eating barbeque.
The end of the segment had Bliss warn Orton that if The Fiend did come back, he would be unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Bliss had not been on Raw in recent weeks as she was filming scenes for the upcoming Punky Brewster reboot that will air on the Peacock streaming service. Charlotte Flair will also appear on the show, and D-Von Dudley is serving as a producer.
Randy Orton will be Alexa Bliss’ next guest on A Moment of Bliss.
During a commercial that aired during SmackDown tonight, WWE announced that there will be a Moment of Bliss segment with Orton as the guest on Monday’s Raw. The segment comes after a distraction by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt led to Orton losing to AJ Styles in the main event of Raw this past Monday.
Orton faced Styles on this week’s Raw in a match that determined one of the participants for next week’s triple threat number one contender’s match. The Fiend played mind games with Orton and appeared twice during his match against Styles. Orton was about to go for the RKO before The Fiend appeared the second time. With Orton distracted, Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm to get the win.
Bliss was in action on Raw this week and defeated her former tag team partner Nikki Cross. In storyline, Cross has been trying to save Bliss from the spell that Wyatt has over her.
The triple threat number one contender’s match on Monday’s Raw will be Styles vs. Keith Lee vs. Riddle. The winner will challenge for Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship at TLC on Sunday, December 20.
Orton was WWE Champion prior to losing the title to McIntyre on Raw last week.
Former tag team partners will face off on tonight’s episode of Raw.
WWE has announced that Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross will take place on tonight’s post-Survivor Series edition of Raw. On Raw two weeks ago, Cross gave Bliss an ultimatum by telling Bliss she had to choose between her or Bray Wyatt. Bliss chose Wyatt.
Cross did an interview on Raw last Monday and said she’s not going to give up on Bliss. Later in the show, Cross pleaded with Bliss and told Bliss that Wyatt is bad for her. Bliss slapped Cross and they brawled until being separated by officials. Bliss then helped Wyatt defeat The Miz by taking out John Morrison when he interfered.
WWE.com wrote about tonight’s match:
After failing to pry Alexa Bliss away from Bray Wyatt, Nikki Cross might not be able to salvage her friendship with WWE’s Wicked Witch, as they are scheduled to meet one on one tonight.
Cross has blamed herself for Bliss aligning with The Fiend and her ex-best friend’s ensuing descent into madness. The strange union originated this past summer after Cross refused Bliss’ consolation following a loss, leaving her all alone for her first confrontation with The Fiend. Wyatt has seemingly captured Bliss’ mind and soul ever since.
With her most recent plea for Bliss to leave Wyatt resulting in a thunderous slap last week on Raw, the former teammates pummeled each other until they were separated by officials.
Can Cross use force instead of reason to finally persuade Bliss? Or will the new, more sinister version of Five Feet of Fury prove indomitable?
This is the first match that’s been announced for tonight’s Raw. The episode will also feature Raw’s fallout from Survivor Series.
WWE star and recent pal of The Fiend Alexa Bliss announced Sunday that she is now engaged to boyfriend and singer Ryan Cabrera.
The 29-year-old (real name Lexi Kaufman) shared a picture of the 38-year-old proposing Saturday night — one year after they first met in Los Angeles at a premiere, helped along by joint friend The Miz.
Bliss was formerly engaged to fellow WWE wrestler Buddy Murphy before the two split in early-2018. This will be the first marriage for the Columbus, Ohio, native and for Cabrera.
Bliss recently launched a podcast through WWE called Uncool where she interviews celebrities about embarrassing moments from their past. Cabrera was a guest in October.
She is currently on the Raw brand in an angle with the aforementioned-Fiend. She has held the Raw Women’s title three times, the SmackDown Women’s title twice, and is a two-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion with Nikki Cross.
The final spot on Raw’s Survivor Series men’s team will be determined as Jeff Hardy, Riddle, and Elias face off in a triple threat qualifying match on Monday’s Raw. All three wrestlers lost their original qualifying matches. Hardy lost to AJ Styles, Riddle lost to Sheamus, and Elias lost to Keith Lee.
The winner of the second chance qualifying match will join Styles, Sheamus, Lee, and Braun Strowman on Team Raw for their traditional five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match against Team SmackDown. Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin, and Seth Rollins have qualified for Team SmackDown thus far. Survivor Series is taking place on Sunday, November 22.
Hardy and Elias faced off on Raw last week, with Hardy defeating Elias in a Guitar on a Pole match.
Matt Riddle is now going by “Riddle” on WWE television after WWE adjusted his name.
WWE has also announced that Alexa Bliss will host a Moment of Bliss segment with Drew McIntyre as her guest on Monday’s Raw:
Drew McIntyre has had only one thing on his mind since WWE Hell in a Cell: Regain the WWE Championship. Alexa Bliss will welcome the Scottish Superstar to ‘A Moment of Bliss’ after hosting the current WWE Champion Randy Orton last week.
McIntyre made his championship intentions clear last week, but he’s not the only one who has targeted The Viper. The Fiend will deliver his own message to McIntyre on behalf of Bliss on Monday Night Raw. The Miz & John Morrison were also incensed after McIntyre Claymore Kicked The A-Lister’s Money in the Bank cash-in attempt.
Will ‘A Moment of Bliss’ serve as another trap for its latest guest? Or can McIntyre turn the tables on the host and his rivals?
Catch the always controversial talk show this Monday at 8/7 C on Raw on the USA Network.
Following last night’s title change, new WWE Champion Randy Orton and former champion Drew McIntyre are set to make appearances on tonight’s episode of Raw.
Last night’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view ended with Orton defeating McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match to win the WWE Championship. Tonight, Orton will be Alexa Bliss’ guest on A Moment of Bliss. Bliss is aligned with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. Bliss and Wyatt both moved to Raw in the WWE Draft earlier this month.
This is Orton’s 14th reign as a WWE World Champion.
WWE has also announced that McIntyre will kick off tonight’s Raw. Prior to losing the title to Orton last night, McIntyre had been WWE Champion since defeating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 this April.
McIntyre tweeted today: “To everyone who has taken time out of their day to send me a message of support, thank you, it means the world to me. I’ll be opening up #WWERaw and I have something I want to say…”
The build to Survivor Series will begin on Raw tonight. There will be three Survivor Series qualifying matches on the episode. They are: Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles, Sheamus vs. Matt Riddle, and Keith Lee vs. Elias. The winners will qualify for Team Raw in this year’s Survivor Series men’s elimination match.
Survivor Series is taking place on Sunday, November 22.
WWE has announced two segments and a title match for this Friday’s post-Clash of Champions episode of SmackDown.
– After retaining his Universal Championship against his cousin Jey Uso at Clash of Champions, there will be a segment on SmackDown where Roman Reigns will officially be crowned as the tribal chief of the Anoa’i family:
It was about more than just the title at WWE Clash of Champions. It was about asserting his place at the head of the table for Roman Reigns.
After successfully defending his Universal Championship, Reigns will now be officially crowned the Tribal Chief in a ceremony presided over by Paul Heyman on SmackDown this Friday. The recognition comes on the heels of The Big Dog’s brutal victory over his cousin Jey Uso at WWE Clash of Champions.
What will Reigns have to say about his vicious actions? And will the rest of the legendary Anoa’i family simply accept the champion’s crowning?
Don’t miss Friday Night SmackDown at 8/7 C on FOX to see the latest from Reigns.
– Raw’s Kevin Owens will make an appearance on SmackDown as he hosts a KO Show segment with Alexa Bliss as his guest this Friday. Owens’ appearance is part of the brand-to-brand invitational.
There was an angle last week where Bliss snapped during her match against Lacey Evans when The Fiend’s music played. When Reigns entered last week as Bliss was heading to the back, Bliss stared at Reigns and the Universal Championship. It was mentioned on commentary that Reigns took the title from The Fiend.
Bliss’ tag team partner Nikki Cross was supposed to challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions, but that match was pulled from the card and it was announced that Cross wasn’t medically cleared to compete. Bayley instead defended her title against Asuka. After the match ended in a disqualification, Sasha Banks attacked Bayley.
– New Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn will defend his title against Jeff Hardy on this Friday’s SmackDown. Zayn, who had been claiming to be the rightful Intercontinental Champion since making his return to WWE television in August, defeated Hardy and AJ Styles in a triple threat match for the title at Clash of Champions. The finish of the match included Zayn handcuffing both Hardy and Styles.
WWE has made a few announcements for SmackDown’s Clash of Champions go-home show.
Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy will face Sami Zayn in a non-title match on SmackDown this Friday. The match comes in advance of Hardy defending his title against Zayn and AJ Styles in a triple threat ladder match at Sunday’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans will also take place on this Friday’s SmackDown. Nikki Cross defeated Evans on SmackDown last week. After the match, Bliss went into a trance when Evans mentioned The Fiend. Bliss laid out Evans by hitting Sister Abigail outside of the ring.
Cross is challenging for Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions.
Ahead of his Universal Championship defense against Jey Uso at Clash of Champions, Roman Reigns will take part in an in-ring interview on Friday’s SmackDown. Reigns will “share his side of the story on his relationship with Jey Uso before their Universal title match.” Reigns & Uso have defeated Baron Corbin & Sheamus in tag matches on SmackDown each of the past two weeks, but there’s been tension between Reigns and Uso after both matches.
With a huge feature on the crazy story of the original Hollywood Blonds tag team with the death of Jerry Brown, we’ve got a double issue this week of the Observer up on the site right now.
Our lead story looks at this year’s G-1 tournament looking at every card, the stories going into the card, the restrictions, the odds, and the new Will Ospreay, start time for every show, complete lineups, comments by Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley regarding this year’s new format.
Also in this issue:
Update on WWE Clash of Champions, with the matches announced, updates on titles not yet announced with matches and keys to the show.
The situation with Matt Riddle and Samantha Tavel.
Daniel Cormier getting COVID and a new UFC product being pushed.
Changes at the USA Network, Sasha Banks with a major acting gig, Update on Jeff Hardy, details behind the Paul Heyman/Roman Reigns pairing, new contracts signed in WWE, wrestler teases gimmick change, Mandy Rose angle, law being talked about reglated to the Sonya Deville incident, Retribution update, this coming week’s WWE television, Randy Orton new business, Ivar injury update, Ronda Rousey update, Next NXT Takeover, weird TV moment, Sports & International ratings, Jimmy Jacobs talks WWE protocol and Vince McMahon, injury update, movie with WWE performers, market value of WWE and the most-watched shows on WWE Network.
This past week’s UFC show with the stories behind the show and match-by-match coverage.
New Japan’s last show this past week before G-1, held at Korakuen Hall, with the matches and angles and what is being pushed.
Our huge feature covers the life and career of Jerry Brown, who teamed with Buddy Roberts to form the Hollywood Blonds, one of the greatest heel tag team acts of all-time. This major feature looks at their beginnings, their heyday in Quebec and Florida, places they went, who they faced, as well as the other territories they went, championships they held, the second version of the Hollywood Blonds people don’t remember, the mentality of the act and some crazy Jerry Brown stories, with lots of comments from Bill Watts, who put the team together.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
More details are out regarding the death of Joe Laurinatiis, best known as Road Warrior Animal, at the age of 60. TMZ is reporting that Laurinitis died at the Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri on Tuesday night. His wife called law enforcement at around 11:49 PM. By the time law enforcement arrived, Laurinitis had already passed away. The cause of death is said to be natural causes.
Paul Ellering, longtime manager of The Road Warriors, commented on Animal’s death: “Today we lost the engine of the train LOD. Animal was a partner, warrior, and friend. He will be welcomed home by a waiting Hawk.”
This week’s episode of The Bump has Paul Heyman, Jey Uso, Alexa Bliss, and Candice LeRae.
Drew McIntyre spoke to PWInsider on the Thunderdome, Keith Lee, Randy Orton, and more.
The first episode of Alexa Bliss’ podcast, Uncool with Alexa Bliss, is now available.
Bliss spoke to Vicente Beltran. When asked about Ronda Rousey, Bliss said she didn’t think things have changed much since she left. “Our whole roster is dependent on more than just one person,” she said. “There wouldn’t be an impact if it wasn’t for the women opposite of her in the ring helping her to get there. A lot of bodies laid down for her success. It just goes to show that all of our women can be main eventers and all of our women can have that spotlight.”
John Morrison talked to Chris Van Vliet about returning to WWE, The Austin Aries incident at Bound for Glory, The Miz, and Taya Valkyrie.
PWInsider is reporting that WWE filed opposition on 9/21 against Cody, who is attempting to trademark the terms “Slamboree” and “Match Beyond”. WWE stated that they bought the rights to those concepts when they purchased WCW in March of 2001.
Angel Garza turns 28 today, while Kairi Sane turns 32.
Other Wrestling
Miro talked to Sports Illustrated about his release from the WWE and his new role in AEW. He also hinted that he could be appearing elsewhere. “I love professional wrestling, and it has so much left to offer me,” he said. “As soon as I got that call [from WWE], I immediately knew I wanted to go two places. The first one, I’m already here. The second, you’ll find out when the time is right.”
Impact announced that along with the return of Victory Road in October, Turning Point will take place in November and Final Resolution will take place in December. All three events will stream live on Impact Plus.
ROH uploaded footage of their COVID-19 sanitizing during their Pure tournament tapings.
The latest Aces High column has Hiroshi Tanahashi talking about not going on an excursion trip and ultimately deciding not to join Keiji Muto in jumping to All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Matt Hardy turns 46 today. AEW wished him a happy birthday in a tweet.
A new match and segment have been added to the lineup for this week’s episode of SmackDown.
WWE has announced that AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn will take place on SmackDown this Friday. There will also be a Moment of Bliss segment on the episode with Nikki Cross appearing as Alexa Bliss’ guest.
Former champions Styles and Zayn are involved in a three-way feud with Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy. On SmackDown last week, Zayn interrupted an Intercontinental title match between Hardy and Styles and attacked both of them.
Nikki Cross won a fatal four-way number one contender’s match against Tamina, Lacey Evans, and Bliss on SmackDown last Friday and will challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions later this month. Bliss hit a Sister Abigail on Cross outside of the ring during the match and then walked out like she was in a trance. The storyline is that Bliss has been changed by her experiences with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt.
Roman Reigns & Jey Uso will team together against Baron Corbin & Sheamus in a Samoan street fight on this Friday’s SmackDown. After being attacked by Bayley two weeks ago, Sasha Banks will return on this week’s show and respond to Bayley.
A new title match has been made official for this month’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
WWE announced today that Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax will defend their titles against The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan) at Clash of Champions. The Riott Squad became the number one contenders to Baszler & Jax’s titles by defeating The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) on Raw two weeks ago. That number one contender’s match also had a stipulation where the losing team had to split up.
On Raw last week, Baszler and Jax faced Riott & Morgan in separate two-on-one handicap matches. Morgan rolled up Baszler to get the win in the first match after Baszler was distracted by Jax mocking her offense and telling her she’s seen Baszler do better. Jax laughed after her partner lost. Riott & Morgan vs. Jax then ended in a no contest when the match was interrupted by a message from RETRIBUTION.
Baszler & Jax won the Women’s Tag Team titles by defeating Sasha Banks & Bayley at Payback. They also defeated Banks & Bayley in a rematch on SmackDown earlier this month.
Clash of Champions is taking place on Sunday, September 27. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defends against Randy Orton
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defends against Nikki Cross
Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax defend against The Riott Squad
A new podcast from WWE is set to debut later this month.
WWE announced today that the new podcast series “Uncool with Alexa Bliss” will premiere on Tuesday, September 22. The podcast will be hosted by Bliss and “will transport listeners back in time when Bliss and her guests discuss their most nostalgic, cringeworthy and laugh-out-loud moments from before their fame and success.”
“Each Tuesday, Alexa will sit down with WWE Superstars and celebrity guests to celebrate all things ‘Uncool.’ From awkward first dates to fashion faux pas and everything in between, nothing is off limits,” WWE wrote.
The Miz, Lance Bass, Nikki & Brie Bella, Ryan Cabrera, James Iglehart, Taylor Hanson, Nikki Glaser, Jon Heder, and more will be guests on the show. Miz will appear on the premiere episode.
“Uncool will take listeners down memory lane by reliving embarrassing, quirky tween moments and reminiscing about younger years while offering laughs along the way,” Bliss said in the press release announcing the show. “Fans will get to see just how cool it is to be uncool.”
In addition to the podcast being available on all audio streaming services, full-length videos of the “Uncool with Alexa Bliss” episodes will be made available on the WWE Network and WWE’s YouTube channel the following week.
This will be WWE’s fourth official podcast series. After the Bell with Corey Graves, The New Day: Feel the Power, and the audio version of WWE’s The Bump are the company’s other podcasts.
It was announced in August 2019 that WWE was partnering with Endeavor Audio to launch a podcast network. It debuted in October of last year with After the Bell.
A confrontation between Universal Champion Braun Strowman and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt had been set to close last night’s episode of SmackDown.
Strowman made his in-person return with a new look where his head is now shaved. He called out The Fiend but got Alexa Bliss instead.
Bliss said they owe it to their friendship to have a conversation. She told Strowman she doesn’t believe that he doesn’t care about her. Strowman accused Bliss of trying to use him as a pawn and attempting to turn him into something he’s not. Strowman said Bliss thinks he’s some kind of clown she can lead around by his beard and make him sing songs inside of her stupid car.
Bliss asked Strowman what the hell is going on here. Strowman said everyone who comes into contact with The Fiend changes, including Bliss. Strowman then told her to get out of the ring. Bliss told Strowman to look at her when he’s talking to her. Bliss said if she couldn’t talk sense into Strowman, she’d have to slap some sense into him.
After Bliss repeatedly slapped Strowman, he picked her up for a press slam. The lights then started to go out. He threw Bliss into the air, then The Fiend was in the ring with Bliss when they came back on. Strowman appeared on the video screen and laughed maniacally to end the show.
Earlier in the episode, Bliss did a sit-down interview and spoke about her friendship with Strowman and experiences with The Fiend. She said being around The Fiend is terrifying but also compelling.
