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WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 11/15): Becky off Survivor Series, Bryan wins WWE Title and turns heel, Survivor Series, Mojo interview, Nia Jax and Beckyon social media, commentary on Mixed Match Challenge and Becky

By Zack Graham, PWTorch contributor

November 16, 2018

Former champion reportedly returning to WWE
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.

•Top Stories of the Week

  • Becky Lynch removed from Survivor Series card due to injury during the “invasion” of Monday Night Raw. On Smackdown, they announced that Becky Lynch suffered a broken face and major concussion. Charlotte Flair replaces her in the Survivor Series match with Ronda Rousey. Charlotte’s replacement in the women’s Survivor Series match has not yet been announced.
  • Daniel Bryan wins the WWE Championship on Smackdown. Daniel Bryan now faces Brock Lesnar on Sunday instead of A.J. Styles. Jeff Hardy replaced Daniel Bryan on the Smackdown men’s Survivor Series team. It appears A.J. Styles will not be on the card for Survivor Series.
  • The Monday Night Raw overrun is no more. Monday Night Raw will now have a hard “out” time of 11:00 p.m. EST. This change started this week with the Nov. 12 edition of Monday Night Raw.

•WWE Weekly Event Results

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Frankfurt, Germany) 11/8/18

(1)    Finn Balor beat Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush)

(2)    Bayley, Sasha Banks, & Ember Moon defeated Tamina & The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan)

(3)    The Authors of Pain (w/ Drake Maverick) defeated Chad Gable & Bobby Roode

(4)    Nikki Bella (w/ Alexa Bliss & Mickie James) beat Natalya

(5)    Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose via Disqualification

(6)    The B-Team, No Way Jose, & Tyler Breeze defeated The Ascension, Curt Hawkins, & Mojo Rawley when Curtis Axel pinned Curt Hawkins

(7)    Zack Ryder beat Curt Hawkins

(8)    Titus O’Neil beat Curt Hawkins

(9)    Elias defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh)

(10) Braun Strowman defeated Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler in a two-on-one handicap match

(11) Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & Drew McIntyre beat Braun Strowman in a three-on-one handicap match. After this match Braun beat them all up and left the ring. Baron Corbin booked a new match between him and Strowman so he would win via count-out.

(12) Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin

Source: WrestlingInc.com

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (London, England) 11/8/18

(1)    Shinsuke Nakamura beat Jeff Hardy to retain the United States Championship

(2)    Trent Seven beat Zack Gibson

(3)    Naomi beat Mandy Rose via Disqualification

(4)    Asuka & Naomi beat Many Rose & Sonya Deville

(5)    Andrade Cien Almas defeated Shelton Benjamin

(6)    The Bar beat The Usos & The New Day to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships

(7)    Rusev & Lana beat R-Truth & Carmella

(8)    Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson beat Sanity (Killian Dane & Alexander Wolfe)

(9)    Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship

(10)AJ Styles beat Daniel Bryan & Samoa Joe to retain the WWE Championship

Source: WrestlingNewsWorld.com

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Bologna, Italy) 11/9/18

(1)    Finn Balor beat Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush)

(2)    Elias defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh)

(3)    Natalya, Bayley, Sasha Banks, & Ember Moon beat The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan), Tamina, & Mickie James

(4)    The Authors of Pain beat Bobby Roode & Chad Gable to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships

(5)    Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose via disqualification to retain the Intercontinental Championship

(6)    The B-Team, No Way Jose, & Tyler Breeze defeated The Ascension, Curt Hawkins, & Mojo Rawley

(7)    Zack Ryder beat Curt Hawkins

(8)    Titus O’Neil beat Curt Hawkins

(9)    Ronda Rousey defeated Nikki Bella to retain the Raw Women’s Championship

(10) Braun Strowman beat Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler in a two-on-one handicap match

(11) Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & Drew McIntyre beat Braun Strowman in a three-on-one handicap match

(12) Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin

Source: WrestleYard.com

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Brighton, England) 11/9/18

(1)    Shinsuke Nakamura beat Jeff Hardy to retain the United States Championship

(2)    Trent Seven beat Zack Gibson to retain the Progress Atlas Championship

(3)    Asuka & Naomi beat Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville

(4)    Shelton Benjamin defeated Andrade Cien Almas

(5)    The Bar beat The Usos & The New Day to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships

(6)    Rusev & Lana defeated R-Truth & Carmella

(7)    Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson defeated Sanity (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe)

(8)    Becky Lynch beat Charlotte to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship

(9) AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe & Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship

Source: ProWrestling.com

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Rome, Italy) 11/10/18

(1)    Finn Balor beat Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush)

(2)    Elias defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh)

(3)    Bayley, Ember Moon, Natalya, & Sasha Banks beat The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Ruby Riott) Tamina, & Mickie James

(4)    The Authors of Pain (w/ Drake Maverick) beat Bobby Roode & Chad Gable to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships

(5)    Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose via Disqualification to retain the Intercontinental Championship

(6)    Now Way Jose, The B-Team, & Tyler Breeze beat The Ascension, Curt Hawkins, & Mojo Rawley

(7)    Zack Ryder defeated Curt Hawkins

(8)    Titus O’Neil defeated Curt Hawkins

(9)    Ronda Rousey beat Nikki Bella to retain the Raw Women’s Championship

(10) Braun Strowman beat Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a two-on-one handicap match

(11) Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & Drew McIntyre beat Braun Strowman in a three-on-one handicap match

(12) Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin

Source: Gerweck.net

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Minehead, England) 11/10/18

(1)    Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the United States Championship

(2)    Trent Seven beat Zack Gibson to retain the Progress Atlas Championship

(3)    Asuka & Naomi beat Many Rose & Sonya Deville

(4)    Shelton Benjamin beat Andrade Cien Almas

(5)    The Bar defeated The Usos & The New Day to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships

(6)    Rusev & Lana beat R-Truth & Carmella

(7)    Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson beat Sanity (Killian Dane & Alexander Wolfe)

(8)    Becky Lynch beat Charlotte Flair to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship

(9)    AJ Styles beat Daniel Bryan & Samoa Joe to retain the WWE Championship

Source: WrestlingNewsWorld.com

 

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Glasgow, Scotland) 11/11/18

(1)    Shinsuke Nakamura beat Jeff Hardy to retain the United States Championship

(2)    Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Sanity ends in a double disqualificiation

(3)    Asuka & Naomi beat Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville

(4)    Wolfgang beat Kenny Williams

(5)    The Bar defeated The Usos & The New Day to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships

(6)    Rusev & Lana beat R-Truth & Carmella

(7)    Shelton Benjamin beat Andrade Cien Almas

(8)    Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship

(9)    A.J. Styles beat Samoa Joe & Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship

Source:: WrestleYard.com

If you attend a live event, please send results to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!

•WWE TV Match Results

Monday Night Raw TV Results 11/12/18 (PWTorch’s Full Report)

(1)    Raw Tag Team Battle Royal ended in a no contest when Braun Strowman beat up everyone in the battle royal

(2)    Tamina (w/ Nia Jax) beat Ember Moon

(3)    Dolph Ziggler (w/ Drew McIntyre) beat Finn Balor

(4)    Bobby Roode & Chad Gable win the Raw Tag Team Battle Royal (rescheduled from earlier) to become the captains of the Raw Tag Team Survivor Series Team

(5)    Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush) beat Elias via countout (Lio Rush grabbed Elias to prevent him from reentering the ring on time) to qualify for the Raw men’s Survivor Series Team

(6)    Sasha Banks vs. Bayley (for last spot on women’s Survivor Series team) ended in a no contest

Smackdown Live TV Results 11/13/18 (PWTorch’s Full Report)

(1)    Jeff Hardy beat Andrade Cien Almas (w/ Zelina Vega)

(2)    Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz to keep his spot on the Smackdown Survivor Series men’s team

(3)    The Bar & The Big Show beat The New Day

(4)    Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship

WWE Mixed Match Challenge Results (Aired on Facebook Watch) 11/13/18

(1)    Monster Eclipse (Braun Strowman & Ember Moon) beat Country Dominance (Bobby Lashley & Mickie James) when Ember Moon pinned Mickie James

(2)    Charlotte Flair & Jeff Hardy defeated Awe-ska (The Miz & Asuka) when Asuka tapped out to Charlotte’s Figure 8. Jeff Hardy replaced AJ Styles for this match after AJ lost to Daniel Bryan and lost the WWE Championship to end Smackdown.

Updated Mixed Match Challenge Standings

Raw Standings

  • Monster Eclipse (Braun Strowman & Ember Moon) 4-0
  • Country Dominance (Bobby Lashley & Mickie James) 3-1
  • B’ N’ B’ (Finn Balor & Bayley) 2-2
  • Mahalicia (Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox) 0-3
  • Team Pawz (Bobby Roode & Natalya) 0-3

Smackdown Standings

  • Fenominal Flaire (AJ Styles/Jeff Hardy & Charlotte) 4-0
  • Awe-ska (The Miz & Asuka) 3-1
  • Day One Glow (Jimmy Uso & Naomi) 2-2
  • The Fabulous Truth (R-Truth & Carmella) 0-3
  • Ravishing Rusev Day (Rusev & Lana) 0-3

The team from Raw and Smackdown with the best record will compete at WWE T.L.C. on 12/16/18 to determine the winner of the Mixed Match Challenge.

WWE Announced on 11/12 that the winners of the Mixed Match Challenge will both be awarded the 30th entry (last entry) into the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches. They also noted that the winners will receive an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world.

205 Live Results (Aired on WWE Network) 11/14/18

(1)    Drew Gulak & Jack Gallagher beat Akira Tozawa and The Brian Kendrick

(2)    Cedric Alexander defeated Lio Rush ending his undefeated streak

Main Event Results (Aired on WWE Network and Hulu) 11/14/18

(1)    Dana Brooke beat Alicia Fox

(2)    Apollo Crews & Tyler Breeze beat Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins

Source: TheRingReport.com

•Upcoming Lineups for Stadium/PPV Events

Survivor Series on Nov. 18 from Los Angeles, Calif.

(1)    Ronda Rousey (Raw Women’s Champion) vs. Charlotte

(2)    Daniel Bryan (WWE Champion) vs. Brock Lesnar (Universal Champion)

(3)    Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Champion) vs. Seth Rollins (Intercontinental Champion)

(4)    Women’s Survivor Series Match: Team Raw (Nia Jax, Tamina, Natalya, Ruby Riott, & Mickie James) vs. Team Smackdown (Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka, & TBD)

(5)    The Authors of Pain (Raw Tag Team Champions) vs. The Bar (Smackdown Tag Team Champions)

(6)    Men’s Survivor Series Match: Team Raw (Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, & Finn Balor) vs. Team Smackdown (The Miz, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, & Samoa Joe)

(7)    Tag Team Survivor Series Match: Team Raw (Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, The B-Team, The Revival, Lucha House Party, & The Ascension) vs. Team Smackdown (The Usos, The New Day, The Colóns, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, & Sanity)

(8)    Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali for the Cruiserweight Championship

•Upcoming Events

Sun. 11/18/18 WWE Survivor Series, Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

Mon. 11/19/18 WWE Raw, Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

Tue. 11/20/18 WWE Smackdown, Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

Sat. 11/24/18 WWE Starrcade, U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio

Sun. 11/25/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Grossinger Motors Arena, Bloomington, Ill.

Sun. 11/25/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis.

Mon. 11/26/18 WWE Raw, Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wis.

Mon. 11/26/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Tue. 11/27/18 WWE Smackdown, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minn.

Sat. 12/1/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

Sun. 12/2/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, College Park Center, Arlington, Texas

Mon. 12/3/18 WWE Raw, Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

Tue. 12/4/18 WWE Smackdown, Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas

Wed. 12/5/18 WWE Live Event –Raw Roster, Movistar Arena, Santiago, Chile

Thu. 12/6/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fri. 12/7/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sat. 12/8/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Antel Arena, Montevideo, Uruguay

Sat. 12/8/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Sun. 12/9/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Stampede Corral, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Mon. 12/10/18 WWE Raw, Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, Calif

Mon. 12/10/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, Calif.

Tue. 12/11/18 WWE Smackdown, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nev.

Fri. 12/14/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.

Sat. 12/15/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.

Sat. 12/15/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Oracle Arena, Oakland, Calif.

Sun. 12/16/18 WWE T.L.C. SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.

Mon. 12/17/18 WWE Raw, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif.

Mon. 12/17/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Stockton Arena, Stockton Calif.

Tue. 12/18/18 WWE Smackdown – Save Smart Center, Fresno, Calif.

Mon. 12/24/18 WWE Raw – No listing currently on wwe.com

Tue. 12/25/18 WWE Smackdown – No listing currently on wwe.com

Wed. 12/26/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.

–  Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin

–  Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Chamionship in a Steel Cage Match

– Ronda Rousey vs Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship

–  Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley

– Velveteen Dream, Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano, Ricochet, & Aleister Black vs. Tomasso Ciampa & Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, & Bobby Fish.)

–  Dolph Ziggler, Alexa Bliss, Natalya, Sasha Banks, and Bayley are also scheduled to appear

Wed. 12/26/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Allstate Arena, Chicago, Ill.

Thur. 12/27/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y.

Thur. 12/27/18 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio

– Ronda Rousey vs. Mickie James (w/ Alexa Bliss) for the Raw Women’s Championship

– Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship

– Braun Strowman vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a two-on-one handicap match

Fri. 12/28/18 WWE Raw (wwe.com has Raw scheduled for Friday 12/28 in Detroit, Mich. Tickets being sold through the site also have it listed as a Raw television show for Friday 12/28)

Fri. 12/28/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Md.

Sat. 12/29/18 WWE Smackdown(wwe.com has Smackdown scheduled for Saturday, 12/29 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Tickets being sold through the site also have it listed as a Smackdown television show for Saturday 12/29)

Sun. 12/30/18 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.

Mon. 12/31/18 WWE Raw – No listing currently on wwe.com, WWE could be playing tape delayed version of Raw from 12/28 scheduled Raw event

Tue. 1/1/19 WWE Smackdown – No listing currently on wwe.com, WWE could be playing tape delayed version of Smackdown from 12/29 scheduled Smackdown event

Fri. 1/4/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, Ga.

Sat. 1/5/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Greensboro Colliseum, Greensboro, N.C.

Sat. 1/5/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Fla.

Sun. 1/6/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, N.C.

Sun. 1/6/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Hertz Arena, Fort Myers, Fla.

Mon. 1/7/19 WWE Raw, Amway Center, Orlando, Fla.

Mon. 1/7/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, S.C.

Tue. 1/8/19 WWE Smackdown, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla.

•Latest TV Highlights

Monday Night Raw           

  • Becky Lynch and the Smackdown women’s division invade Monday Night Raw. Becky attacked Ronda backstage and when a camera finally caught up to the attack, she had Ronda in the Disarm-Her. Becky left Ronda laying in the locker room and walked out to the ring to her music, while she stood at ringside the rest of the Smackdown women’s division ran into the ring from the crowd. The Smackdown women beat down the Raw women until Ronda’s music hit and she came down to the ring holding her arm. After Ronda discarded of a few Smackdown women, Becky attacked her with multiple chair shots. The Smackdown women retreated through the crowd and a bloodied Becky Lynch had a stare down with Ronda who was left in the ring.
  • The Survivor Series teams for Raw are now complete. Finn Balor was added to the men’s team by Stephanie McMahon and Bobby Lashley rounds out the men’s team after beating Elias (with some help from Lio Rush.) Alexa announced the women’s team as being Tamina, Nia Jax, Natalya, Mickie James, and then the winner between Bayley and Sasha Banks. Before Sasha and Bayley had a winner, the other members of the team attacked them both. Alexa laughed and announced Ruby Riott as the fifth member of Team Raw.
  • Dean Ambrose finally addressed Seth Rollins. He said he doesn’t owe Seth or the fans any explanation. He said he used to think The Shield made him stronger, but The Shield actually made him weak. He said that every day is a new day, a chance to be reborn, and “take the past and burn it down” mocking Seth. Dean then took his vest he wore while with The Shield, poured gasoline on it and threw it into a barrel fire he was standing next to. After this, Seth looked angry leaving the ring and marched quickly to the backstage area without saying a word.

Smackdown Live

  • Daniel Bryan wins the WWE Championship and turned heel in the process. After AJ Styles and Paul Heyman talked back and forth oddly mentioning Daniel Bryan, Bryan came out and told AJ to stop talking saying his name. When AJ provoked him, they fought in the ring before it was broken up by a lot of WWE officials. The fight continued backstage where AJ Styles demanded to defend his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan that night and Shane McMahon agreed. In the main event after a long fight, the referee was knocked down accidentally by AJ Styles, while the ref was down Daniel Bryan kicked AJ Styles in the groin. The referee recovered and Daniel Bryan hit the running knee for the win to become the new WWE Champion. Daniel Bryan further solidified the new heel role by continuing his attack on AJ after the match.
  • Becky Lynch is out of Survivor Series. Becky announced that she has a broken face and major concussion after being punched by Nia Jax during the invasion angle on Monday night. All the female talents gathered in the ring because Becky was going to pick her replacement in the match with Ronda. While Asuka got the biggest crowd reaction when Becky looked at her, Becky chose Charlotte. The two shook hands and hugged before Becky walked out of the ring. Charlotte’s replacement in the women’s Survivor Series match was not announced.

For a more detailed rundown of all the major happenings in WWE, you can read the WWE TV reports HERE.

•WWE in the Media

•Mojo Rawley was on Chasing Glory with Lillian Garcia this week. This interview was conducted during the Monday Night Raw after Evolution. Mojo talked about growing up with parents that aren’t originally from America and how he has family literally scattered across the world including family in Saudi Arabia, Asia, and Africa.

Mojo Rawley talks about going to a small college and transferring to a division one school. He then tells the story of the struggles of being a walk on athlete at a division one school. He said that his senior year he was told he was going to be on scholarship, but the day before classes started he was called into the coach’s office and was told that the coaching staff had expected a player to flunk out of school, but they didn’t and that person’s scholarship was the one earmarked for him. He said the coach’s told him that they already know he won’t transfer because if he did he would lose a majority of his acquired academic credits, so they weren’t going to bother putting him on scholarship because he has no other options. Because of the coaches, he had one day to find $35,000 to pay for his classes. He said that he may have been the only player in the NCAA playing in nationally televised games, but having to pay to go to school. Luckily he graduated early and because of the graduate transfer rules in college, the coaches at Maryland put him on scholarship so he wouldn’t transfer to another school for his final year of eligibility.

Mojo Rawley then talked about the process of going through NFL scouting and his time with the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals. He said that injuries plagued his short stint in the NFL because he was overtraining and pushing his body too far in the weight room. He talks about the Cardinals cutting him and refusing to pay him and how this was a low point in his life.

He talks about how he got a tryout with the WWE, saying that he was a lifelong fan, but didn’t know how to possibly break into wrestling. He is good friends with the Gronkowski’s, namely Rob Gronkowski who plays tight end for the New England Patriots and Mojo tells the story of watching WWE with them and how they thought he would be good at wrestling. Rob Gronkowski’s father went to college with Mike Rotunda (a.k.a. IRS) who helped him get in front of William Regal to interview and practice cutting promos before an episode of Monday Night Raw. Mojo said that is what got him a contract to Florida Championship Wrestling (now NXT.) He then talked about The Hype Bros tag team with Zack Ryder, noting that when the idea was presented to them, neither of them wanted to do it because their personalities are so different, but they did it because it was an opportunity to learn from one another. Unfortunately once they debuted on the main roster, it wasn’t anything like they had hoped and they moved away from it fairly quickly. He also talks about how the “Stay Hyped” mentality that he truly lives by turned into being energetic and he and Zack both hated it and were very glad the tag team ended. He was very honest in admitting that both he and Zack both viewed the other as the person holding them back professionally. The interview starts at 13:37 and you can listen to it HERE.

•Latest Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast – Interview Friday w/Ex-WWE Creative Kevin Eck talking Becky, Bryan, Survivor Series, WrestleMania

PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents “Interview Friday” featuring ex-WWE Creative Team member Kevin Eck who previews Survivor Series, reacts to Becky Lynch injury, Charlotte-Rousey, Bryan’s heel turn, Lesnar-Bryan prospects, and backstage insights. Support PWTorch when you shop Amazon by starting at www.pwtorch.com/amazon. Become a PWTorch VIP member where all of our podcasts go ad-free plus you get tons of VIP-exclusive podcasts daily and thousands of hours of archives at…

-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice

•WWE Social Media Highlights

“Ronda, you aren’t the baddest bitch on the planet, you’re the luckiest,” what a great line from Becky Lynch! If you didn’t watch Smackdown this week, Becky cut another amazing promo on Ronda while announcing she won’t be able to compete Sunday.

Becky also took to Twitter on Wednesday to respond to Nia Jax posting a picture of her hand wondering why nobody was asking about her injury.

Wednesday Morning, Ronda Rousey chimed in on the Becky Lynch injury with this long post on Instagram. Becky was quick to respond to that as well, even changing her Twitter name to “The Man Is Now Residing in Ronnie’s Head.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKm30RngrI/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=15nq84w9e9fzt

Daniel Bryan has yet to make any social media comments regarding the events Tuesday night, but AJ Styles sent this out Wednesday afternoon addressing Daniel Bryan’s underhanded tactics to win the WWE Championship and attacking him after the match.

Randy Orton tweeted this on Wednesday too. He makes a pretty good point…

•Closing Commentary

•I’m not sure I like the added stakes to the Mixed Match Challenge (MMC). I don’t actually mind the WWE giving up the last entry to the Royal Rumble and I appreciate them putting stakes on the MMC because at least there is a reason for wanting to win now. Last year they competed for a charity that the wrestlers chose to represent and now this year they’re competing for the last entry spot into the Royal Rumble matches. They also announced that the winners will receive and all expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world, which is a little random.

My complaint about adding these stakes to the MMC really stem from the MMC being such a diversion from people’s characters at times. I don’t think I really like the idea of the WWE bringing the MMC back around and merging it into the regular television show. The MMC has featured dance-offs, people competing in contests to do the splits, Lana and Rusev trying to convince Asuka and The Miz to kiss, and other things that the wrestlers would never do on USA Network/WWE programming. The MMC has kind of become its own little universe.

I also think stakes like this should be announced at the beginning of the tournament. It’s strange that they are so close to starting the “playoffs” and they are just now announcing what the winners will receive after each team has competed at least three times. I also find it hard to believe more prominent wrestlers wouldn’t want in the MMC if the stakes were announced ahead of time. I guess we don’t really know how teams are picked, but I find it hard to believe people like Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Jeff Hardy, and the rest of the locker room wouldn’t want into this tournament with such a big reward for winning.

•The Becky Lynch news was very disappointing and honestly it really hurt my excitement for Survivor Series, but I’d like to thank Todd Martin for the optimistic twist on this situation. Todd Martin, a PWTorch VIP analyst, sent out this tweet on Tuesday:

Todd is right. The final shot of a bloody Becky Lynch to end Monday Night Raw will be a signature moment and is already a photo I’ve already seen 100 times because the wrestling world won’t stop talking about it. We will never know what the outcome of the match was going to be on Sunday, but looking at how strong the push for Rousey has been it seems like a clean win for Becky was the least likely outcome. I’d have to assume the plan was either a fluke finish with Becky cheating, Ronda winning clean, or somehow there not being a winner.

Honestly, the WWE has to be relieved in some ways because Ronda wasn’t going to win popularity contest against Lynch. That seems evident given the crowd reactions the last couple of weeks, so they’re able to keep Ronda away from the white hot Becky Lynch now.

At this point, not much is known about the severity of Becky’s injury. She didn’t surrender the championship, which could be a good sign, or maybe not. There could be a few reasons why she didn’t give up the championship. Optimistically, it could be that the injury isn’t that bad and she just won’t be cleared by Sunday, but won’t be out for a long period of time. Pessimistically, they either don’t know the extent of the injury is yet, so they’re waiting for more information, or they didn’t want to vacate the championship on the last show before Survivor Series and they’ll have her do that once they get through Sunday, at this point it’s unclear.

I hope she doesn’t have to vacate the championship, but if she will miss the next month or two, what better way to make her comeback than to win the Royal Rumble match and call out Rousey for WrestleMania. This is obviously months away and a worse case scenario, but I think that could be an incredible story to tell. We only had a few weeks of promos between Rousey and Becky, I’d love for them to have even more time to go back and forth like they have been.

Given how good the promo battles have been leading to Survivor Series, Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch is a match that could main event WrestleMania.

NOW CHECK OUT OTHER WEEKLY OVERVIEWS HERE.

OR JUMP TO LAST WEEK’S WWE OVERVIEW: WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 11/8): Lesnar wins UniversaL Title, Triple H injured, schedule, Survivor Series, media interviews, social media, commentary on Survivor Series main event and brand supremacy theme

The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly

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