Wrestling

Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill. Important reminder: Rumors are just that -- rumors. None of this has been confirmed as legitimate news or fact; so remember to take it all with a grain of salt. Rumors for the Day: Over the past week, the rumor that Glenn Jacobs (Kane's real name) would be running in next year's primary elections for a seat in the Tennessee state senate gained some momentum. Unfortunately for those who wanted to see "The Big Red Monster" as a senator, Jacobs recently debunked that rumor in an interview, stating that "things get a little carried away on the internet." Yesterday, we mentioned that Rey Mysterio was visiting renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews hoping to be cleared to return to action after his most recent knee injury. Instead, Mysterio will be undergoing a minor "clean up" surgery on the knee, pushing his potential return back indefinitely. It has been announced that Sin Cara will be getting an Intercontinental title shot against Wade Barrett on Wednesday's (May 22) Main Event. Sin Cara earned the title shot by defeating Barrett on last week's show. Miz is also expected to hang around the IC title scene in order to invoke his "rematch clause" since losing the title. One reason why so many NXT talents were "future endeavored" last week was to make room for the upcoming influx of new talent in WWE's developmental program. WWE has deals with, or is expected to soon have deals with, a number of Indy talents, amateur wrestlers, and even a pro weightlifter. There were some rumors swirling yesterday that Rob Van Dam was expected to return to WWE on last night's (May 20) Raw. Clearly, that didn't happen and it doesn't look like there was much substance behind the rumors. Van Dam had previously stated, following his contract expiring with TNA, that he wouldn't want to work the grueling full time schedule in WWE and would only be interested in a part time role, something WWE apparently isn't willing to give him at this time. If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you'd like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Please remember, these are merely rumors. Try not to take them too seriously, just have fun with them.

WWE returned to the USA network for Monday Night Raw last night (May 20, 2013) from Kansas City, Missouri, featuring the fallout show from the Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) this past Sunday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Click here for full results and the live blog from the show if you missed it. Let's get right to reactions. Remember, these were written as the show moved along with real time reactions to everything that occurred hour-by-hour. HOUR ONE Ryback showing up to Raw in an ambulance would have worked better had John Cena actually, you know, went to the hospital last night. He literally refused to get into the ambulance and WWE publicized that fact many times over. They even replayed that footage shortly after Ryback came out. Oh dear god, this was all done to set up an Ambulance match between the two at Payback. "It doesn't matter if you can't get up, throwing a man into an ambulance is all that matters." Dear god, this is painful. Ryback going off on the fans lack of nutritional education has to be the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've seen on WWE television in some time. Maybe other than a Ryback match itself. Remember, this is a guy who was introduced on Tough Enough and frequently made fun of for the fact that all he does is eat and he'll eat anything and everything in sight. Yes, Michael Cole, people still go to the library. No, WWE, I don't want to spend multiple minutes of the evening listening to Jerry Lawler's old ass talking about the many ways he wants to violate Summer Rae. Holy shit, Wade Barrett's new music. Why am I supposed to care about Road Dogg cutting a promo during a match? The WWE App is not this important, is it? Do they actually want me to stop caring about the matches going on in the ring in favor of old guys in suits talking to Josh fucking Matthews? Really? Granted, Wade Barrett and Miz were involved in the match happening at the time, but still. Okay, so I actually marked out quite a bit when Fandango just ditched the tag team match -- seriously, fuck a tag match like this just randomly thrown together -- and started dancing, with his music playing, while the match was still going on in the ring. His bailing on Summer was great too. Kane and Daniel Bryan are finally showing more signs of dissension? That's nice to see. Kofi Kingston getting a bigger pop than both of them when he appeared on screen? That's just weird to see. Not much to say about Sheamus beating Titus O'Neil other than how much it sucks that O'Neil hasn't been put in a better position to succeed. HOUR TWO Curtis Axel? Curt Axel? Ummmm ... yeah, I don't know about the name. I guess at least he got "Curt" out of the deal, although Hennig would have been better. That said, the utter and complete ridiculousness of the reaction from so many smarky fans almost ruined this. Everyone likes to bitch and moan that WWE never pushes a new guy, then they go and align McGillicutty with Paul Heyman and everyone continues bitching and moaning. It's unbelievable. This is why WWE will NEVER cater to you, EVER. You're impossible to please. When Triple H's music hit, the very first thought running through everyone's already cynical mind had to be the same: "Oh god, they're not going to bury this kid already, are they?" That was my thought, at least. Sure enough, "The Game" brushed him aside verbally before literally open hand smacking him in the face. Oh and now they book a match between the two for later in the night. Ugh. Yep. "The boys" would call that hazing, or making Axel pay his dues, or some other dumb shit like that, but this was stupid. Unless Axel wins later, this makes ZERO sense. While I'm still highly offended by Big E. Langston's ring attire, he gets a pass for using the old school rake to the eyes to beat Alberto Del Rio. And while I've always hated Hulk Hogan for his various transgressions during his time in the professional wrestling business, he always had the best rake

The first round of the Cageside Seats Greatest Finisher Tournament continues today with a match-up pitting number seven seed the Top Turnbuckle Brainbuster, as performed by El Generico, against number 10 seed the Buzzsaw Kick, as performed by Tajiri. Remember, voting closes at midnight CT. In order to cast your vote, leave a comment and in the subject line make sure you adhere to the guidelines as follows: To vote Top Turnbuckle Brainbuster simply write: Vote - BrainbusterTo vote Buzzsaw Kick simply write: Vote - Buzzsaw Here are videos showcasing each move. Top Turnbuckle Brainbuster: Buzzsaw Kick: Updated bracket:

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns tonight to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including a full report from Raw on Monday night, all the matches and angles, what's going on with Triple H and Brock Lesnar, CURT AXEL, Ryback and John Cena, and more. Plus, some notes on Randy Savage and tons of questions from the trusty mailbag. A fun show as always so check it out! Best of all it's FREE, so please post the link or file elsewhere and help spread the word about wrestlingobserver.com! And if you like what you hear, consider signing up for a subscription as Dave and I do 3-4 shows per week in addition to the other 15-20 brand new shows, plus members have full access to our thousands of hours of audio and hundreds of new and archived Wrestling Observer and Figure Four Newsletters. It's a steal, so sign up and join the fun! Only at wrestlingobserver.com. {radioShow free/052113wo.mp3}

John Cena did wrestle on tonight's show, working the dark match main event teaming with Alberto Del Rio over Jack Swagger & Ryback.

Ryback comes out of the back of an ambulance after it pulls into the arena. He announces that he will face John Cena at Payback in an ambulance match and then goes off on a rant. ^This was Ryback’s best promo thus far, but that isn’t saying much. I’m looking forward to their rematch. Good opening. It’s announced that Paul Heyman will reveal his newest client tonight. ^PLEASE tell me that Rob Van Dam is coming back! Do I sound like a mark there? Only a bit… Chris Jericho and The Miz defeat Wade Barrett and Fandango. Fandango dances on the outside with Summer Rae while Jericho finishes off Barrett and Miz applies the figure four for the victory. ^Good tag tag team match. It’s the first time we’ve seen Fandango join forces with anyone, and my guess is that it will probably be the last time he teams with Wade Barrett. I liked the scenario here because it shows that Fandango is an equal opportunity heel who doesn’t care about anybody. I like the creativity here for the tag match, but I’d like it even more if it meant Wade Barrett is going to have a serious rivalry with the IC Title involved. Jericho dances with Summer Rae after and spins her in for a kiss, but then pushes her away and mocks her. ^This was typical Jericho being Jericho. I loved it! Summer Rae also sold it well; that girl has a bright looking future in WWE! Fans get to vote on who Jack Swagger will face tonight: R-Truth, Khali, or Randy Orton. Thanks Vickie for the tough choice! Kane and Dbry are arguing backstage about losing the tag titles. Kofi tries to calm them down. ^Another six man match? Oh hell yeah! Dbry and Kane need to split sooner rather than later, but I’m not sure what WWE would do with them if they did. Sheamus defeats Titus O’Neil in a one on one match. ^Nice to see Sheamus get another win here. I’m surprised his feud with Mark Henry didn’t carry over tonight. Decent match, but Titus O’Neil could be doing more in the mid card if WWE cared about those titles a bit more. Paul Heyman introduces his newest client, Michael McGillicutty, but he’s been repackaged as Curtis Axel(a spin off both Curt and Larry the Axe Hennig’s names). Triple H interrupts.and has words for Heyman. Axel mouths off and Hunter knocks him down. Hunter says he will face Axel tonight and kick Heyman’s ass afterwards. ^How do I describe my excitement right now for the repackaging and push of Joe Hennig? I can’t, so I’ll just tell you how THRILLED I am to be witnessing the push of younger talent on WWE TV right now! Great segment, and nice to see Hunter’s willingness to step in the ring with the young buck. Big E. Langston defeats Alberto Del Rio after a distraction by AJ Lee. ^Big E. continues to impress. Good match, and good finish for the heel. Something tells me Langston will be a strong candidate for winning Money In The Bank this year. How the hell does this guy get over so easily? Well, the simple answer is that he was partnered with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee, and thus being in top storylines made him relevant. Perhaps WWE should’ve done this with other guys like Antonio Cesaro. Del Rio losing doesn’t hurt because AJ helped, and I’m anxious to see what sort of match he and Ziggler put on for the World Title. Layla goes one on one with AJ Lee. AJ wins the short match. ^AJ is great. This one was too short to matter much, but I still expect to see her holding the Divas Championship in the near future. Cody Rhodes defeats Zack Ryder in a short match. ^Good for Rhodes! This guy has been almost buried lately, so any win he gets is worth something to me. Part of me wonders if his last name is why he gets held back so much. After getting the big rub from Booker T in late 2011, he’s done almost nothing in terms of being booked. What’s up with that? Ryback attacks Zack Ryder after the match and tosses him in the ambulance. The ambulance pulls away. ^Nice preview of Ryback dominating an ambulance match, but I still don’t think he’ll be able to take the WWE Title from John Cena this y

- WWE announced that Kofi Kingston will get his United States Title rematch on this Friday’s SmackDown against Dean Ambrose. - After Monday’s episode of RAW went off the air, trainers continued to check up on Triple H. Triple H was asked if he remembered anything from the match and he said his entrance was it. The trainers asked him if he knew what day it was and he didn’t reply. They then picked Triple H up and escorted him to the backstage area. Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel left the ring once trainers started checking on him. After Triple H made his way to the back, John Cena teamed with Alberto Del Rio to face Ryback and Jack Swagger. Cena got the pin on Swagger to win the match. What’s Next for Dean Ambrose, Possible Feud for Randy Orton Next, More

I know I said this on the Raw Live thread earlier, but I wanted to be first to do this fanpost. Sorry Ryder, I like you a lot Broski, but you have been asking for this for a while. Well, what do you, the rest of you cagesiders think? Was a message being sent to Ryder directly to quite whining or was he on the short straw of talent to get fed to Ryback tonight? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=21uB2Pqoo0o#t=132s I know I said this on the Raw Live thread earlier, but I wanted to be first to do this fanpost. Sorry Ryder, I like you a lot Broski, but you have been asking for this for a while. Well, what do you, the rest of you cagesiders think? Was a message being sent to Ryder directly to quite whining or was he on the short straw of talent to get fed to Ryback tonight? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=21uB2Pqoo0o#t=132s

The tornado that hit the Oklahonma City area came close to the residence of WWE announcer Jim Ross.  The actual tornado missed his home by about five miles.  There are a lot of tragic situations in the area that he lives today.

An Ambulance just rushing into the Arena & drives to the stage with Ryback getting out of it. He gets on top of it & starts talking about how he didn’t lose the match. “Cena didn’t walk away he was carried away”. Ryback announces that there next match will be an ambulance match at the Payback PPV in June  He bad mouths the live crowd about how there fat & how dare they worships John Cena. He says he will take Cena to the morgue. The Miz & Chris Jericho Vs. Fandango & Wade Barrett CJ & Wade lock up with a knockdown by Wade but a drop kick by chris out of nowhere. Some chops to the chest by Chris but an elbow by Wade that allows Fandango to get the quick attack off the tag. A Irish wipe in the corner followed by a uppercut then pounces on him for shots. Fandango clubs him in the corner but here comes Chris but ends up walking into a big boot. Wade gets tagged in as we go to break with Jericho bleeding it looks. Back from break with Wade having Miz in a headlock but miz fights out of it with punches then miz with a knee then a boot followed by the figure four leg lock but Fandango gets on the microphone saying his name then he & summer Rae start dancing. Wade starts yelling at him then Chris gets the tag & attacks him. off the top rope wiht a double handle, Bull dog & the lion sal. Jericho nails the code breaker then miz is in for the figure four leg lock to finish this one off. Winner: Jericho & Miz After the match Jericho dances with Rae but ends up leaving her. Vickie Guerrero comes out & starts talking about How Jack Swagger will be in a match tonight. You can vote on the WWE APP which the 3 guys are. Khail, R Truth or Randy Orton. We have a backstage segment with Team Hell No talking about losing the Tag Team Titles. Sheamus Vs. Titus O’Neal They lock up then a shoulder block from Sheamus. Titus with a headlock & shoulder block right back. Sheamus throws Titus over the top rope but grabs him on the apron to start up the clubbing shots. Back in the ring with Titus suplex Sheamus for a count of 2. Titus with right hands but here comes Sheamus with punches but a knock down by Titus. Titus locks in a shoulder submission until Sheamus fights out. Titus with another shoulder lock but here comes sheamus, He puts a big boot up then some clothesline goes for white noise but blocked. When he goes for the shoulder block Darren holds his foot. Titus misses the clothesline in the corner & Sheamus nails white noise followed by the Probe Kick for the win. Winner: Sheamus Paul Heyman comes out to announce his newest client, He talks about How Brock Lesnar Defeated HHH at Extreme Rules. Heyman says its time for something different & announces his new client which is Curtis Axel AKA Micheal McGillicutty from NXT. Lesnar compared him to a Brock Lesnar or A Cm Punk Future. Heyman says keeps saying his name but HHH comes out. HHH says that Curtis needs to back off & the Adults are talking. HHH says he isn’t embarrassed about last night & he was in a war. HHH says he would love to beat the crap out of Heyman but Axel keeps getting in the way & Axel says the time has changed around there. HHH slaps Axel then Announces he will have a match with Axel tonight. Big E. Langston Vs. Alberto Del Rio  They lock up with ADR getting the better of the each change but Langston misses the spear in the corner then ADR locks in the arm bar but Langston picks him up & slams him. Langston gets the ropes then when he goes for the outside ADR locks it in again but Langston slams him on the floor. Back in the ring with a cover of 2, Langston with a power slam on his knee followed by a back submission but ADR fights out of it. Langston quick takes momentum but Langston gets kicked in the face followed by a DDT off the top rope by ADR. ADR with some punches & a clothesline followed by a back stabber. ADR nails the super kick for a count of 2. ADR call for the Arm bar but Langston blocks it by throwing him out of the ring. Back in the