This Week In WWE TV – January 27-February 2, 2014

This week: Amidst a busy week of news and much Royal Rumble fallout, WWE tries to focus it’s attentions on qualifying matches for the Elimination Chamber. No CM Punk, but YES Daniel Bryan, joining John Cena, a returning Sheamus, an also returning again Christian and Antonio Cesaro in fighting Orton for the title in the Chamber Match. Plus, Lesnar on the warpath, The Shield want The Wyatts, The Miz versus CJ Parker, Titus turns on Darren, The Battle Of Cleveland and Fandango does the deal on Smackdown.

RAW

– HHH and Stephanie came out. There were YES chants right at the start. HHH and Stephanie put over what happened at the Rumble and goaded the crowd in the process. They announced a WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match, before Bryan interrupted. Bryan talked about not being in the Rumble and blamed it on HHH and Stephanie. Stephanie claimed they were looking out for his well being by not making him compete twice. Bryan pointed out how many times they’d made him compete multiple times against The Shield and The Wyatts. Stephanie asked Bryan if he thought people really came to see him, which got more YES chants. Bryan told them to listen to the fans and asked to be in the Chamber match. He and HHH stared each other down, before HHH subtely called out The Shield. Bryan got a chair and tried to defend himself but got beaten down until Sheamus ran out. The Shield outnumbered him, but Cena made the save and they all cleared The Shield out of the ring.

– The Real Americans d. Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara (Cesaro pinned Sin Cara) in 6:18. Zeb insulted Rey and Sin Cara before the match. Early on, Sin Cara hit a dive and Zeb got mad at Swagger for it before slapping him. That was interesting. It seemed to fire Swagger up though. Cesaro and Swagger kept Sin Cara from a tag for a while, before Rey made a comeback on Cesaro. The match broke down and Rey hit a 619 before taking out Swagger. Cesaro avoided the swanton from Sin Cara though and caught him with an uppercut as he tried a springboard move, then finished him off with the Neutraliser.

– Bad News Barrett and his giant podium on a forklift appeared. He delivered the bad news that Miz would face Ziggler later and insulted Cleveland for being inhabated by losers. R-Truth d. Fandango in 3:32. Xavier did commentary and Emma was in the crowd with her #EMMAlution sign. A Summer distraction gave Fandango the advantage. Truth came back to win with the Little Jimmy though.

– Brad introduced Orton. He bragged about his win over Cena, but complained about the Chamber match and asked Brad if it was his idea. Batista interrupted. There were some boos for Batista a Bryan chant. Batista said he’d accomplished 2 of the 3 things he told Orton he was going to do and he didn’t care who he faced at Wrestlemania, before Lesnar interrupted. Heyman told Brad that Lesnar’s patience was running thin. He ‘suggested’ either Brock faced Orton for the title tonight, or he faced the number one contender Batista and asked Brad to get an answer from HHH and Stephanie or else.

– Dolph Ziggler d. The Miz in 4:08. They called this The Battle Of Cleveland. Ziggler wore a Cavaliers jersey and Miz a Browns jersey. They announced Ziggler as from Cleveland. This at least seemed to get the crowd into the match. Miz got the figure four but Ziggler made the ropes. Ziggler then countered a second one and won with the Zig Zag. And The Usos d. RybAxel (Jimmy pinned Ryback) in 5:48. All Ryback and Axel at the start, until Ryback posted his shoulder. Usos came back to win with Jimmy pinning Ryback with the superfly splash, after a pair of superkicks and Jey hit a dive on Axel.

– Alberto Del Rio d. Kofi Kingston in 10:49. Del Rio did an inset promo claiming Batista wouldn’t make it to Wrestlemania. Kofi hit a dive before Del Rio took control. The crowd eventually went into chant mode. When they chanted JBL, JBL stood up and acknowledged it, which upset Del Rio. Del Rio and Kofi pushed each other off the top rope to the floor, which might have got a reaction if people weren’t busy chanting for Michael Cole. Anyway, Del Rio ducked Trouble In Paradise and Kofi hit the SOS but Del Rio got a foot on the rope. Del Rio hit a lungblower after counters to the cross armbreaker and Trouble In Paradise, but only got a two count. Del Rio then went to the top rope and Kofi crotched him. As Kofi climbed to the ropes though Del Rio tripped him and hit a double stomp with Kofi hung up in the ropes. Del Rio then hit a kneeling superkick for the pin.

– WWE Tag Team Championships: Cody Rhodes and Goldust d. The New Age Outlaws by DQ in 8:53. Before the match, Road Dogg said they weren’t champions because of past relationships and Cody and Goldust were good last night, but weren’t good enough, causing Cody to lay him out with a punch. Goldust and Cody out wrestled both Outlaws for the majority of the match. They briefly got the better of Goldust, but Cody got the tag and made a comeback. When Billy hit a clothesline though, Lesnar came out and hit an F5 to Cody while the Outlaws bailed. Goldust took an F5 as well and Heyman announced HHH had chosen choice number three, which meant Lesnar wouldn’t be in a match. Heyman threw Brock a chair and said this was what happened when Brock didn’t get what he wanted, before Lesnar gave Cody and Goldust repeated chair shots, breaking the chair. The Bellas and The Funkadactyls d. AJ, Tamina Snuka, Aksana and Alicia Fox (Naomi pinned AJ) in 5:41. After a triple suplex involving everyone else, Naomi beat AJ with the Rear View.

– Jake the Snake was announced for the Hall Of Fame. And in the main event, Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus d. The Shield by DQ in 20:54. Ambrose and Rollins struggled to get the better of Cena at the start, but Reigns fared a bit better. There were some chants for Reigns when he tagged in. Shield briefly cut Sheamus off before Bryan was tagged in. They finally isolated Cena for a while. Cena caught Ambrose with a desperation AA and made the tag to Bryan. Bryan made a big comeback and hit a dive on Ambrose. Reigns speared Sheamus and avoided an AA before spearing Cena. Bryan then hit the running knee to Reigns, before being rolled up by Rollins for a two count. Rollins and Bryan had a back and forth exchange before Bryan got the YES Lock. Ambrose made the save but took a Brogue Kick. Rollins hit the flying knee on Sheamus and Bryan and Rollins knocked each other down with a double crossbody. Cena tagged in and got Reigns in the STF, but Reigns broke out of it, before The Wyatts appeared. They attacked Cena, causing the DQ, which I guess was a shame but was clearly down for more than one reason. The first being to beat down Cena. Sheamus and Bryan made the save and a brawl broke out, with The Wyatts being cleared from the ring. When The Shield heard the result, they then tore up ringside. Really good main event to end the show.

MAIN EVENT

– Alberto Del Rio d. R-Truth in 11:55. Truth started strong and hit a dive, but Del Rio soon took control. Truth kept things fairly competitive, although Del Rio was mostly in control and kept cutting him off. Truth finally made a full comeback and both guys scored a couple of near falls. Truth ended up countering the cross armbreaker and hitting a scissors kick for a two count, before Del Rio got Truth with the double stomp in the corner to pick up the win.

– Backstage, Aksana and Alicia were talking with Tamina. The Bellas and Natalya showed up. The Bellas had a catty arguement with Aksana and Alicia, but Natalya tried to wish Tamina luck for later. They insinuated Natalya was old, but she pointed out Tamina was older and called her sir. Natalya d. Tamina Snuka in 3:18. AJ did commentary. Tamina started with a slap after the earlier segment. Natalya ducked a superkick and won with a roll up. AJ attacked afterwards and Tamina hit the superkick, but The Funkadactyls made the save and Naomi gave Tamina the Rear View.

– They showed a clip from HHH’s WWE.com interview, saying Cody and Goldust would get another rematch with the New Age Outlaws on Raw in a cage match. And The Usos and Big E Langston d. 3MB (Big E pinned Slater) in 11:52. In a cool moment, The Usos hit a pair of dives while Big E speared Drew off of the apron. 3MB finally got control on Jey for a while. Jey hit a whisper in the wind on Drew and Jinder and Big E made a comeback. The Usos took out Drew and Jinder with superkicks and Big E hit the Big Ending on Slater, as The Usos hit superfly splashes for a triple pin. Crowd loved the ending.

NXT

– The Ascension d. Michael Q Laurie and John Aycarino? (Viktor pinned John) in 2:22. They said they other guy’s name, but who knows about the spelling. Michael Q is QT Marshall, so I know that much. The crowd now ironically like The Ascension because Konnor makes noises. They pinned the guy who isn’t QT Marshall with the Fall Of Man. Backstage, Lefort was auditioning for clients. Cal Bishop came in but Lefort didn’t like his cauliflower ears and sent him away.

– Corey Graves came out. He claimed Neville tried to end his career and he’d never forgive him. Graves told everyone to stay tuned. Corey Graves d. Camacho by submission in 1:21 with the Lucky 13 and held it an extra few seconds after the match. Devin interviewed Cesaro, who refused to give a reason why he said no to Sami’s challenge and said he had better things to do. Backstage, Sawyer Fulton had a weird meeting with Lefort, shaking his hand but not being there for the audition.

– Bayley d. Sasha Banks in 2:50. Renee did commentary. Natalya was in Bayley’s corner and Sasha had both Summer and Charlotte with her. Bayley tried to get at Charlotte which allowed Sasha to attack her from behind. When Charlotte tried a distraction later, Natalya pulled her off the apron. Summer attacked Natalya and Sasha tried a roll up while Bayley was distracted. But Bayley kicked out and hit the Belly to Bayley suplex for the win.

– Tyler Breeze d. Colin Cassady in 2:24. Breeze stalled a ton at the start. Step one to being a great wrestler, stalling. Cassady took a fan’s phone and mocked Breeze, which the crowd loved. The match eventually started and Breeze took some shots to the face. Cassady’s definitely got something about him. As Cassady was in control, Aiden English appeared on the screen and went into Enzo’s locker room, distracting Big Cass and allowing Breeze to hit the Beauty Spot for the pin. Cassady went back to check on Enzo after, to find Enzo was okay. Cassady and Enzo had a wacky conversation and I love these two. Cass basically said he could play games too and he’d pay English back.

– The Miz d. CJ Parker by submission in 4:40. The look on Regal’s face before this was hilarious. The match really wasn’t bad though. Miz won rolling through a crossbody and locking on the figure four. Sami was interviewed and Sami said he wasn’t going away easily, telling Cesaro to say no to him in the ring face to face next week. Backstage, Mason Ryan met with Lefort and agreed to be his client, if Lefort could beat him in a match next week.

– Renee hosted a contract signing between Neville and Bo. Bo didn’t come out. Neville said it didn’t matter, he still had his match and signed the contract. Bo finally came out and said he wasn’t scared of Neville, but he was getting tired of him. Bo told Neville to sit at ringside and watch why he was NXT Champion. Bo Dallas d. Danny Burch in 2:22 with a double arm DDT. Bo then agreed to sign the contract and gave Neville a cheap shot. But as Bo posed with the belt outside, Neville recovered and hit a dive, sparking a brawl to end the show.

SUPERSTARS

– Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton were on commentary. Natalya d. Summer Rae by submission in 4:07 with the sharpshooter and Los Matadores d. Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre of 3MB (Fernando pinned Jinder) in 7:43. 3MB isolated Fernando. Drew took a painful looking DDT and Diego made a comeback. Slater tried a distraction and El Torito gave him a hurricanrana off the apron. Los Matadores then pinned Jinder with a new double team, which is a total elimination but with a front kick instead of a spin kick. Maybe this one will get a name.

SMACKDOWN

– Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Antonio Cesaro d. Dolph Ziggler in 8:30. Cesaro hit a running dropkick as soon as the bell rang. Both went for quick pins before Cesaro took control. Cesaro hit an awesome looking deadlift superplex from the apron for a two count. Ziggler got back into it and countered the pop up uppercut into a DDT. Cesaro countered the Zig Zag though and gave him the big swing, before winning with the Neutraliser. This was fun.

– The Shield came out. Ambrose said the Elimination Chamber was custom made for them and if they were in it, one of them would have left as WWE World Champion. Ambrose and Reigns then argued and Reigns said he knew he would have won. Ambrose brought up Reigns breaking the elimination record and said he didn’t apologise for trying to throw Reigns out, so Reigns said he didn’t apologise for actually throwing Ambrose out. It got to the point that Rollins had to actually pull them apart and calm them down. Rollins said The Wyatts were the reason they weren’t in the Chamber match and they had to be dealt with. Ambrose challenged The Wyatts and Vickie came out to make it official, but HHH interrupted her. HHH tried to convince them to let it go. Reigns actually got in HHH’s face and said they weren’t looking for his approval which got a Roman chant going. So HHH made the match at Elimination Chamber and told The Shield he hoped they knew what they were doing.

– Fandango d. Xavier Woods in 3:15. Truth did commentary. After Xavier hit a somersault dive, Summer grabbed Emma’s sign and broke it. Emma had another #EMMAlution sign though. Fandango recovered to crotch Xavier on the top rope and did the deal with the falcon arrow for the win. After the match the tried to do it again, but Truth made the save and gave Fandango a suplex stunner.

– RybAxel d. The Primetime Players (Axel pinned Young) in 1:31. Titus never even got the chance to tag in, as Axel pinned Young with the face first neckbreaker. After the match, Titus teased walking out. Young, who was bleeding from the mouth, tried to talk him round, but Titus said he was a winner all his life and teaming with Darren was the first time he’d been called a loser. Titus said he was getting rid of the dead weight on his back and then attacked Young, throwing him into the barrier a couple of times and leaving him laying.

– A video for Alexander Rusev aired, with Rusev cutting a promo and Lana saying “Rusev hits, Rusev crush”. Rusev in English said the Rusev legacy started now. Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Christian d. Jack Swagger in 5:55 in Christian’s return match. JBL got Zeb to join commentary. Swagger gave Christian a press slam over the post and to the floor in the opening moments. Christian fought back before Swagger hit the gutwrench powerbomb for a near fall. Swagger got mad and Zeb tried to get him to focus. Christian blocked the Swagger Bomb and Swagger countered the Killswitch. Swagger then got the ankle lock, but Christian escaped. After Swagger posted his shoulder, Christian ended up hitting the frog splash to qualify. Zeb wasn’t happy afterwards. Renee interviewed Christian backstage after the match and talked about his recent injuries and said he’d be the most dangerous he’d ever been.

– Kofi Kingston d. Damien Sandow in 1:58. Sandow did an inset promo about being on a losing streak and the commentators played up him being in a slump too. Kofi missed Trouble In Paradise and landed in the ropes. He caught Sandow with the SOS to pick up the win though. After showing the clip from HHH’s WWE.com interview announced the Raw Tag Title match, Cody Rhodes d. Road Dogg in 3:53. Cody’s arm was taped up from Brock’s attack. Road Dogg focused on the arm. Billy tried a distraction and took out Goldust. Cody then hit a disaster kick to Billy and one to Road Dogg for the pin. Both teams brawled after the match and the Outlaws eventually bailed.

– Before the main event, a Wyatts promo aired with The Shield in the ring. Harper had a small speaking role and Rowan said ‘run’ at the end. The Shield d. Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and Rey Mysterio (Reigns pinned Rey) in 11:53. Shield struggled early but cut off Rey. Bryan ran wild and took Reigns out with a dive, then hit a dive on Ambrose. Reigns gave Sheamus the superman punch. Ambrose made the save when Bryan got him in the YES Lock and sent Sheamus into the post outside, but Sheamus came back with a Brogue Kick. Rey then tagged back in and went for the 619 on Reigns. Rollins distracted but was taken out. Rey then went for the 619 again but got speared for the pin.