WWE News: Reviews, Analysis and Rumors for Week of May 6
With such a quick turnaround between Extreme Rules and next week's Over the Limit pay-per-view, the WWE packed in a lot of action this week on its programming. Not only have several matches been announced and finalized for Over the Limit, but there was a major return on RAW as well.
Paul Heyman stepped back into a WWE ring to address the Brock Lesnar situation and very well may be back for the long haul. In addition to that shocking comeback, there was plenty going on outside the ring this week as well as a major star is having marital issues and a long-time WWE veteran was released.
On top of that, the WWE has gone viral again with a mysterious video that has been appearing on its website. It appears as though the company is doing everything in its power to keep the positive momentum it gained thanks to WrestleMania, and that has certainly been the case thus far.
Here is my analysis on all of the biggest rumors and news pieces from the WWE for the week beginning on May 6.
Paul Heyman Returns to WWE as Brock Lesnar's Representative
1 of 5After six long years away from the WWE, Paul Heyman made his surprising return on Monday as he announced himself as Brock Lesnar's adviser and said that Lesnar had quit the WWE. Heyman served as Lesnar's representative years prior during Lesnar's previous run with the company and was generally considered to be a big part of his success.
According to WrestlingInc.com, Heyman is expected to be with the company through August, as Lesnar will likely return to have a match with Triple H at SummerSlam. This means that Heyman will appear regularly and address Lesnar while he is kept off television in order to lessen the amount of dates he has to work.
My Take
After watching Lesnar try to conduct believable promos for a couple weeks, it's safe to say that WWE made a smart decision by bringing back Heyman. Lesnar has never been particularly good on the mic and that is still apparent, as his speaking during the contract signing before his match against John Cena was absolutely awful.
Heyman, on the other hand, is still one of the best in the business on the stick and his performance was on point Monday. Thanks to the storyline where Lesnar broke Triple H's arm, it will allow him to remain off television for several weeks, but Heyman can continue to keep him relevant. Lesnar is a great physical specimen, but he lacks personality, so Heyman's arrival essentially makes Lesnar the total package once again.
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John Cena to File for Divorce
2 of 5In news that seemed to come from out of left field, John Cena has filed for divorce from his wife of three years, Liz Huberdeau, according to the Miami Herald. Cena and Huberdeau were high school sweethearts, but Cena reportedly said that the marriage was "irretrievably broken."
Huberdeau has hired Miami-based attorney Raymond Rafool, who represented Linda Hogan during her divorce from Hulk Hogan and managed to score her 70 percent of the Hulkster's assets. According to the report, this situation is going to "dwarf the Hogan divorce in nastiness."
My Take
Regardless of what your feelings are on Cena as a wrestling character, you never like to see somebody have turmoil in their personal life. While you could say that this divorce damages Cena's squeaky-clean reputation, we really have no idea what the circumstances surrounding the divorce are, so it simply wouldn't be fair to say that either Cena or Huberdeau are in the wrong until the facts come out.
As far as I'm concerned, Cena will ultimately be fine. It may be tough on him mentally, but he is a world-class performer and since being a WWE superstar is what he loves to do, he'll be able to separate his personal life from his professional life. Also, I don't see this situation changing the perception of his fans, especially since most of them are children. Kids aren't going to be able to understand the semantics of Cena's divorce, so they'll cheer him as much as they ever have.
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Fatal Four Way Announced for World Heavyweight Championship at Over the Limit
3 of 5Although it had originally been announced that Sheamus would defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio at Over the Limit, John Laurinaitis threw a wrench into those plans on Monday as he made it a Fatal Four Way by adding Randy Orton and Chris Jericho to the bout.
Following a tag-team match won by Jericho and Del Rio after Sheamus inadvertently Brogue Kicked Orton, the four combatants gathered in Laurinaitis' office and were involved in a brawl. This prompted Laurinaitis to alter the match, much to the delight of wrestling fans everywhere.
My Take
While a match between Sheamus and Del Rio would have been solid in its own right since both are quite good in the ring, adding Orton and Jericho to the mix means that this match could very easily be the best on the card. Fatal Four Way matches are pretty much always good regardless of who is involved because of the vast amount of variables that come into play.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the four wrestlers in the match are four of the best workers in the company today, so I'm certainly excited for this bout. As much as the WWE likes to push that anything can happen in a Fatal Four Way match, I would be surprised if Sheamus lost. The creative team has worked hard to make him a legitimate top guy and given him several big wins, so I doubt his title reign will be cut short.
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Goldust Officially Released by WWE
4 of 5WWE producer and former star Goldust was released by the company, according to WrestlingInc.com, and while the reason has yet to be confirmed, it may have stemmed from work he was doing in the tag-team division. Goldust had been in charge of the Divas, but he focus shifted to tag-team wrestling as of late.
According to the report, Goldust may have been fired because of an incident at the April 24 SmackDown taping. Apparently, he had helped Darren Young and Titus O'Neil develop a powerbomb finisher, but they didn't execute it cleanly and dropped Yoshi Tatsu awkwardly.
My Take
There is no doubt that the double powerbomb was done quite sloppily and that Tatsu could have been seriously injured, but Goldust isn't the one who should take the blame for it. Both Young and O'Neil are clearly far too green to be on the WWE roster and that move was a perfect example of it. Even if Goldust told them to use that move, he isn't the one who botched it, so it really shouldn't be his responsibility.
As a producer, Goldust could only control so much. Perhaps he watched Young and O'Neil successfully execute the move 100 times and figured it was safe only for them to botch it when it mattered. The wrestlers themselves are the only ones who can and should be held accountable. It's not as if I'm going to miss Goldust since his television appearances were few and far between, but his firing simply wasn't fair if the report is accurate.
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WWE Launches New Viral Marketing Campaign on WWE.com
5 of 5For the past week, the WWE has been using a viral marketing ad of some sort on WWE.com with the phrase "A revolution is coming" being prominent within it. It is uncertain exactly what the ads are representing, but according to Joseph Lee of 411mania.com, there is some thought that they may be used to hype the debut of Dean Ambrose.
Ambrose was a star on the independent scene as Jon Moxley and has taken WWE's developmental territory, FCW, by storm. Ambrose has had an ongoing feud with WWE legend Mick Foley since WrestleMania weekend, but most believe that it is simply a work in order to get Ambrose more exposure and to perhaps start a program between the two.
My Take
Regardless of what this marketing campaign is ultimately for, I'm certainly interested. Whenever the WWE airs mysterious vignettes, it always generates a ton of buzz amongst the fans. It would seem as though these ads are touting the return of a past superstar or the debut of a new one, or perhaps even reigniting the marketing of the WWE Network.
It's tough to say for sure, but an Ambrose debut seems as logical as any explanation. It seems like Ambrose is most definitely ready for the big time, and making a big deal out of him before he ever appears on WWE television is a good way to set him up for success. I'm all for anything that the WWE can do to push and develop new talent, so I'm glad that they're doing something that has people talking.
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