WWE 2014 - The Civil War (Redux)

[Dawn]

OOC: THERE WILL BE NO IMMEDIATE NXT FOLLOW-UP TO THIS EPISODE OF RAW BECAUSE...WELL, YOU'LL SEE



''Delta''

WWE Monday Night Raw
June 2nd, 2014
XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut
OC: Michael Cole, Renee Young and Joey Styles
Rating: B+

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Dark Match: Caylen Croft & Rich Swann defeat The Deep Sea Alliance with a standing 450 splash by Swann on Taven. (C-)

Evolution opens up the post-Over the Limit Raw. That is, with the glaring absence of ''The Animal'' Batista. Triple H, sledgehammer in hand, explains that as Batista taking his ball and running home after his loss to Daniel Bryan the previous night. He says it's unfortunate how he couldn't put The Shield's warped beliefs to sleep for good last night, but tonight was a whole different night. Randy Orton, still taped up due to his injury, challenges Roman Reigns to a one-on-one match on tonight's main event; he won't wait for a reply, he'll be there and expect Reigns to do the same. Hunter says Over the Limit was an unfortunate night for Evolution as a whole, and that was in great part due to the lack of action from a party that can't act in the elite's best interest any longer. The Game turns to Ric Flair, who becomes speechless as he does so, and says that it's with a heavy heart that he is relieving Flair of his duties being of any help towards future success of the Evolution or the regime. He says Flair had failed to guard Randy Orton from this injury and to ensure Batista would have remained in the fold, so he hasn't been of any help recently. As Flair starts tearing up, Hunter says Ric is better off coddling his daughter in NXT and feeding her advice on how to move on towards the future, but that Evolution is involved in too much to depend on him right now. As Flair departs tearfully, Hunter says there will be a match tonight between Randy Orton and Roman Reigns, and that with or without Batista and The Nature Boy, the superior side will prevail.

Why? Because there's always a plan B. 

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Match #1 (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
Chris Jericho defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) with Walls of Jericho.

Rating: B
Time: 12:07

Jericho explains his actions from the previous night as having fallen out of touch with what was truly important to himself. He says The New Day woke him up to how badly Chris Jericho had become too enamored with the glamour of the reaction from the masses once again. But no longer would he suffer from that disease. Chris Jericho was going to remind every single man in the locker room why he was the greatest wrestler to ever step foot in the ring, if they understood what he was saying to them. He says the loss to Fan-damn-go was the breaking point, and he had to come out of that a changed man, or else he'd be looking at retirement, and none of the parasites would care the least about that, since all that they'd be doing was singing the stupid idiot's song nonstop. Christian comes out and condemns Jericho for his actions, telling him that they could have done so much more together. Jericho disagrees, and tells Christian he will continue to suffer as long as he works in favor of supporting these leeches again; he would lose tonight against CM Punk, he would lose every big match the rest of the way. He reminds Christian of when he stopped caring about them for just a second, and became World Heavyweight Champion in the process; he says this would be the case for Chris Jericho; he had gone just an inch from being King of the Ring the previous year, and now he would succeed in showing the parasites his superiority towards the rest of the field.





Before the King of the Ring First Round matchup between Alex Riley and John Cena, the former cuts a promo on how his beliefs were proven correct the previous night at Over the Limit; he says even amidst boos from the Cena faithful, he had kept to his word and that he had challenged Cena to simply show himself at Over the Limit. He says that he would now be forced not to team up with best bro Zack Ryder anymore, but that he hopes this sacrifice hadn't been made in vain; that Ryder would have seen just how selfish John Cena could get when things came down to a personal achievement vs. a friend who hadn't achieved ANYTHING spectacular in his career. Curt Hawkins and Trent Barreta come out, nodding at everything Riley had said beforehand. They say they had observed this story pretty closely, and that they agreed with everything coming out of Riley's mouth. Hawkins says he knew Ryder deep down ever since the two were kids, and that he felt he'd show his true colors once pressed. He says he and Riley might have been forced not to team anymore, but if the four of them joined forces, they could be unstoppable even if the two never teamed up directly again. Riley looks curiously as John Cena comes out, interrupting the entire ordeal. 

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Match #2 (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
John Cena defeats Alex Riley with AA.

Rating: B
Time: 11:27

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Match #3
Rusev (w/Lana) defeats a local competitor with The Accolade.

Rating: D+
Time: 2:31

After Rusev and Lana unleash another round of their usual tirade against the United States in favor of Mother Russia, Big Show comes out and interrupts the duo, talking about how until then, Rusev had not picked up a fair fight with someone his size; and asks how he'd fare against a giant that had been roaring for a new, willing opponent. Lana dismisses Show as someone whose prime had passed a long time ago, not worthy of being crushed by the hero. Show says he could change her stance with a single swing of a punch, bringing Rusev to claim Big Show was a coward who could never stabilize himself to one side in a war, ever. He claims if the two ever faced off one on one, Show would be easily crushed. Show asks how Rusev has been so easily scared of the WMD if that is so, before Lana slaps him in the face. Show remarks that as the greatest mistake the two have ever committed, and as Rusev charges at the giant, Show knocks him out with WMD! This is the first time that Rusev has looked vulnerable in a WWE ring! 





Backstage, Miz and Morrison check on the banged up Becky Lynch in the emergency room, asking her about her status after Over the Limit. Becky says she should have seen that coming, Stephanie and her lapdog pulling every trick in the book necessary to keep the title intact at the hands of miss Macho. Becky says there is only one reason why they could have pulled that off when Kaitlyn was up against her, and that was fear that she actually stood a threat to Kaitlyn's title reign. Becky says she will be back soon, and when she did, she'd prove that karma was a bitch; after that, she'd be back in the title hunt, whether the bastard princess liked it or not.

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Match #4 (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
Sheamus defeats Rene Dupree (w/Shantellé Bridgetté and Sylvester LeFort) with Brogue Kick.

Rating: B
Time: 12:23

Renee steps to the ring to interview Sheamus after the match, the WWE's penultimate King before this year's rendition of the tournament. Sheamus guarantees that he'll pull the feat once more, before warning Chris Jericho that if their paths were to cross during the tournament, that he'd make that SOB regret his life decisions as he once again kicked his teeth off of his mouth as he did two years ago when the two met at the Royal Rumble.






WWE Champion AJ Styles comes out to the ring next, celebrating on how he finally beat a longtime issue connected to his career in Austin Aries at Over the Limit. He's quickly interrupted by the New Day, with Xavier Woods sarcastically congratulating AJ on his title defense, before claiming that one man who's had his opportunities unceremoniously ripped away from his hands in Kofi Kingston was undoubtedly next in line for a WWE Championship opportunity, having been disqualified from the King of the Ring tournament for simply showing Randy Orton who truly belonged in the ring when push came to shove.



AJ says he would happily put his title up for grabs against Kofi if he were to show him he deserved it, and then DOLPH ZIGGLER jumps the latter from out of nowhere! Having been attacked by The New Day at Extreme Rules, Ziggler is embroiled in a fist fight with Kofi as his New Day comrades struggle to separate the two, and when they are finally able to do so, Ziggler is long separated from the fracas. Styles watches on from the ring, WWE Championship in hand, this issue has been resurrected here on Raw!

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Match #5 (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
CM Punk defeats Christian with Anaconda Vise.

Rating: B-
Time: 17:35
Notes: Yep, this one was a big time disappointment.

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MAIN EVENT

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns

''Cut the music.'' The crowd boos as once again, the voice of Triple H signals for this match to be interrupted before it can even begin. He comes out of the aisle alongside the still injured Orton, holding his signature sledgehammer. Alongside Roman Reigns are his Shield brethren in Ambrose and Rollins, and the two step to the ring to aid the powerhouse in anything he needs. Rollins brings up a steel chair to the ring as an equalizer to The Game's weapon of choice. 

Hunter talks about how the two teams have been embroiled in a neverending war for the past few months, and all of that comes down to a difference in values. He sees the better of the WWE one way, while The Shield sees his ideas as wrong and unjust for the future. Well, the future was about to hit them where it hurt the most. 

Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett run interference in the ring, with McIntyre hitting Reigns from behind at ringside and knocking him out, before fighting Ambrose and Rollins until Rollins is able to overpower the former Nexus leader with a chair shot to the temple, and McIntyre runs away with his tail between his legs to join the two halves of Evolution at the aisle. Ambrose pants heavily from the energy he's spent, before smiling at the fact he had prevented Evolution's plans from succeeding, but Hunter seems...unfazed? 

Ambrose screams at Hunter for attacking Reigns and affecting another match that he deserved to have, before claiming that Triple H's values have been twisted since day 1 when he married the princess next in line to the throne, and since Vince had been overthrown he had done his best to force his ideals into this company, and whoever went against them had suffered greatly be it by interference of Hunter's contemporaries in the New Age Outlaws, or Hunter's preferred blue chippers in McIntyre and Barrett. He says The Shield fell in line for far too long the previous year, and as soon as they showed resistance by realizing justice had been miscast, they had become enemy #1 in The Game's list. Well, they had played his game and they had [CENSOR'ING] WON! What does that give them? PIGSHIT! Not a spot in the King of the Ring tournament, not a world title opportunity, just the three of them being forced to have their careers linked with Triple H until he and only HE felt it had been enough of a beating against him and company at the hands of The Shield. He says Orton had been put to the hospital, Batista sent back to the Milano and Ric Flair back to the asylum, now what would it take for Hunter to give up on this idea that he could possibly defeat The Shield? 

Hunter says Ambrose is right in many fronts, that The Shield had proven itself superior in one night at Extreme Rules, plus Batista and Ric Flair shown to have been not up to par with the standards necessary to succeed when tasked with going to war with a force such as The Shield nowadays. Well, in that case, Hunter would be forced to load up in young, top-heavy talent to combat the plague of revolution that threatened to knock at his door. He tells Ambrose he couldn't have possibly defeated The Shield with outside help...only from within. He tells Ambrose straight up that...there's ALWAYS a plan B. 














AND ROLLINS HITS AMBROSE FROM BEHIND WITH A STEEL CHAIR!

Seth Rollins hits Dean Ambrose with the steel chair, outright destroying it in his supposed Shield brother's back as Hunter, Orton and McIntyre are shown laughing at the aisle. As Rollins is finally done with dismantling the man he called a friend for so long, he cackles and raises his arms, simulating an embrace with the three men he's facing. Hunter does the same, raising the big thumbs up to the architect. 













And...the thumbs go down.


















ROMAN REIGNS SPEARS SETH ROLLINS!

Hunter's glare at the ring turns to a sickening grin as he watches Roman Reigns shunt his former Shield brother down a few pegs, Rollins having believed he had been chosen for greatness, but instead having whatever's been left of the chair broken on his back as Reigns himself turns to an evil and sly smile back at the three men in the aisle! Reigns, having been believed to have been knocked out just moments beforehand, joins the men he's vehemently fought against the past few months, having left Ambrose and Rollins downed and out in the ring, as the announcers are left utterly speechless! Hunter apologizes to Seth, saying there was only one spot open to help further the evolution of this business, and the one superior member of The Shield had seized it.

The four depart the stage, all smiles, leaving an unappreciative Hartford crowd and defeated Shield carcasses behind! What does all of this mean for the landscape and the future of the WWE? We fade to black with Michael Cole saying only one thing is for sure...the entire status quo of the WWE has changed thanks to the implosion of The Shield, just like that.



Notes: Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have turned heel. Both turns were a complete success.

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by Dawn

[Wrestling Machine]

That Shield's double turn was soooo cool!

[kanegan]

Didn't see that coming, what a double turn!! 

Great job mate. 

[Dawn]

Thank you for the compliments, guys! It was genuinely one of the twists (many more to come along the way ;)) I was most excited to pull off and write about for your enjoyment. Subtle foreshadowing was aplenty, and I hope you guys picked up on the cues and it didn't come TOO much out of nowhere; still good that it was a surprise!

My main goal with this double turn was to create reasons for all three of the members to hate each other, rather than the direction they went with in real life separating Roman Reigns entirely from the feud right away. That doesn't work for me brother. And I also didn't want to copy real life in Seth Rollins being the brass' darling; to me, it would have made just as much sense if the golden boy in Roman Reigns, the one Hunter and Stephanie would like running the show as a final favor to the legacy of Vince McMahon, was the chosen one.

It also made a lot of sense to me that the cocky Rollins would not see the double cross coming since his head is too far up his ass. I knew I didn't want Ambrose in that role since the dude is the babyfaciest babyface who's ever babyfaced when he's got set goals to accomplish (even though I would LOVE to read someone else's project where they explore the possibility of Ambrose being the one who turns!). So it all just connected.

I could have just...not done a turn this soon as well, which I considered. But this conflict, no matter when it'd begin, was always supposed to be one of the driving forces towards the endgame of the overall narrative. So might as well build on it as much as possible. I hope you guys enjoy my take on a proper feud between all three sides of the Shield.

You know there will be hell to pay for all sides involved. 

NXT, SD and Heat coming right up!

EDIT: I do have to add that I have ONE regret pulling this off, however...and that is, it completely overshadows the Jericho turn! That is definitely unfortunate, at least in my point of view. I always craved writing '08-10 heel Jericho (or akin to that) so I basically turned him for that vanity project and because he was going nowhere as a face fast. In retrospect I wish I could have delayed his turn so it'd get the proper shine it deserves. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by Dawn

[Dawn]

NXT
June 4th, 2014
Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida
OC: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Eric Bischoff
Rating: B-

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- A quick recap of the previous week's Takeover is shown, and GM William Regal lets the Full Sail University know we'll hear from newcomer Finn Bálor next week on NXT! (B)

- Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) defeats Madison Eagles with Natural Selection. (D+)

- NXT Champion Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn cut dueling promos, as it is confirmed the two will meet at the next NXT Takeover event in September. Sami says this will be the match of his life, and he will carefully prepare throughout these three months. Neville gives props to Sami as what will be his toughest title defense yet, but says Sami's past still clouds him, and when the two were to meet, he'd crumble under the weight of expectations again and lose the big one. (B+)

- Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy defeat Briley Pierce & Oliver Grey with Blake and Murphy's Law. (D+)

- JoJo interviews two names that have been silent in the NXT women's division recently in Eva Marie and Maxine, with both of them demanding opportunities to face Emma next. Maxine suggests the two of them pair up for a larger chance at attracting attention from William Regal, but Eva dismisses that proposal, saying there's only one woman that's the hottest one around this company, she is bathed in the color of heat itself and she rides alone. (C+)

- Bayley defeats Audrey Marie with Belly to Bayley. (D+)

- JoJo interviews Brodus Clay, who vows to redeem himself from an embarassing year so far as he blazes a trail of destruction at his new home in NXT. (C-)

- James Storm defeats Danny Burch with Last Call. (B-)

- Storm is unexpectedly interrupted by Luke Robinson, who says Storm's arrival was grand and everyone was happy, but in the end, he was an old-timing outsider who just needed to make way for the next generation who have been WWE lifers throughout their careers like himself. Storm says he'll gladly kick Robinson's ass if he wants to make a statement at the Cowboy's expense, bringing Robinson's old rival Andy Leavine to come out and predictably criticize Robinson, who yawns and asks what he could possibly do to not be riddled with being on the same show as Leavine for 5 minutes after having beaten him every step of the way. As this conflict heats up, Tyler Breeze appears behind James Storm and hits him with Beauty Shot! Breeze points at his face that Storm had put his uggo hands on at Takeover, and says he'll show him ugly! (B+)

''God Save The Queen''

WWE Thursday Night SmackDown
June 5th, 2014
Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts
OC: Josh Mathews, John Bradshaw Layfield and Booker T
Rating: B

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Dark Match: Akira Tozawa defeats Matt Taylor with Tozawa Driver. (C-)

SmackDown again opens with The New Day, with Woods promoting Kofi Kingston as the one and only next worthy challenger for the WWE Championship. He also talks about how Big E would fasttrack his way to notoriety by defeating John Cena in the first Round of 16 match a week from Monday on Raw. ''The Pope'' Elijah Burke then trash talks his King of the Ring first round opponent Zack Ryder as weak and unwilling to do what's necessary to succeed in a dog eat dog world, regardless of the support the church or the New Day as a whole were willing to give him. Ryder then comes out and says all he's ever tried to be was a loyal friend, bro, but people keep pushing him, and they won't like to see what will happen when he snaps. Burke laughs and compares an angry Ryder to a muppet, and says he'll have plenty of opportunity to look stupid as he gets outclassed by the Pope in their match that will also be for the TV title next. 

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Match #1 (2014 King of the Ring First Round; WWE World Television Championship)
Zack Ryder surprises Elijah Burke (c) (w/The New Day) with a quick roll-up as ''The Pope'' gloats for one second too many, to WIN the TV Championship!

Rating: B
Time: 13:13

An emotional celebration for Zack Ryder is on, as this is the first championship win he's had since that infamous United States Championship reign about 3 years prior! He's met by former partner Alex Riley, who lifts Zack on his shoulders! JBL mentions how it's Riley and not John Cena as the first to come and support Ryder, and at ringside, The New Day is incensed at having lost 2 out of 3 King of the Ring matchups (even if one of them was on purpose), Big E now being their only horse left in the race. Backstage, Hawkins and Barreta are watching, and they are seen nodding at the events.

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Match #2 (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
Ryback defeats Corey Graves with Shellshocked. 

Rating: B-
Time: 7:47

Next, Vickie Guerrero throws an over the top fiesta to welcome her nephew Chavo Guerrero officially back into the WWE! After a few songs and words from Vickie glorifying him as one of the best cruiserweights on the planet and a worthy recipient of Eddie's legacy, Chavo removes the mustaches of all the mariachis in caution which only leads to a few comedic grunts and screams of pain from the extras. Alex Shelley appears directly from the stage, telling Chavo he's seen that move pulled once years ago, plus he's more of a face to face guy. Shelley says the WWE is not the same as it was when Chavo left, now there are faster, stronger, younger and hungrier cruiserweights all around the roster, including himself; he welcomed a veteran challenger, but notes that after the King of the Ring, he'd still be champion. Chavo says it is true that the WWE is different; hell, the man he used to know the most in the company now prances around without his mask and under nothing but self-pity. But he never had to wear a mask to hide his insecurities, he is a Guerrero and he is damn proud of it. And at the King of the Ring, Shelley would find out exactly what it happens when you underestimate a Guerrero.

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Match #3
Chavo Guerrero (w/Vickie Guerrero) defeats Shannon Moore (w/Alex Shelley) with Frog Splash.

Rating: C-
Time: 7:54

Renee Young interviews Tyson Kidd about his main event King of the Ring first round matchup tonight against former Intercontinental Champion Heath Slater. Kidd says that a fact is, Slater was a fluke champion and everyone in the locker room other than walking sex toy Brad Maddox agreed with him. A fact is, no man associated with the Hart family had won the King of the Ring in over two decades. A fact is, he would break that trend because he is that damn good. He also notes one more fact, his wife Natalya would win the next match in order to become the next #1 Contender and make him proud. 

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Match #4
Naomi won a #1 Contender's Battle Royal, last eliminating Natalya as she was inadvertedly distracted by husband Tyson Kidd. A still greatly impaired Paige and Serena rounded out the final four, while Natalya held the most eliminations with 5.

Rating: C+
Time: 10:13

Divas Champion Kaitlyn steps into the ring, having performed special commentary for the match. She raises her championship high in the air to an unappreciative Naomi, while at ringside, Tyson Kidd is seen berating Natalya for her failures.





Renee is back in the ring with Richie Steamboat and Justin Gabriel next, Richie about to have his King of the Ring First Round match against a mystery opponent. Renee asks Richie just how badly the loss to Rusev at Over the Limit affects him tonight. Richie says he's always been a fighter, even moreso now with the mentorship of the former Intercontinental Champion. He says he's greatly sorry not to have been able to defend the honor of America at Over the Limit, but that no matter who it would be against him, he'd give it his all. 
 

OH SH-

Richie's mystery opponent is revealed to be SAMOA JOE, who comes out with a brand of intense focus as Josh lists his accomplishments all around the globe! He had been listed as one of the hottest free agents in the business, and he is finally here! Anything can happen at any given moment in the WWE!

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Match #5 (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
Samoa Joe defeats Richie Steamboat (w/Justin Gabriel) with Coquina Clutch.

Rating: C+
Time: 4:58

The Wyatt Family is next shown in their compound, as the patriarch Bray Wyatt explains why none of the four entered themselves into the King of the Ring tournament. He says a crown is to no interest of his, or any of his brothers or sisters; the abstract notion that such a crown would give any human being power that could rival that of a deity is a belief only the most simpleminded of men could put any thought to. Ambitious, yes. But foolish all the same. Bray says the man who wins the King of the Ring will be granted with major recognition and media uproar, but that it would all be such futile in the end. Why? Well, he was hard at work every second of his days since WrestleMania, and it would soon be time to reveal to the world what he was working on. But not a minute too soon, or too late. He did not need nor want the extra attention associated with the tournament, citing his best work as done within the shadows. He warns the next would-be king to be bold enough as to protect his subjects from the wars to come. As for The Usos, his two dearest brothers were looking forward to meeting them again. RUN. 

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MAIN EVENT (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
Heath Slater defeats Tyson Kidd with a sudden Smash Hit, surprising the obnoxious Kidd!

Rating: B-
Time: 16:19

The Raw Rebound shows the events that took place this past Monday night, where a double-double cross took place in the form of Seth Rollins believing he was the chosen one to join Triple H's brigade and in turn smacked Dean Ambrose in the back with a chair. However, Roman Reigns was revealed to have been the ace all along, spearing Rollins into oblivion and joining the King of Kings. Josh says that it's been announced that Seth Rollins will have a live interview with Renee Young this Monday on Raw, plus the King of the Ring first round continues. Also, next week on SmackDown, we'd have the first signs of life from AJ Lee since WrestleMania! Stephanie McMahon would welcome AJ back alongside her doctor in order to hold a live prognosis of AJ's mental health, Booker saying this is all sounding very suspicious. 





World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan has a major celebration with the Worcester fans next. He cites the loss of Batista's career as unfortunate, but a necessary side effect to keeping Daniel Bryan's dreams alive, The Animal having chosen the wrong side to fight on. Bryan says with that, he's got an open card at the King of the Ring, and he was ready to take on any and all comers, preferrably who weren't preoccupied with the tournament so there would be no excuses of fatigue, he wanted to set the bar up high for himself with a classic match next after having grinded out the win against Batista.

Wade Barrett is the man to answer the call, coming out on his own without Paul Heyman, Drew McIntyre or any other man he's currently associated with. Barrett says that, as the man who made Daniel Bryan any relevant in his career by bringing him to the WWE with The Nexus, he feels it is his time to return to World championship contention and fulfill his promise to the Queen that he'd represent his great kingdom as the face of the WWE one day. Barrett says Bryan had been insubordinate to the desires of those in power, desires that included Wade Barrett as champion; he sought to be the one to put Bryan out of his misery and ensure he never got to challenge for the titles he never should have been near any longer. Bryan notes how Barrett could only be there because he lost his King of the Ring matchup to Cesaro, while Barrett says it was a split second mistake, one that could have gone the other way; the Bullhammer can strike unannounced at any point in time. Bryan says fair enough, and he guessed he might be forced to run a gauntlet of Hunter's goons, but that Barrett was special. The two of them had come from the same place, cut from the same cloth when it comes to the WWE, yet taken vastly different approaches to their careers after NXT; Bryan had bet on himself and through the grind, he earned the full support of the people, while Barrett kept to trusting joining cliques would lead him anywhere.

Bryan tells Barrett he knows he's better than that, and he sincerely hopes he could see it the same way one day. Barrett says he continues finding himself in ''cliques'' due to his great leadership skills, something Bryan does not possess. He was not an adept strategist such as himself, and he was much, much smaller than Wade Barrett, a man who screamed greatness. And so his chances if the two were to meet would be greatly limited. Bryan says he's been smaller than every man who's looked to demean his accomplishments as World Heavyweight Champion, but that there's a fire in him that makes him bigger than any of them come big match situations. And so, at the King of the Ring, it was on; the two former NXT rookies would clash for the World Heavyweight Championship. Bryan extends his hand for Barrett, and the Bareknuckle Brawler accepts, but not before pulling Bryan in for Bullhammer!



Barrett puts the fists to a fallen World champion, before Cesaro comes to the save, brawling with Barrett as well before the two are separated! Cesaro stands between Barrett and the ring, where Bryan is groggily trying to get back to his feet, will the Bullhammer strike at the King of the Ring?

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Post-Show Notes: Worth mentioning the fourth turn I foreshadowed before Over the Limit was Cesaro naturally transitioning to a babyface. The turn was a success.

WWE Sunday Night Heat
June 8th, 2014
OC: Josh Mathews, Byron Saxton and Matt Striker

Quote

- Alex Riley (w/Courtney Taylor) defeats Ophidian with You're Dismissed. (B-)

- Riley congratulates Zack Ryder on his big win from this past Thursday, citing that as just the beginning of his former partner's true potential once he stopped trusting sharks such as John Cena. (B+)

- Alex Shelley & Jack Evans defeat Lince Dorado & TJ Perkins with Shining Wizard by Shelley on Dorado. (C+)

- Chavo Guerrero blindsides Shelley after the match, dropping him with Gory Bomb and again posing for a photo op with the Cruiserweight title as Vickie cheers him on! (B+)

- Mason Ryan (w/Christopher James Parker) defeats Shannon Moore with Full Nelson Slam. (C+)

- CJ and Ryan continue to spread their pro-ecological propaganda after the match, handing out petitions to the crowd. (C+)

- Kassius Ohno (w/The KoW) defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) with Ohno Blade. (B-)

- The KoW cuts a promo on how wrestling royalty had been greatly disrespected throughout this company, but that they would ensure this would be changing soon. (B+)

Edited September 7, 2022 by Dawn

[Dawn]

''The Evolution of Seth Rollins''

WWE Monday Night Raw
June 9th, 2014
Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island
OC: Michael Cole, Renee Young and Joey Styles
Rating: B+

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Dark Match: Judas Devlin (w/The Wyatt Family) defeats Alex Colon with The Betrayal. (D)

The show opens with a recap of The Dirt Sheet's online edition, where The Miz and John Morrison clowned the latter's King of the Ring first round opponent in the maskless Rey Mysterio, before Morrison got serious and told Rey he'd put the Intercontinental Championship on the line and hoped to see shades of the true Rey Mysterio out there. In the ring, Miz comes out for his match with a replacement opponent for former US Champion Alberto Del Rio, and it seems as if Ricardo Rodriguez will take the spotlight, but as it happens his patrón is here and he will compete as originally scheduled, telling Miz that luck won't help him a third time.

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Match #1
The Miz again defeats Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) with Skull Crushing Finale.

Rating: B
Time: 11:23

Backstage, Chris Jericho and Fandango run into the other. The former orders the stupid idiot to get out of his way, while ''The Honorable'' tells Jericho that his dishonor will catch up to him when he least expects it, and he hoped for the most peaceful outcome when that did happen. Jericho scoffs, and tells Fandango there's no bigger dishonor than having a moronic name such as Fandalengo. Or whatever the hell his name is, living off of one fluke win over Chris Jericho. Jericho says he will not allow Whateverthehellango to leech off of his name, if he understands what he is saying to him. Fandango says he wishes not to leech off of anyone, only to build his own reputation in order to better the world with the word of Fandangoing. Jericho sarcastically wishes him good luck with that, and departs.





Elsewhere in the back, Jericho runs into his Round of 16 opponent in CM Punk, but the two only share a staredown as Jericho claims he's done for the night. Punk is then approached by Bo Dallas, who tells Punk to watch out for Jericho, as he's become a new man recently, one who could match CM Punk move for move, all because he's started BOlieving! He urges Punk to do the same, Punk staring incredulously at Bo's speech before leaving himself, Bo smiling ear to ear.

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Match #2
Brie Bella & Naomi defeat Kaitlyn & Nikki Bella (w/Stephanie McMahon) with Rear View by Naomi on Nikki. Nikki had ordered Brie to take the fall, but Brie resisted long enough for Naomi to tag herself back in and put the finishing touches to the match.

Rating: C
Time: 8:18

As Nikki is knocked out, her subordinate sister Brie has a moment of reprieve celebrating with the #1 Contender, all the while Kaitlyn shakes her head at her partner's failures while hoisting up the Divas Championship as she walks out with Stephanie McMahon. Kaitlyn mouths off to Naomi that she'll ''always be number 2 to her 1'', while Naomi signals that she will be the next Divas Champion.

John Cena addresses the claims made about him by Alex Riley, Curt Hawkins and Trent Barreta recently, stating that it was a tough choice to make back at Over the Limit and ultimately, yes, he did choose himself. He hopes that Zack Ryder, his friends and family would forgive him for making that decision, and that 9 times out of 10 he would have sacrificed for Ryder. The difference was, he had just come off of the worst year of his career and he just wouldn't allow himself to be dragged into the abyss again. He congratulates Zack on the quick turnaround by winning the TV Championship and moving on in the King of the Ring the past Thursday night on SmackDown, and says he wholeheartedly believes Zack will earn World championship opportunities in the future if he keeps up the hard work. All he had to do was not listen to gold diggers such as Alex Riley, or tortured souls like Kane who wanted to see the world burn. He says he is aware Kane still hadn't let go of his beliefs that Cena will one day embrace the hate, and that at some point he'd have to meet the monster at the onset again.

Cena says that now, his full attention is turned to the King of the Ring, and it seemed as if The New Day had also set their sights on him; the blue chipper in Big E would be his next opponent, and Cena would not need a 5 count to show their uprising that he was indeed still John Cena, a man who fought tooth and nail with hustle, loyalty and respect for what he believed in. He says now, what he believes is that he will go all the way and honor Jerry ''The King'' Lawler by becoming the King of the Ring before turning his sights back to being world champion!





Round of 16 opponents Cesaro and Sheamus are interviewed by JoJo next, both men presenting plausible arguments as to why they should be considered the favorites to win it all. Regardless, they'd have to get past the other, and they (alongside John Cena and Big E) would be the ones to open the slate of Round of 16 matches next week on the main event of Raw!

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Match #3
Rusev (w/Lana) defeats Justin Gabriel with The Accolade. Richie Steamboat wasn't present at ringside after the events of Over the Limit and this past Thursday on SmackDown.

Rating: B-
Time: 5:51

Big Show appears as Rusev threatens to keep the Accolade locked in on Gabriel and send him to the hospital alongside protege Richie, Lana screaming for Show to get into the ring and meet Rusev in a fair fight instead of delivering a cheap shot. The stalemate remains as the camera cuts to the back, where Richie Steamboat is informed of the match results by the EMTs as they tape his ribs, a clear look of disappointment in the youngster. He's met with a serious glare by...his father Ricky Steamboat! The Dragon tells Richie to finish getting himself taped up before meeting him, because there is much for him to learn still.

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Match #4
AJ Styles & Dolph Ziggler (w/Torrie Wilson) defeat Mark Henry & Xavier Woods of The New Day (w/Big E, Burke and Kingston) by DQ after the other three members of the New Day predictably ganged up on their opponents.

Rating: B
Time: 10:30

The unfair fight is made slightly less so as John Cena rushes to the ring, his adrenaline sending Mark Henry flying over the top rope! Now 4 on 3, Woods, Kofi and Big E decide to fight another day, but The Pope is caught by Cena, before being laid out with AA! Cena nods in respect to Styles and Ziggler, but points at the WWE Championship, signaling that after the King of the Ring, he would be coming after it.

Quote

MAIN EVENT

John Morrison (c) defeats Rey Mysterio with Starship Pain to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Rating: B
Time: 19:42

Renee Young is inside the ring next to interview one of two Shield turncoats in Seth Rollins. I love the real life segment and so I think I can better represent this by just linking that and listing the major differences between that and this one. Safe to say they went similarly.

Rollins says he was given a business proposition at Over the Limit that he just couldn't refuse. A mastermind, an architect such as himself should always think about furthering his projects and that proposition promised to pay in spades. The Shield had been his creation, and as such he held the right to destroy it. Rollins says that all he did the previous week was buy into the Evolution of Seth Rollins, but that he was the one double crossed as Triple H instead chose to buy into the stock of Roman Reigns. He says he should have seen it coming, but in a rare moment of weakness as he attempted to welcome the mentorship of the King of Kings, he failed to realize that Hunter and his former business partner in Roman Reigns had both been conspiring against him all along. He says Triple H will find that the bulldog without a leash in Reigns is of no use without the aid of Seth Rollins, nor is Dean Ambrose, who will find himself laid down in a ditch after a couple of weeks. Rollins says that Triple H chose poorly, and he'd do anything in his power to show him that; he feels pity for Triple H wasting his bet on a horse who lost the firepower necessary to operate. 

He says it's Seth Rollins against the world now, and for one, he doesn't think the world is ready to fight a man who's just gotten rid of the two dead weights that needed his help to achieve any and every accomplishment The Shield shared. He says that anyone intelligent should buy stock in the career of Seth Rollins, because it was about to trend upwards until he was the only one left standing.



Rollins is then met by a savage flurry from Dean Ambrose, the former barely being able to escape as Ambrose is left to destroy the interview chairs, head down to ringside and hit Dirty Deeds on Michael Cole! Ambrose points at Rollins and signals a slit throat, shouting that if he'd be thrown in a ditch, he damn well was going to take his ''brothers'' down with him!



The final sight of Raw is that of Roman Reigns watching all that's happened backstage in a luxurious locker room alongside Triple H and...Paul Heyman, as Reigns turns to the latter with a cocky smirk. Heyman says he's positive he's bet on the right horse in this race, and we fade to black with Heyman cackling as Reigns retains his smirk.





NXT
June 11th, 2014
Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida
OC: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Eric Bischoff
Rating: C+

Quote

- Emma (c) defeats Aksana with #EmmaLock to retain the NXT Women's Championship. (C+)

- An emotional Ric Flair then berates the champion after the match as only keeping the title warm before the inevitable challenge of his daughter Charlotte. (B+)

- Baron Corbin defeats El Local with End of Days. (D)

- Brodus Clay confronts Corbin after the match, noting that there was now a new alpha dog in town. (C+)

- Cryme Tyme defeats Angelo Dawkins & Jason Jordan with Da Shout Out by JTG on Dawkins. (C-)

- JTG rants about how Enzo Amore took away his essence from him at Takeover, and vows that he and Shad would pay him back with interest. Enzo and Cass come out, Enzo joking that he can now see his future in JTG's head, and it spells out championships, whether the two haters could accept it or not. The Vaudevillains also show up, Aiden English berating the two teams for their lack of elegance, before saying he and Simon Gotch had flown under the radar for far too long, and now it was time that they took to making themselves heard. (C+)

- NXT GM William Regal announces that in three months at Takeover, not only would we see the marquee matchup of Adrian Neville against Sami Zayn, but that NXT Women's Champion Emma would defend in a Fatal 4-Way Match against three of the top contenders in the ever growing women's division. They would be determined in the coming weeks! Regal is then confronted by Solomon Crowe, who promises the setback at Takeover would not impede his quest to expose those deserving of it. (B)

- Finn Bálor defeats Tensai with Coup de Grace. (C-)

- Regal welcomes Finn to NXT, leading Chuck Magnet to return the favor with an interruption and talk about how what happened at Takeover was a dire violation of the bro code. Hideo Itami kicks Magnet's head off from behind, before nodding at Finn in a show of respect! Before the show fades to black, the cameras catch the NXT Tag Team Champions Konnor and Viktor ot The Ascension lurking backstage. (B-)

Edited September 13, 2022 by Dawn

[Dawn]

 

''Made By Nexus''

WWE Thursday Night SmackDown
June 12th, 2014
Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut
OC: Josh Mathews, John Bradshaw Layfield and Booker T
Rating: B+

Quote

Dark Match: Rich Swann & TJ Perkins defeat The Deep Sea Alliance with Phoenix Splash by Swann on Taven. (C)

New TV Champion Zack Ryder opens SmackDown by celebrating his success from the previous week, but that he was not done yet; by the end of the month, he would be the Long Island Iced King. Hawkins and Barreta endorse Ryder, and tell him the two of them could help him stay on top, and help bring out the true Zack Ryder in the process. Before anything else, Caylen Croft appears, part of the Vickie Cruiserweight Initiative, agreeing with everything the two had said before him, asking for Barreta to remember him and for them to allow him into the bro-gade! Hawkins and Barreta ignore Croft, but Ryder says he'll acknowledge Croft by giving him the first TV title shot of his reign and help him stay active in anticipation of the Round of 16.

Quote

Match #1
Zack Ryder (c) defeats Caylen Croft with Rough Ryder to retain the WWE World Television Championship.

Rating: B-
Time: 6:46

Ryder barely has any time to celebrate, before the impressive debut of the previous week in Samoa Joe heads out of the curtain, a smile in his face throughout his walk to the ring. Joe says that he anxiously anticipates their Round of 16 match that will take place next week, and he's heard it will also be for the TV Championship. He tells Ryder he's a weak boy amongst men who needed to utilize every outside influence possible in order to gain any notoriety instead of his natural ability because he has none. He says even with all that, Ryder had fallen due to the whims and words of bigger men because he had not the fortitude necessary to survive in this business, and he would be put to pasture in the Coquina Clutch, just like the rest of them.





As we return from a commercial break, Stephanie McMahon is in the ring with a smaller yet creepy looking man in doctor's clothing. Stephanie introduces him as Dr. Scott Cortex phD, who had been assigned to overview AJ Lee's physical rehabilitation back from her injuries suffered at WrestleMania, and it so happens was also the head of a mental asylum that would admit AJ Lee for her year long pre-approved program in his facility. Cortex says the prognosis on AJ is that she has made quite significant progress physically, but her mental state was unlike anything he had ever seen before; maybe one year would be enough to turn her back to normal under the hardest of work from his best specialists, but perhaps it would take even longer than anticipated. Stephanie is seen soaking in the words of Dr. Cortex, as the batch of orderlies is seen making their way down the stage, holding a specially reinforced straightjacket meant for AJ. Stephanie says that Dr. Cortex is hereby authorized to bring AJ Lee back to SmackDown next week, where she will be publicly admitted under the eye of the woman whose father she had paralyzed. Stephanie says it's an eye for an eye. 

Quote

Match #2 (2014 King of the Ring First Round)
Drew McIntyre (w/Paul Heyman) defeats Alex Shelley with Future Shock DDT. Each time it looked as if the Cruiserweight Champion was building any semblance of momentum, Heyman and Chavo Guerrero ran interference.

Rating: B
Time: 17:59

As Chavo runs backstage with Shelley looking for revenge on his King of the Ring opponent, Paul Heyman brags about McIntyre's status as the one and only clear favorite to win the entire tournament.





Backstage, Tyson Kidd is seen irate at his wife Natalya for the events of the previous week, where neither one of them came out victorious from their important matches. Kidd tells Natalya she better take matters into her own hands soon, or else a fact would be that she'd be left on her own as he was too good to be held back by another person's failures, even if that person was his significant other.

Quote

Match #3
Erick Rowan, Judas Devlin & Luke Harper of The Wyatt Family (w/Bray Wyatt) defeat Rob Van Dam & The Usos (w/Naomi) with Discus Clothesline by Harper on RVD.

Rating: B
Time: 10:28

In the back, Heath Slater is seen bragging to everyone he runs into about his big win the previous week on SmackDown, and how he was about to become the next King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis be damned! He is stopped short by his Round of 16 opponent Ryback, who breathes down Slater's neck and stares him down with intensity.





Austin Aries heads to the ring for the final King of the Ring first round match, and he is seen in a cast and crutches. Aries says he's in no condition to compete here tonight, due to the cowardly actions of AJ Styles and one ''Stone Cold'' Steve Austin. He cites this as part of a company-wide ploy to keep The Greatest Man That Ever Lived from dominating and making the competition look foolish, thus rendering all other matches useless. Sin Cara comes out and tells Aries to shut up and stop insulting the great legends of the past. Aries says these legends have gotten weaker and weaker as the years go by, including Austin who he had rendered bloody and battered at WrestleMania, and Cara's buddy Rey Mysterio who couldn't buy neither sympathy nor a win in recent memory. Aries says none of the supposed legends people glorify every day in this business can hold a candle to him, before blindsiding Cara with the crutch! He throws the cast aside, and the bell rings!

Quote

MAIN EVENT (2014 King of the Ring First Round)

Sin Cara defeats Austin Aries with a surprise counter of Last Chancery into a backslide.

Rating: B-
Time: 22:05

As Aries throws a tantrum at the sudden loss, Josh recaps the updated brackets at the conclusion of the first round of this year's King of the Ring tournament:

Big E vs. John Cena
Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk
Drew McIntyre vs. The Miz
John Morrison vs. Sin Cara
Cesaro vs. Sheamus
Heath Slater vs. Ryback
Curtis Axel vs. Randy Orton
Samoa Joe vs. Zack Ryder

The Round of 16 kicks off this Monday on Raw with Big E vs. John Cena and Cesaro vs. Sheamus, while next Thursday on SmackDown, three big matches would fill the slate in Joe vs. Ryder, Slater vs. Ryback and Axel vs. Orton!






Backstage, Curtis Axel runs into Triple H and Randy Orton in the emergency room, Orton still recovering from his back injury suffered in his first round match against Kofi Kingston. Axel smiles at Hunter, before asking what's the timetable on Orton's recovery, stating he wants the Viper to be at 100% for no excuses when the superior generational talent won not only next week, but the entire tournament. Orton slowly tells Axel not to worry about his status. For next week, even if he had to compete with all his worst injuries combined affecting him, Orton still had the utmost confidence he can defeat Curtis Axel.

At last, it's time for the World Heavyweight Championship match contract signing between champion Daniel Bryan and challenger Wade Barrett, this time flanked by Paul Heyman. Heyman opens up by promoting the match as a dream match after how far both men had came since their arrival in the WWE as part of The Nexus, a faction led by the visionary in his client Wade Barrett. He does note that Barrett could have had Heyman oversee the decision to issue a challenge so suddenly to Daniel Bryan, but as long as he got the job done at the King of the Ring, all would be forgiven. Barrett says that he means no disrespect, but he needs no man to oversee his own career decisions; Heyman was simply there to advocate him, but at the end of the day, he had the final say on what he sought to do. 

Heyman takes a step back in apparent respect, as Bryan says that Barrett always saw him as lower on the totem pole ever since the two of them came to the WWE. Barrett says it's simply due to the fact he had made Daniel Bryan into what he was today. None of this Yes Movement crap would have been possible had Barrett not recruited Bryan to be a part of Nexus, where his stupidity got him fired and later made him revolt due to him being too weak. Bryan says he can't lie, that helped build the fire that drives him to this day, and now he stood at the top of the mountain, where the lions wanted to claw him off of. He tells Barrett the two have come a long way since 2010, and that at the King of the Ring, Barrett would be in for the fight of his life. As both men sign the dotted line, Barrett says he is the man who knows the most about Daniel Bryan other than Bryan himself in the WWE today, and that knowledge would propel him to doing what he was always meant to, and that is becoming the leader of the WWE into the rest of this generation as its main representative and world champion.

WWE Sunday Night Heat
June 15th, 2014
OC: Josh Mathews, Byron Saxton and ''The Professor'' Matt Striker
 

Quote

- Primo defeats Oliver Grey with Backstabber. (C)

- Backstage, Paige endorses Naomi being the one to defeat Kaitlyn at King of the Ring due to their history together, but claims she will be first in line afterwards. (B-)

- Rich Swann defeats Jack Evans with Phoenix Splash. (C)

- Vickie and Chavo Guerrero cut a promo on Alex Shelley, and how Chavo has outsmarted the Cruiserweight Champion at every turn since making his return to the WWE. (B+)

- Justin Gabriel & Richie Steamboat (w/Ricky Steamboat) defeat Alex Colon & Joe Gacy with Flying Crossbody by Richie on Gacy. (C+)

- Renee Young interviews Sin Cara, who is glad to still be alive in the King of the Ring tournament as the first potential Mexican rey of the tournament's history. He says he hasn't forgotten his quest to help wrestling's true Rey in Rey Mysterio regain his confidence and footing. (B+)

- Serena defeats Layla with Terminus. (C+)

- Serena then cuts a promo on how her beliefs have been greatly shaken since her master was buried alive at Extreme Rules, but that she had looked to find solace anywhere else. She believed a day of reckoning was coming for all, and only those with the purest of knowledge and faith would survive. (B)

Edited September 16, 2022 by Dawn

[Dawn]

''Clash of Styles''

WWE Monday Night Raw
June 16th, 2014
Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut
OC: Michael Cole, Renee Young and Joey Styles
Rating: B+

Quote

Dark Match: CJ Parker & Mason Ryan defeat two Local Competitors with Full Nelson Slam by Ryan. (C)

The unhinged Dean Ambrose is in the ring to begin Monday Night Raw, certainly looking worse for the wear. Ambrose says it's been two long, grueling, painful weeks since the two men he fought besides for nearly two years stabbed him in the back for the promise of something...greater. He says The Shield was untouchable. It will go down in the history books as one of the greatest groups of all-time, you can count on that. They dominated the WWE, beat everyone there was to beat, including Evolution.

He says history is full of men like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, men who would stab their own mother in the back, suckups. Sellouts to the ones in power, only one was too caught into his own stupidity, he couldn't realize he wasn't the man they wanted; it was obvious that out of the three, the golden boy in Roman Reigns was corporate's first choice to fit their need of that one guy who will pass on their values and vision of the face of the company onwards and onwards. They had fought like dogs to combat the need of that vision...to help build a company where the common man could achieve the same opportunities as those chosen by the suits in charge.

BUT NOW ALL THEY HAD FOUGHT FOR WAS GONE, JUST LIKE THAT! 

Ambrose says his two ''brothers'' made one major mistake in hindsight...

''Roman...Seth...my ''beloved brothers''...you two don’t know what you really did, man. The two of you had it all planned out, but BOTH OF YOU committed ONE CRITICAL MISTAKE! You forgot the massive chip on my shoulder that I've had all my life...it's true that Seth...Seth Rollins was the brains of the operation on The Shield and kept me from spilling other people's guts all over the ring every single night, because it was the best thing to do for the team. That is, unless I was left alone and to my own devices...ask Brock Lesnar. You can't, because he's scared to show his face again. Now that it's every man for himself, I can do whatever the [CENSOR] I want...I can do what I did to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, to the two of you and to every single son of a bitch in this company...but worse.''

''I have absolutely nothing to lose...when I'm done with you two turncoats, your faces will be completely unrecognizable to your families. The ring will be drenched in your blood...Seth, your ''evolution'' will have led you straight to hell when I'm done with you. You showed such willingness to stab me in the back at the first opportunity, and I will never forget nor forgive you for that...your proud cunning wasn't of much use last week now was it, you fool...but don't worry, I will give your big brain special treatment when I get my hands on you. And Roman? You can't be protected forever, golden boy...the second you find yourself all alone, will be your last second in this company. I promise that to both of you...''

''...my brothers.'' 

Quote

Match #1 (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)
John Cena defeats Big E (w/The New Day) with AA.

Rating: B-
Time: 15:17

Cena celebrates as the first man to have punched his ticket to the Quarter-Finals, which will be the first of three rounds that will be broadcast at the King of the Ring pay-per-view that will be held in Cena's hometown of Boston at the TD Garden. Good Ol' JR joins him in the ring, shaking Cena's hand and citing him as undoubtedly the preferred winner of the tournament for Jerry ''The King'' Lawler watching from up there.





A recap is shown of the latest edition of The Dirt Sheet on WWE.com, with Miz and Morrison talking about their Round of 16 matches. Miz mocks Drew McIntyre for living off of the reputation of the men who handpick him as a protege, before Morrison sends a ''respectable'' message to his opponent in Sin Cara. The catch is that he's wearing a Sin Cara mask and starts bumping around the entire set, and him accidentally taking ''Sin Cara's mom'' (Miz in a Sin Cara mask and drag) to a date as the two eat the bricks Morrison just plowed through is the punchline of the whole gag. The mask is forcefully removed from Morrison's head by Becky Lynch, who surprises the two with her arrival as she embraces them. She says she's been cleared to compete again very soon, and that she had a hitlist of lasses and asses to kick once she did return; Kharma was the first name on that list for whatever reason she had cost Becky her championship match at Over the Limit.

Quote

Match #2
Rusev (w/Lana) defeats Alex Payne with The Accolade.

Rating: D+
Time: 4:59

Lana vows that Big Show will be CRUSHED by Rusev at the King of the Ring, and that his underwhelming career would pale to the accomplishments of Rusev when it was all said and done.





Derrick Bateman makes his return to Raw, cutting a promo on his hiatus and how he had amplified his smarts to match his in-ring prowess. He says he was looking forward to being of more hands-on help with important matters for Triple H in the future, while also making a name for himself.

Quote

Match #3
Derrick Bateman defeats Jack Evans with DBD.

Rating: C+
Time: 5:57

Christian hosts an edition of The Peep Show with Fandango and Chris Jericho next, endorsing Fandango to fight back every time former partner Jericho continues to belittle him though ''The Honorable One'' stays true to his name and doesn't stoop down to Jericho's level at any point during the segment.

This is great news for Jericho, as he confirms he is absolutely done with Scaramouchescaramouchecanyoudothefandango, who was just small fish made to entertain the parasites in the audience. He says Kung Fu Pandango could never be taken any seriously with that stupid idiot mug, the silly dance and of course, a name taken from children's salty snacks. Jericho says Fanboomerango took advantage of him for one vulnerable second, and it would never happen again, if he understood what he was saying to him. If the two were ever to step in the ring together again, Fandodgeyourango would dance to a different tune, one to Jericho's amusement, and the next day, he would find himself forgotten by the fickle fanbase just as all the oddities before him had been.

Quote

Match #4
Kaitlyn defeats Brie Bella after Nikki intentionally leveled her sister with a forearm to the face.

Rating: C+
Time: 5:38

Kaitlyn is met by her upcoming challenger in Naomi, as the two engage in a back and forth. Naomi says she's been overlooked in this division for far too long, and it's time she put that behind her by fittingly defeating the woman who beat her to win NXT Season 3. Kaitlyn says she doesn't see the big deal in Naomi's role with this company; someone has to take the falls for the real stars! Naomi says Kaitlyn has become one cocky bitch since WrestleMania, but she wasn't unbeatable by any means and with every word she uttered, she was feeding Naomi's wish of kicking the champion's ass and shutting her privileged mouth more and more. Kaitlyn says if Naomi doesn't settle down and show comfort in her current spot as second to the elite, then she'd gladly send Naomi to make company at the emergency room where third place AJ Lee would be waiting for her.
 

Quote

MAIN EVENT (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)

Cesaro defeats Sheamus with Neutralizer.

Rating: B
Time: 23:22

The three participants in the upcoming WWE Championship Match at King of the Ring meet in the ring next, Kofi Kingston for the first time in many months coming out on his own instead of with The New Day. AJ says he had no place in this squabble between the two challengers, but that they had force-pulled him into it, and now if either one of them thought they could remove him out of the equation to focus on each other, they were in for a hard time at King of the Ring; The Phenomenal doesn't care how many challengers are in front of him, the WWE Championship was his and it was in his waist to stay. 

Dolph Ziggler says he has no personal stake against AJ, but that he'd do anything to become WWE Champion. He had put on classic match after classic match on a near two year roll, until The New Day blindsided him at Extreme Rules and stopped that momentum dead. Ziggler says he knows he's done that to Kofi in the past, maybe even worse. But he tried to be a bigger man and call it quits in their conflict. Now, there was no turning back. If anything, he could guarantee Kofi's wait was going to last a while longer, because he was not walking out of King of the Ring as WWE Champion. 

Kofi is the last to speak, and he says Ziggler's always been this selfish bastard who sees only his own desires as plausible. Kofi says he was done being the catalyst to these desires coming true. The New Day had shown him he could be so much more in his career, and they had put the WWE on notice since. He had purposely gotten himself disqualified against Randy Orton, the man who had singlehandedly derailed his career, both because Orton had it coming and he will have it much worse in the future as a fair warning; and because Kofi wanted to go for the head of the snake and show he means business.

At the King of the Ring, he doesn't care whose nickname is the most flashy out of Styles and Ziggler, who wants it more out of them, or which stakes counted and which didn't. He is walking out as WWE Champion for himself and for the rest of The New Day.





NXT
June 18th, 2014
Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida
OC: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Eric Bischoff
Rating: B-

Quote

- GM William Regal opens the show by informing Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn that they will be teaming up in a marquee match the next week against The Ascension for the NXT Tag Team Championships! (B+)

- Brodus Clay defeats Mickey Keegan with Iron Claw. (D+)

- Lacey Von Erich pops up in NXT during an interview with JoJo, introducing her cousin Marshall Von Erich to the brand, a future world champion in the making. (C+)

- Chuck Magnet defeats Marshall Von Erich (w/Lacey Von Erich) with the renamed Awesome Waffle. (C-)

- Chuck then challenges Finn Bálor to a one-on-one match so he can create another legendary moment, and the challenge is accepted by Finn! (C+)

- Alexa Bliss defeats Peyton Royce with Sparkle Splash. (C-)

- Backstage, the BFFs and Melissa argue about who should be considered the leading candidates to face Emma in the Fatal 4-Way match at the next Takeover, and as Alexa pops up, she watches in trepidation as the BFFs circle Melissa. Alexa stands up for Melissa, and as Sasha and Maryse depart in disgust, Melissa is still not appreciative of the fairy's help. She leaves Alexa hanging, with a scowl in her face. (B)

- Andy Leavine & James Storm defeat The Vaudevillains with Last Call by Storm on Gotch. (B-)

Edited September 16, 2022 by Dawn

[Blodyxe]

Oh, cool to see Marshall Von Erich here! What about Ross, is he gonna debut soon too?

[Dawn]

55 minutes ago, Blodyxe said:

Oh, cool to see Marshall Von Erich here! What about Ross, is he gonna debut soon too?

I fear I wasn't able to poach Ross away from the written contract he has in (I believe) Japan. Been a while that I booked the June shows so I can't quite recall exactly which company but I tried to get both and had to settle for one.

[kanegan]

1 hour ago, Blodyxe said:

Oh, cool to see Marshall Von Erich here! What about Ross, is he gonna debut soon too?

My thoughts exactly as Von Erichs would be a pretty good tag team in NXT.

[Strech]

I can't wait to see Ambrose break out into a super babyface, although from his most recent promo it certainly isn't the pg era anymore!

 

 

A real mixing pot of talents and throwback names, looks like a fun diary!

[Dawn]

I accidentally sent the show before finishing posting it entirely, nothing to see here yet!

[Dawn]

 

''True Kings''

WWE Thursday Night SmackDown
June 19th, 2014
Nickerson Field in Boston, Massachusetts
OC: Josh Mathews, John Bradshaw Layfield and Booker T
Rating: B+

Quote

Dark Match: Caylen Croft defeats Yoshi Tatsu with Croft Buster. (C-)

Quote

Match #1 (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)
Samoa Joe destroys Zack Ryder (c), forcing him to submit to the Coquina Clutch. Joe heads to the Quarter-Finals and WINS the WWE World Television Championship.

Rating: B-
Time: 6:09

As he hoists his new championship with a sickening smile in his face, Joe says he had warned Zack Ryder of this fate the previous week, so no one can claim he isn't a man of his word. He tells the people in charge to take a good and hard look at who they've allowed into their hallowed halls, because now the locker room was put on notice; they were all doomed. And at the King of the Ring, no matter who this company puts in front of him, they will all sleep with angels as the rest of the pack bows down to King Joe...by choice or by force.





Backstage, Austin Aries knocks on a door multiple times, before it is finally opened; it's SHERIFF ROCK! The People's Champion appears on SmackDown for the first time in a while, as Aries demands justice from having been forced to compete in his King of the Ring match the previous week while not 100%. Rock says that The Rock could have swore he saw Aries throw away his crutch and cast for leverage, yet he had lost anyway. Rock says that The Rock doesn't allow jabronis such as Aries to continue receiving opportunities as if they're magic wishes. But that he shouldn't fear; for The Rock had a treat for him the following week on SmackDown, if Aries could just wait that long. Aries smiles, anticipating the best, and says he feels that the Sheriff is finally coming to his senses as to who really sells the tickets in this company.

Quote

Match #2 (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)
Heath Slater upsets Ryback with a roll-up counter to Shellshocked and a handful of tights!

Rating: B
Time: 9:51

The One Man Band is quick to hightail right out of the ring, having narrowly eked out a win against the behemoth, as Ryback just looks on in shock and self-disappointment. Slater rocks the air guitar, as he's headed to the TD Garden a week from Sunday!






In the ring, Dr. Scott Cortex is again accompanied by Stephanie McMahon as the former provides the update on AJ Lee. AJ is dragged down to the ring by numerous orderlies as she tries to free herself amidst screams. Dr. Cortex says that as everyone can see, the subject finds herself in an unstable condition and should begin treatment immediately. Another group of orderlies brings down the straightjacket, but AJ fights them off the best she can, until she is hit with a major slap by Steph and a Pedigree! The now knocked out and tranquilized AJ is ripe for the taking as the orderlies lock her in the straightjacket, Dr. Cortex shaking hands with Stephanie and telling her it's good to do business with such a willing party. AJ is dragged out, as Stephanie tries to lead the booing crowd in Yes! gestures and chants, shouting at AJ that she'll see her in a year if she behaves, or never again!

Quote

Match #3 (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)
Randy Orton defeats Curtis Axel with the Punt. Orton's injured back was still ''affecting'' him whenever he'd need leverage, but would magically heal as soon as he found an opening.

Rating: B
Time: 23:18

Renee Young interviews Alex Shelley about the challenge of Chavo Guerrero and what Chavo has done to him so far. Shelley says Chavo is riding a high from his return and picking him off in vulnerable moments, but that when the time came for them to have a one-on-one match at the King of the Ring, Chavo would find himself outskilled by the king of the cruiserweights and in the receiving end of a Shining Wizard.





From a crimson-lit room, Kane sends a chilling message to John Cena about how he feels it deep within him that he is finally coming around and embracing the hate; he just doesn't want to admit it. Kane says he'll rip the hate entirely out of Cena's body this time if he must, and if he has to sacrifice his own soul for that, so be it. Kane says the forces of evil are just getting started with John Cena, and that it was a long walk to the sunny lights of WrestleMania 31; darkness would most certainly engulf him before then, and so would the flames of hell.

Quote

MAIN EVENT

Daniel Bryan (c) defeats Eddie Edwards (w/Richards and Kassius) with Yes Lock to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Rating: B
Time: 17:33

Amidst his celebration, Bryan is triple teamed by The KoW, an unfair fight that the champion has no chance of winning. As they have him pinned down, Wade Barrett walks down the aisle, and under his orders, the KoW holds up the World Heavyweight Champion for Barrett to nail him with Bullhammer! Barrett shows the fallen Bryan his World championship right to the kisser, before leaving alongside the KoW. JBL says that no matter what, Wade Barrett's leadership skills truly cannot be questioned, and that he had found himself willing support once again to overcome Daniel Bryan at the King of the Ring.





Backstage, Alberto Del Rio is shown throwing a fit with The Aristocracy, kicking everyone out of the locker room. As it opens again, the person's face remains unseen as Del Rio says it's been too long that he's awaited for the two to talk some business. He says he's been on the downward spiral lately, but if the two of them could strike gold on his proposition, they would be unstoppable.
 

Quote

Post-Show Notes:

- I can already tell you the Del Rio thing goes nowhere. And I don't mind that. His CHARACTER was a good fit for what I wanted to do, but I was never really fond of him in real life.
- I didn't talk about this on the last show, but Dr. Cortex is obviously a Crash Bandicoot reference  he is played by Scotty Vortekz.
- Disappointing ratings from the Bryan matches with the KoW members, considering what he's nabbed me against inferior pure wrestlers.

WWE Sunday Night Heat
June 22nd, 2014
OC: Josh Mathews, Byron Saxton and ''The Professor'' Matt Striker
 

Quote

- Justin Gabriel (w/Richie and Ricky Steamboat) defeats Averno with 450 Splash. (B-)

- Renee interviews Gabriel on his tough loss to Rusev, as Gabriel echoes the locker room's hopes that Big Show will be the one to shut up the newcomer at the King of the Ring. (B+)

- Corey Graves defeats Oliver Grey with Lucky 13. (C-)

- The Legionnaires cut a promo lamenting Dupree's loss in the King of the Ring tournament, but that they wouldn't allow themselves to be forgotten due to that, and state their intentions to go after The Usos' tag team gold. (B)

- Fandango & Summer Rae defeat Akira Tozawa & Bambi with Last Dance by Fandango on Tozawa. (C+)

- Curt Hawkins and Trent Barreta are seen rewatching the mauling taken by Zack Ryder at the hands of Samoa Joe on SmackDown, clearly disappointed. Alex Riley enters the room, simply stating that ''it's time''. (B+)

- Austin Aries defeats Primo with Brainbuster. (B-)

- Aries cuts a promo on the surprise promised to him by The Rock for this coming Thursday on SmackDown, and says that should the Sheriff think of getting smart on him, he'd beat him senseless before sending him packing to Hollywood to be forced to perform a lying down patient for the rest of his life. (B+)

 

[Wrestling Machine]

23 mins for Orton vs Axel is a pretty long duration, did it receive some backlash from that? If not, I’m expecting 25-30 mins semifinals/final 😉

[Dawn]

11 hours ago, Wrestling Machine said:

23 mins for Orton vs Axel is a pretty long duration, did it receive some backlash from that? If not, I’m expecting 25-30 mins semifinals/final 😉

So I'm not sure how apparent this has been just by the booking alone, but Axel is one of this diary's biggest success stories, if not THE biggest as he has quite organically become a cornerstone of the company. He has 95 pop all over the U.S., with good progress on the rest of the world as well (and he did not begin in a generous spot for that to have been imaginable). His matches are consistently good to great and his promos are...well he's no Rock, but he's not the guy who cut the genesis of McGillicutty anymore either 

As for my match durations I try to be relatively realistic when it comes to WWE while also sprinkling some of Triple H's current touch of trying to give the meaningful stories time to be told. Orton's been an unsung hero in this diary - he's given me classics with Sheamus, Ziggler, Rhodes etc. so I thought this match deserved to be given a solid run. Thank you so much for the comment and I want especially to give a shout out and thanks to @kanegan for nominating me to DOTM, I love writing this diary but what makes me happy the most is to see people are enjoying my work.

I'll have Raw + NXT up tonight or tomorrow!

Edited September 20, 2022 by Dawn

[Dawn]

''And Then There Were Eight''

WWE Monday Night Raw
June 23rd, 2014
DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts
OC: Michael Cole, Renee Young and Joey Styles
Rating: A

Quote

Dark Match: The Usos defeat Alex Payne & BJ Whitmer with Alley-Us on Whitmer. (B-)

Triple H opens the show alongside Paul Heyman and clients Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett. Conspicuous by his absence is the newest Paul Heyman Guy in Roman Reigns. Heyman explains that to start us off.

''Ladies and gentlemen...my name is Paul Heyman...and I am the most fortunate man alive. Not only am I the advocate to the Chosen One, the Sinister Scotsman and after this Sunday, your 2014 King of the Ring DRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREW MCINTYRE, not only am I the advocate to the Bareknuckle Brawler, the Queen's Finest and after this Sunday, your heavyweight champion of the world WADE BARRETT, not only am I the advocate to the Beast Incarnate BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROCK LESNAR who will leave behind him an unparalleled trail of destruction once he returns to the WWE ring in order to dish out his revenge and impose himself back to world championship contention...''

''But I am the handpicked, entrusted, blessed by the word of our, your Chief Operating Officer of the WWE, Triple H...newest advocate for the can't miss blue chipper, the powerhouse, the man who will one day rule this yard and all those living in it, the superior third of the destructive force once known as The Shield, a first class individual who, behind my advocacy will untap his true potential as the face of this company. RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROMAN REIGNS!''

The crowd boos heavily, anticipating the arrival of Roman Reigns.

''Who is NOT here tonight. You see, this is a very busy week for the contemporaries of Mr. Reigns and we wouldn't want him to be left for the mob to claw at him due to understandable carelessness from the side of my fellow clients who have important matches to prepare for this Sunday, before he feels he's ready to take on that mob all by himself and show them who's the boss around here. Because Roman Reigns isn't here and has never been here to attend to the wishes of the masses, Roman Reigns isn't here to quell the thirst of his inferior Shield brethren to meet him in a fistfight, and most important of all, Roman Reigns isn't here to make any friends. Roman Reigns served his purpose in The Shield, but now it is time for Roman Reigns to show who he truly is and always has been. My client Roman Reigns will be here on Raw next week and not a second sooner. Because my client Roman Reigns does things in his own time, and anyone who has a problem with this will find that they just have to deal with it, the hard way.''

Heyman's speech done, McIntyre and Barrett are immediately met by Dean Ambrose, looking for blood. The two run with their tails between their legs as Ambrose swings a barbed wire bat at them, choosing not to sacrifice for Sunday and in McIntyre's case, both tonight and potentially Sunday. Ambrose says that if Roman can't show his coward ass around, then his merry band of clowns will have to do! He says it's just a matter of time before Roman can't be protected any longer, and that next week, it didn't matter how much security Hunter and Heyman forced onto him, he was gunning for retaliation!

Quote

Match #1
Rusev (w/Lana) defeats Lince Dorado with The Accolade.

Rating: D+
Time: 1:05

After another promo bashing the United States and promoting their motherland of Russia, Rusev and Lana are again confronted by the Big Show, who says he's brought backup this time around! The theme song of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan plays, and the combined energy of Show and The Hulkster is enough to have Rusev depart the ring in frustration. Hulk says he's heard the two slander this great country every week since he was at WrestleMania, and this made him sick to his stomach, jack! He says that the old guard of American heroes that included the Hulkster was endorsing the Big Show at the King of the Ring to unload his pythons on Rusev, knock him out and send him back to where he belongs! Both Show and Hogan then ask Rusev, WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THE LARGEST ATHLETE IN THE WORLD RUNS WILD ON YOU? 

Quote

Match #2 (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)
John Morrison defeats Sin Cara with Starship Pain.

Rating: B-
Time: 18:13

''The Professor'' Matt Striker is backstage with Seth Rollins next, who looks calm, cool and composed akin to his interview two weeks ago. Seth deems Dean Ambrose as pathetic and fighting a lost cause by going head on against the regime. He says it would take a well laid plan for him to get his hands on Roman Reigns and see to it that Triple H regrets the decision to take the adrift hound over him for the rest of his life. As Renee asks Seth about Ambrose's words towards him from the previous week, Rollins says that the expectations of Ambrose are simply unrealistic, as if they were ever to get in the ring with one another, Rollins would outclass him in every way and beat some sense back into him. The evolution of Seth Rollins was a process no one could simply stop. It had already begun, and it would only end once he was king...not king of the ring, but king of the world.





The New Day cuts one final promo headed into the King of the Ring, promoting Kofi Kingston as their last representative last to make their names heard at the event, and that the years of wait would be worth it as he'd win the WWE Championship against two men who would pay dearly for not perceiving him as a threat.

Quote

Match #3 (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)
Drew McIntyre (w/Paul Heyman) defeats The Miz with Future Shock DDT.

Rating: B
Time: 10:46

Kaitlyn and an elated Stephanie McMahon run down the easy time the champion would have against eternal runner-up Naomi on Sunday, and how it could all have been so much better for the challenger if she and those who came before her had both simply not overestimated their spot on the food chain. Kaitlyn says she will continue to annihilate the competition until there is no one left to oppose her, and Naomi would be key in helping her get to that point.





Cesaro cuts a promo on the King of the Ring, and how he was prepared to go all the way through the three rounds this Sunday and set himself up as a major player in the WWE.

Quote

MAIN EVENT (2014 King of the Ring Round of 16)

CM Punk defeats Chris Jericho with Go To Sleep.

Rating: B+
Time: 28:08

As Jericho lets out his frustration on referee Scott Armstrong at ringside, the exhausted Punk is met by his Quarter-Finals opponent, John Cena! The staredown is one for the ages, as the field is set for the Quarter-Finals and this storied rivalry will have another chapter written this Sunday in Boston!





NXT
June 25th, 2014
Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida
OC: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Eric Bischoff
Rating: B-

Quote

- Kalisto defeats Adam Mercer with Salida del Sol. (D)

- JoJo goes through a series of interviews with the women of NXT, all of them holding arguments as to why they were worthy of being a part of the Fatal 4-Way in September. The qualifiers would begin tonight with Bayley meeting Eva Marie! (B+)

- Tyler Breeze defeats Adam Rose with Beauty Shot. (C-)

- Breeze then reintroduces the fans to Miss Jackie, who he had hired as his new stylist. He says James Storm overstepped a boundary you just don't challenge with Tyler Breeze, and that he'd personally ensure that the Cowboy wouldn't ride peacefully into the sun during his stay in NXT. (A)

- Bayley defeats Eva Marie with Belly to Bayley, becoming the first confirmed contender for Emma's NXT Women's Championship! (C-)

- Emma appears on the stage and nods at Bayley in a show of respect, before hoisting her title up high as Bayley signals that she is coming for the gold! (C)

- The Ascension (c) defeats Adrian Neville & Sami Zayn to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship with Fall of Men on Neville, Konnor pinning the NXT Champion after miscommunication between the September Takeover opponents! (C+)

- The Ascension puts the boots to both Neville and Zayn, and it boils down to newcomers Hideo Itami and Finn Bálor running in for the save! The four men stand watch in wait of retaliation from The Ascension, but that never takes place. Instead, Neville drops Sami with a DDT! The champion looks on at Hideo and Finn, NXT Championship in hand, statement made after a disappointing loss. (B+)

 

Edited September 22, 2022 by Dawn

[Dawn]

 

''A Generational Stand-Off''

WWE Thursday Night SmackDown
June 26th, 2014
Memorial Field in Concord, New Hampshire
OC: Josh Mathews, John Bradshaw Layfield and Booker T
Rating: A

Quote

Dark Match: Bray Wyatt (w/The Wyatt Family) defeats Matt Taylor with Sister Abigail. (C+)

Quote

Match #1
Chavo Guerrero & Hunico (w/Averno and Vickie Guerrero) defeat Alex Shelley & Shannon Moore with Frog Splash by Chavo on Moore, Chavo again getting one up on the Cruiserweight Champion Shelley before the King of the Ring!

Rating: B-
Time: 9:30

With the help of Hunico and Averno, Chavo is again able to hijack the Cruiserweight title as Shelley is left to check on Moore's condition, Chavo pointing at Shelley and shouting that this Sunday, he would go one on one with a Guerrero and find that the lights were too bright for him to be champion!





From the Cosmic Wasteland, the Red Stardust is seen for the first time in a while, its Blue and Green counterparts standing by in the background. He says that the Cosmos are again unhappy with the direction where things are going. Only one man could put them back into balance...by retrieving THE COSMIC KEY! A deep and unknown voice is heard whispering the name of Cody Rhodes, and the three Stardusts start cackling and hissing in unison at the mention of the name. Before we cut from this bizarre intermission, the Red Stardust again notes that the Cosmic Key SHALL be retrieved.

Quote

Match #2
Naomi defeats Serena with Rear View.

Rating: C
Time: 9:38

Backstage, Renee is set to interview Serena following her loss, but she is jumped by a rabid AJ Lee, who lets out her frustrations on Serena for a moment, before running away in desperation after overhearing the orderlies coming in hot after her! Josh, JBL and Booker all look incredulous at the announce table, how did AJ Lee escape the captivity of Dr. Cortex after just one week and what does this mean for the stakes between the two of them and Stephanie McMahon? 





As the set is rebuilt, Renee instead interviews Sin Cara, who applauds Rey Mysterio for walking out on Alberto Del Rio even as the Aristocrat offered him a new, independent deal. Cara says there are still shades of the wrestling great in there, and he again promises to bring back the real Rey Mysterio.





At The Wyatt Family's compound, Bray talks about how this Sunday, eight men will conclude the King of the Ring tournament to determine who gets the abstract right to wear an illegitimate crown and call themselves king. Bray warns them that ''heavy is the head that wears the crown'', and that no matter how far the winner's belief would take him, that there was only one true ruler in this plan and that was the man who created all; God had NOT created all men as equal. Bray laughs, and says that all the while, his personal project had finally concluded, and he couldn't wait to show it to all his brothers and sisters. The time to do so was quickly nearing.

RUN. 

Quote

Match #3
Wade Barrett (w/The KoW) defeats Justin Gabriel (w/Richie and Ricky Steamboat) with Bullhammer.

Rating: B
Time: 10:01

Barrett, flanked by his advocate and The KoW, promotes the three men as worthy of their self-proclaimed titles as wrestling royalty; the parties recognized one another and all four were true heroes of the crown. They respected the wrestling skills of Daniel Bryan, but he did not possess the pedigree needed to be a worthy champion.



Bryan comes out and notes that he's been running a marathon recently, and that he should have realized Barrett would have taken advantage of that at some point. He says that he's certainly got the odds stacked against him at the King of the Ring, but as a true fighting champion does, he'd come in and go out swinging. And even if that meant dropping limp in the middle of the ring, he was not allowing Barrett to walk out of the TD Garden with his World Heavyweight Championship without giving him the fight of his life.
 

Quote

MAIN EVENT



Cesaro, CM Punk, John Cena & John Morrison defeat Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Randy Orton & Samoa Joe (w/Paul Heyman) with AA by Cena on Slater.

Rating: B
Time: 27:31

The winning team celebrates, but there's certainly trepidation in the air, even moreso between Punk and Cena, who threaten to go to blows with the other; cooler heads prevail in order to mantain full strength headed into Sunday, where one of these eight men will be crowned the 2014 King of the Ring!

At the top of the hour, Austin Aries enters the ring in order to receive the surprise promised to him by Sheriff Rock. The Sheriff is the first to join him, going through the usual electrifying spiel before saying that The Rock is a man of his word; The Rock had a major surprise in hand not only for The Greatest Jabroni That Ever Lived, but to the entire world! But first, The Rock couldn't give out that surprise alone; first, another man wanted to set the record straight with Aries!

Hulk Hogan comes out, having been seen this past Monday on Raw to support the Big Show, and he says The Hulkster couldn't have passed up on an opportunity to oversee how Rock would handle business against the weasel plaguing this show, dude! He says Rock's first order of business was telling Hogan about this major surprise, and oh brother, this one is for the ages! But first, Hogan wanted to contest Aries' claims that he had defeated him a year ago at Night of Champions, such a claim that Aries kept proudly running through in his speeches. Hogan says that in his heyday, Aries would have found a big boot straight to his kisser by this point, jack, but that the Immortal had admittedly run out of steam in order to properly take Austin to school. Still, there was one man who could still kick his ass and really wanted to do so, brother!



IT'S STONE COLD! The Rattlesnake joins Rock and Hogan in the ring, and suddenly Aries finds himself circled by three generational talents and with nowhere to go! Rocky lays down Aries with Rock Bottom, followed by a Big Leg Drop and Stunner! Austin shares a few cold ones with Rock and Hogan, before retrieving a mic and saying it's time Stone Cold just made the damn announcement. He says that at WrestleMania, good ol' Stone Cold had felt something he hadn't in many, many years. Each second that he spent kicking Aries' scrawny rat ass made him feel a joy that hadn't coursed through his veins in a really long time. Sure, he had failed to win, but once again in defeat, people were telling good ol' Stone Cold  how he had looked like a damn badass in doing so. He had considered calling it a career for good after being laid down by the SOB, BUT STONE COLD WASN'T CUT OF THAT CLOTH!  Laying there in a puddle of his own blood, that just made him realize that Stone Cold had hung with one of them kids until breaking point. 

And so, much like Rock had done before him, it was time to beep up pager 3:16 for one final run, and Stone Cold had been fixing to prove he could be World champion one more time! This January at the Royal Rumble, Stone Cold Steve Austin would be entering himself into the match and going for win number 4, and he would meet whichever son of a bitch held the title after that at WrestleMania, and that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so!

Quote

Post-Show Notes:
- I originally had no plans of doing this whole Austin in the Rumble-figuring into my Mania 31 plans ordeal, but after watching him hang with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania this year I really thought I could give him a better sendoff than getting TKO'd to a push/opponent I regret greatly in Aries. Not only for how my opinion on him has fallen over the years (with his TNA work circa this time being when I thought he was really good and could be a big time player), but he's a nuisance backstage and legit always holding something back in every big match. I ain't trusting him with the ball and he will probably be released at any given moment.
- Really just waiting for Hogan's contract to run out but until then I'll be using him sporadically for younger talent to absorb his overness.
- Thought this final segment was just an overall fitting comeuppance for Aries' main event push character of considering himself above legends. Consider it a burial if you will but as I've said he deserves it for stinking up the joint inside and outside the ring. He is solidly not a main eventer any longer after this.
- KOTR this weekend!

WWE Sunday Night Heat
June 29th, 2014 (Part of the King of the Ring 2014 Kickoff Show)
OC: Josh Mathews, Byron Saxton and ''The Professor'' Matt Striker

Quote

- I don't know why I didn't keep a full recap of this one, but in matches, Harper and Rowan squashed local competitors and Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio.

 

[Dawn]

 

WW
WWWWE King of the Ring 2014 Prediction Key

1. WWE Championship
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles (c)

2. World Heavyweight Championship
Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan (c)

3. WWE Divas Championship
Naomi vs. Kaitlyn (c)

4. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
CM Punk vs. John Cena

5. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison

6. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Cesaro vs. Heath Slater

7. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe

8. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Punk/Cena vs. Winner of McIntyre/Morrison

9. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Cesaro/Slater vs. Winner of Orton/Joe

10. King of the Ring Finals
Winner of Semis #1 vs. Winner of Semis #2

11. Singles Match
Big Show vs. Rusev

12. WWE Cruiserweight Championship (Kickoff Show)
Chavo Guerrero vs. Alex Shelley (c)

Thanks to kanegan as I basically copy-pasted his format for a prediction key  I just think it's really neat and easy to read! No contest yet, but feel free to predict for fun as KOTR will be live sometime during the weekend.

[kanegan]

1. WWE Championship
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles (c)

2. World Heavyweight Championship
Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan (c)

3. WWE Divas Championship
Naomi vs. Kaitlyn (c)

4. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
CM Punk vs. John Cena

5. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison

6. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Cesaro vs. Heath Slater

7. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe

8. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Punk/Cena vs. Winner of McIntyre/Morrison

9. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Cesaro/Slater vs. Winner of Orton/Joe

10. King of the Ring Finals

McIntyre

11. Singles Match
Big Show vs. Rusev

12. WWE Cruiserweight Championship (Kickoff Show)
Chavo Guerrero vs. Alex Shelley (c)

[Blodyxe]

1. WWE Championship
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles (c)

2. World Heavyweight Championship
Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan (c)

3. WWE Divas Championship
Naomi vs. Kaitlyn (c)

4. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
CM Punk vs. John Cena

5. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison

6. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Cesaro vs. Heath Slater

7. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe

8. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Punk/Cena vs. Winner of McIntyre/Morrison

9. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Cesaro/Slater vs. Winner of Orton/Joe

10. King of the Ring Finals
Winner of Semis #1 vs. Winner of Semis #2

11. Singles Match
Big Show vs. Rusev

12. WWE Cruiserweight Championship (Kickoff Show)
Chavo Guerrero vs. Alex Shelley (c)

[Wrestling Machine]

WWE King of the Ring 2014 Prediction Key

1. WWE Championship
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles (c)

2. World Heavyweight Championship
Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan (c)

3. WWE Divas Championship
Naomi vs. Kaitlyn (c)

4. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
CM Punk vs. John Cena

5. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison

6. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Cesaro vs. Heath Slater

7. King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe

8. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Punk/Cena vs. Winner of McIntyre/Morrison

9. King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Winner of Cesaro/Slater vs. Winner of Orton/Joe

10. King of the Ring Finals
Winner of Semis #1 vs. Winner of Semis #2

11. Singles Match
Big Show vs. Rusev

12. WWE Cruiserweight Championship (Kickoff Show)
Chavo Guerrero vs. Alex Shelley (c)

[Dawn]

KING OF THE RING 2014 KICKOFF SHOW



The analyst panel of Renee Young, JBL and WWE Hall of Famers 'Rowdy'' Roddy Piper and (former wielder of the crown) The Million Dollar Man welcomes the WWE fans to the TD Garden, where the final eight men remaining will vye for the yearly crown, championships will be decided and the undefeated Rusev will be challenged by one of the greatest big men in the history of the business in the Big Show! Renee asks the three who are their picks to win this year's King of the Ring tournament, and Hot Rod has no second thoughts before picking Cesaro. He thinks the kid is ready to hang with the big boys, and tonight will be his coming out party. Both JBL and DiBiase say Drew McIntyre, who will have had enormous backing and preparation heading into this final stretch of the tournament tonight. Renee then sends us off to the ring, for our first action of the night!

Quote

King of the Ring Kickoff Show: Chavo Guerrero vs. Alex Shelley (c)

Shelley's reign has featured some vastly different challengers thus far, and undoubtedly the sly veteran Chavo Guerrero proved to be his finest one yet by forcing Shelley to adapt to his style. The two men went tit for tat and Chavo didn't look to have lost a step since his departure from the WWE three years ago. Still, Shelley was there with him every step of the way, and some miscommunication between the Guerreros to put the final nail in the coffin of Shelley's reign took part, leading to Chavo accidentally shoving Vickie off of the apron, and Shelley took advantage with Shining Wizard to retain.

Rating: B-
Time: 15:43

We return to the panel as Renee sends us to a quick recap of Sunday Night Heat from a few hours prior, where The Wyatt Family defeated a conglomerate of superstars (jobbers) and Christian triumphed over Alberto Del Rio. DiBiase says it's unfortunate that Del Rio can't seem to get his head back in the game, but with the right business partner, he might be back to relevance soon enough. Renee introduces us to the panel's guest for the night, WWE Champion AJ Styles! Renee congratulates AJ on having quite a reign thus far, but mentions how it will be in jeopardy tonight when he squares off against two men with a bone to pick with the other in Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston. AJ says that undoubtedly this will be his toughest challenge yet, but that he doesn't think it has anything to do with the fact that he has no stake in the race between these two. It's more about the fact he doesn't know who will win out between them when they do meet one-on-one during the match, and so he had been forced to prepare for two quite different scenarios. He says that no matter what, he plans on still reigning for a long time, because this is his house now, and he was building real estate in it by the minute. The Phenomenal One embraced the challenge, but both Ziggler and Kingston were going to leave the TD Garden terribly disappointed. With that, Renee signs off from the Kickoff Show, the King of the Ring event is up next!

OOC: Let me know if the grey color is too much to read in dark mode, if so I will come back to change it!

[Dawn]

WWE King of the Ring 2014
June 29th, 2014
TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
OC: Jim Ross, Michael Cole and Booker T
Meltzer Rating: A (second highest rated show of the save!)



Good Ol' JR, Cole and Booker welcome us to the second straight annual King of the Ring event, where one of eight men will win the prestigious tournament, held this year and all years beyond in honor of the late WWE Hall of Famer Jerry ''The King'' Lawler!

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2014 King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
CM Punk vs. John Cena

On paper, this was a complete role reversal from their encounter in Chicago three years prior; but the vocal Punk had far many more supporters in Cena's hometown of Boston than the eternal hero of the WWE did in Punk's turf back then. This classic rivalry had led to many a legendary matches between these two men, and recent history had favored The Best in the World due to his 868 day title run during which he had defeated John Cena multiple times. Still, Cena had since recovered from his de facto ''no good year'' since WrestleMania XXVIII, and the dynamic of this match was perhaps a stark contrast to their first meeting in Chicago three years prior, as this time it was Cena showing the extra fire and desire to win it all and honor his fallen friend in the process. For half an hour, Cena and Punk tore the house down for an appreciative TD Garden, and though the match never reached the highs of their classic, it kept its pace throughout. JR notes how both men looked gassed at the final junction and how that may affect the survivor of this war later on in the night. Punk gave it his best as he always does, but Cena masterfully countered the GTS into the STF-U, and the exhausted Punk had no choice but to submit, sending John Cena to the Semi-Finals.

Rating: B
Time: 30:10

The two men show a sign of respect to the other in a handshake, though the question remains as to how John Cena will be able to translate this into a tournament win after this marathon of a match.

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2014 King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Cesaro vs. Heath Slater (w/Brad Maddox)

Slater had surprised fans by pulling out an improbable win against the gargantuan Ryback in the Round of 16, but if he thought that would be the most of his troubles, he was in for a ride against the man who pound for pound may be the strongest superstar in the WWE today. Slater gave Cesaro a test early on with his quickness and smarts, but once Cesaro took control of this one, there was nowhere to go for the One Man Band. Slater should be commended for his efforts in this tournament, but in the end there would be no kickout to the Gotch-style Neutralizer.

Rating: B
Time: 11:58

Cesaro celebrates as the second man to have his spot confirmed in the Semi-Finals that will take place later tonight. Next, John Cena's opponent will be decided!

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                       2014 King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Drew McIntyre (w/Paul Heyman) vs. John Morrison (w/Becky Lynch and The Miz)

These two men, much like Cena and Punk before them, had history with one another that brought the Intercontinental Champion to come out with insurance policy in the form of the other two thirds of The Dirt Sheet trio in order to counter the potential shenanigans of Paul Heyman. McIntyre seemed to not need any outside help in this one, hanging with the Intercontinental Champion and countering his unique Parkour style with power move after power move. Morrison turned the tide of this one late, but miscalculated the time to strike with Starship Pain, leading to McIntyre dropping him in his head and following that with Future Shock DDT for a big pinfall win, sending The Chosen One to the Semis.

Rating: B
Time: 16:28

Paul Heyman looks on at his client with a smirk as McIntyre has all the confidence in the world in his face. Morrison is helped back to his feet by Miz and Becky, as McIntyre will meet John Cena later tonight in the first of two Semi-Finals. There's no time to rest as the other one will be decided right now!

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2014 King of the Ring Quarter-Finals
Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe

As the bell rings, Orton immediately steps down to ringside, not fazing Joe in the least. He grabs a mic and says his doctors have recommended that he shouldn't compete tonight due to his nagging back injury, and out of his utmost respect to the newcomer in Samoa Joe who would no doubt target that back, he'd heed their advice and forfeit this match. Joe shakes his head while mantaining his confident smirk, as Orton slowly departs, before shooting a smile himself to the camera. Cole wonders if this isn't just an excuse from the part of Randy Orton to escape this match against Samoa Joe. In any event, the TV Champion is now a part of the Semi-Final field!

Rating: B
Time: This was an angle, so no official time.

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WWE Divas Championship
Naomi vs. Kaitlyn

The two women were seeking to prove superiority over the other in this one, plain and simple. Naomi brought by a brand of aggressiveness to this match that had never quite been seen in her before, one that matched, if not surpassed that of the champion's. Kaitlyn was caught by surprise with this, and though her major resiliency brought her back from certain defeat at multiple points, Naomi just kept pressing the issue, leading to the champion deciding she'd just had enough, and trying to get herself counted out. Naomi herself had enough, pulling Kaitlyn back to the ring by her hair and locking her in a chokehold. Kaitlyn would get her feet under the bottom rope, but Naomi, out of pure frustration, would purposely not answer the five count, giving Kaitlyn the win by disqualification in order to retain her championship as has been customary. Albeit she did not look like much of a winner this time around for the first time in a long while.

Rating: B-
Time: 12:02

Naomi, after finally being separated from the champion by officials, acts as if she'll leave peacefully, but as the champion finally gets back to her feet while gasping for air, Naomi returns and plasters her with a chair!



Naomi points to Kaitlyn for what she's done to others of the division and that she's not putting up with that sh- as Stephanie McMahon pulls her division ace from the ring before Naomi can deal any more damage to her, a groggy Kaitlyn just barely holding on to the Divas Championship. She may have escaped with the championship this time, but Naomi sent the statement that she was not the eternal runner-up pushover that Kaitlyn described her as; she had beaten the champion up to show her she was not going down as a pushover, and when they'd meet next, she would beat her outright to take the Divas Championship home!

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2014 King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Drew McIntyre (w/Paul Heyman) vs. John Cena

McIntyre swiftly and easily took control of this one early, Cena having wrestled nearly 15 minutes more than his younger and fresher opponent in the previous round. JR reminds the audience of the last time these two met last year on SmackDown, where the upstart Drew McIntyre was able to score the upset win (at the time) over Cena. Things seemed to be headed the same way in this one, but Cena's will and instinct alone allowed him to continue buying precious time in this match. Cena's comeback was cut short by the work of Paul Heyman, and once again McIntyre would dominate, and set up Cena for Future Shock DDT...but Cena unexpectedly countered that into a sudden AA! John Cena is headed to the Finals!

Rating: B
Time: 18:23

Cena drops down to a seated position due to exhaustion, and a very frustrated McIntyre punishes him for having cost him the King of the Ring tournament, putting the boots and fists to John Cena! Somehow, someway, Cena is able to battle back as he's lifted up by McIntyre, but that's until he's met from out of nowhere by a monstrous SPEAR!

IT'S ROMAN REIGNS!

The intensity is palpable as Reigns puts the wind right out of John Cena, the cameras panning to the stage and all around the crowd to show hordes and hordes of security barring any entrance to the ring. McIntyre is still heated, as he and Reigns combine to Pillmanize Cena's neck, and with all entrances barred, EMTs are unable to be activated until the two depart with Paul Heyman. Afterwards, the EMTs rush to the ring to stretcher John Cena out of the TD Garden amidst shock and trepidation from his hometown fans, what does this mean for the Finals of the tournament?

 

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2014 King of the Ring Semi-Finals
Cesaro vs. Samoa Joe

It was a test of strength between the two men to get things started, one that would reach its apex with Cesaro forcing Joe out of the ring. This was by far the TV Champion's toughest matchup in the WWE so far, a back and forth affair of pure wrestling that showed both men's versatility in the ring. It would meet an unexpected conclusion, as Joe countered an uppercut from Cesaro rebounding off of the ropes, locking in Coquina Clutch and forcing the Andre Battle Royal winner to submit!

Rating: B
Time: 9:57

The impressive newcomer Samoa Joe has his hand raised as he is now headed to the Finals of his very first King of the Ring tournament! However, his supposed opponent John Cena has just been brutalized by Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns, what will be the implications of that for the Finals later on?

The fans are graced with the arrival of Seth Rollins, who has a few words about the earlier events involving his former Shield teammate in Roman Reigns.

''Roman, Roman, Roman...I knew you'd be given preferential treatment as soon as you showed your face around here again. None of us can touch you now, can we? But I know you better than anyone else in this company. I know your strengths, your weaknesses, what drives you, what can bring you out here in front of me, face-to-face, man-to-man on your own in due time. First, I must dissect your protection squad, and I must do that methodically. That's a word that doesn't exist in the dictionary of Dean Ambrose. But that's how Seth Rollins operates. And when you suffer your swift fall from grace at my hands, Roman...you'll be staring at me holding a world championship, at the top of the world...while you are unceremoniously discontinued as Triple H's vanity project. It's the least I can do for you.''



A new theme song for Dean Ambrose sounds off at the TD Garden, and Seth decides not to back down this time and put Ambrose where he belongs, but the lunatic jumps out from behind him, leveling him with fists and bites! Rollins slips out of Dirty Deeds and is just able to make an escape, Ambrose ripping his hair out for missing his chance at getting his hands on Roman Reigns. He says his brothers continue to be very slippery, but neither one of them would be able to run from Dean Ambrose forever!

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Big Show vs. Rusev (w/Lana)

The giant didn't take long to bring the offense to this match, leveling Rusev with massive blows. It did seem for very long in this one that Rusev had just been overwhelmed, but a turning point would put this match in his favor when he would duck WMD and level Show with two massive kicks to the face. Show would be in prime position for The Accolade, and he'd eventually cave in to the pressure, mantaining Rusev's undefeated streak alive.

Rating: B-
Time: 8:19

Rusev and Lana stand tall over the massive carcass of Big Show, the boom heard and Russian Flag lowering behind him. Rusev shouts ''RUSEV CRUUUUUUUUSH'', this undoubtedly having been the biggest win of his career thus far.

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WWE Championship
Dolph Ziggler (w/Torrie Wilson) vs. Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles

With the tale as old as time rivalry between Ziggler and Kingston looming over the WWE Champion, pundits expected AJ Styles to have an inherent advantage over his opponents from the onset, but that wouldn't be the case at all. Styles' reign was highly threatened in this classic match where all three men looked good. Uneasy truces were brokered at several points during the match to try and remove the third part of the equation from it for good, but they would never last. At last Kofi, with his new mean streak that allowed him to hang with his two opponents who have never really been scared of going low themselves, gets leverage over Ziggler with tree of woe and goes for a back superplex. The WWE Champion seizes the opportunity for a triple tower of doom, and everyone is down for a moment. Kofi and AJ have a one-on-one the rest of the way, and Kofi hangs with the champion until AJ is able to dodge Trouble in Paradise. Styles Clash ensures that his reign remains alive and kicking.

Rating: A
Time: 19:46

The Phenomenal One looks triumphant as the WWE Champion here at the King of the Ring, having overcome two ancient rivals who brought their A game to meet him!



The eerie sound of the arrival of the Wyatt Family is heard, as the WWE Champion is then sorrounded by Harper, Rowan and Devlin, the patriarch Bray Wyatt sitting down in his rocking chair and observing. Styles, though tired, looks primed for a fight, and though it seems as if Bray Wyatt's brothers will give him that, Wyatt signals for them to stop at the last minute, and the four men confuse AJ Styles by simply walking back and allowing him to stay unscathed. Is this in any way related to the work Bray Wyatt promised to reveal to the world?

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2014 King of the Ring Finals?



Samoa Joe confidently awaits an announcement on the status of his scheduled opponent in John Cena, who was assaulted by McIntyre and Reigns earlier in the night. Michael Cole announces that if Cena is unable to make his way to the ring in a minute, he will forfeit the King of the Ring crown to Samoa Joe. After 50 seconds, a 10 second count starts. BUT RIGHT AT THE END OF IT...



With every ounce of his fortitude left and removing every medical apparel recommended to him, John Cena stumbles his way to the ring! He has his fists cocked up, and he wants this fight!


2014 King of the Ring Finals
John Cena vs. Samoa Joe

The difference in conditioning heading into this match for both men was obvious for all watching. John Cena tried his all to give it a go and provide a fight worthy of the finals, but it just wasn't meant to be. Every time Cena would pop back up for one of his signature moves, it would just be countered by the heavyweight. With one final gasp, Cena lifted Joe for AA, but his back gave up on him, leading to Coquina Clutch, a hold that Cena was unable to escape from. Though he didn't properly submit, the technical knockout victory was given to the TV Champion, who had taken the WWE by storm and gone all the way in the King of the Ring!

Rating: B-
Time: 7:32

Good Ol' JR steps out of the announce table and heads to the throne coronation site, where Joe has already gotten comfortable. JR crowns the TV Champion as the 2014 Jerry ''The King'' Lawler King of the Ring, long may he reign. Joe says he doesn't need a crown, all he needs is for the locker room to be put on notice that he has arrived and bow down to him. He says the destiny of all the men he fought in this tournament is the same out of every man who dares step foot in the ring with him. He will not be a merciful king, he will rule with force. And by the end of his reign, he will be every man's worst nightmare in this company.

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World Heavyweight Championship
Wade Barrett (w/Paul Heyman and The KoW) vs. Daniel Bryan

The history between these two men was well known to all watching, having both been part of the first season of NXT and The Nexus, where Bryan was unceremoniously kicked out of the group by the leader Barrett for being ''too weak''. The numbers game was a massive disadvantage to the World Heavyweight Champion here, as the directions given to the KoW by the charismatic Barrett were to simply take every opportunity possible to turn the momentum of this match in the Englishman's favor. Even with the odds stacked against him due to the handicap, the champion's never say die attitude was more apparent than ever during this clash as he fought back at every turn, and as such this match became a back and forth affair, one that didn't have its quality negated by the blatant interference in the slightest, another classic matchup in a night jampacked with such. 

Barrett looked prime to take this away at a critical juncture, but Bryan turned a Bullhammer counter into his string of comeback maneuvers, leading for him to ready up the Busaiku Knee, but Barrett countered, and Bryan knocked out referee Charles Robinson instead!



Sensing blood, Barrett and the troops looked to put the boots to Bryan and bring Barrett one step closer to the win, but a cavalry of Curtis Axel, John Morrison and The Miz looked to even up the odds! The fight sans Bryan was taken to the outside, and as the World Heavyweight Champion recovered, a suicide dive would wipe out everyone but his actual opponent in Barrett! After that, with Charles Robinson still out cold, the two would continue to trade blows in the stage, and as Barrett got the upper hand again, he would hit Bullhammer!

BUT BRYAN PULLS BARRETT DOWN WITH HIM!

The champion's last ounce of strength brings him to take Barrett to the depths of the stage alongside him as he falls backwards due to the impact of the Bullhammer, a sickening thud heard after the fall, both men clearly down and out! Paul Heyman looks on in shock as the other officials make their way to the ring to tend to Charles Robinson, and the remaining senior officials determine that with neither man fit to compete any longer, this one will be deemed a No Contest!

Rating: A
Time: 23:04



Heyman makes his way to the top of the stage upon that announcement, looking down at his client and the champion, his mouth agape. The WWE COO Triple H joins Heyman, hands on his hips, shaking his head negatively in clear disappointment. At the end of King of the Ring, Wade Barrett was unable to make good on his promise to the King of Kings to walk out as the World Heavyweight Champion.

But then again, the champion Daniel Bryan didn't walk out, period.

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Prediction Results:
kanegan: 7/12
Blodyxe: 6/12
Wrestling Machine: 9/12

Thank you all for the predictions and for following the diary! I hope you enjoy this show as we head next to my personal favorite WWE PPV, Money in the Bank!

Edited September 29, 2022 by Dawn

[Blodyxe]

Looking back at the 'put*n suck ups' shtick, I hate it even more now, heat is real. Where's Kurt Angle at, TNA? Want that beautiful bald man to slap rusev same way he slapped Eugene, shoot on him a bit. K, getting carried away, solid show

Edited September 29, 2022 by Blodyxe