Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Latest WWE News and Rumors from Ring Rust Radio

Ring Rust Radio is the best wrestling show on the airwaves, and this week was no different. With strong opinions on Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and more, this is where you need to go to get all of your weekly WWE nuggets.

Bleacher Report featured columnists Mike Chiari, Donald Wood and Brandon Galvin give the lowdown on everything going on in the wrestling world. ROH star Adam Cole also joined the show to offer his inside perspective on the business.

With another unpredictable episode of Ring Rust Radio in the books, you can't afford to miss another second of the action. Catch us live every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET (some language NSFW) or follow us on Twitter @RingRustRadio.

We may just read your questions and comments live on the air. Visit our website at RingRustRadio.com. You can also email us here: [e-mail].

Some language NSFW.

Upcoming Guests/Events

June 9: GFW and former WWE star PJ Black (FKA Justin Gabriel)

Kevin Owens Shocks John Cena in 1st Main-Roster Match

Perhaps no match on the Elimination Chamber card was more highly anticipated than the champion-versus-champion clash between Kevin Owens and John Cena. Most expected it to be an immensely entertaining bout, and it certainly lived up to that billing.

What few expected, though, was a victory by the NXT champion. Despite that, Owens came out on top and immediately established himself as a top star.

Question on Everybody's Mind: Should Owens Have Won Cleanly?

Many wrestling fans have been aware of Owens for quite some time, as he dominated in Ring of Honor under the name Kevin Steen. His profile grew even more when he made the jump to NXT and defeated Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship in only his third televised match with the brand.

Although he came up to the main roster and challenged Cena with a great track record already in place, many still assumed that the United States champion would prevail, given he has done so often against rising stars over the course of his career.

Cena entered Elimination Chamber with plenty of momentum on his side, as he won three consecutive pay-per-view matches against Rusev and won several U.S. title open challenges against the likes of Zayn, Dean Ambrose and Kane, among others. Owens is the total package and has all the tools needed to be WWE's top heel, but it was still hard to believe that Cena would put him over.

When push came to shove, though, the 15-time world champion did what was best for business and helped Owens become a legitimate threat after just one match on the main roster. 

Ring Rust Radio's Take

While there is still plenty of time left in 2015, Owens and Cena put on a Match of the Year candidate at Elimination Chamber. It was a back-and-forth affair that featured plenty of near-falls, as both Superstars did everything they could to put the other down for the count.

In the end, Owens was able to hit Cena with a Pop-Up Powerbomb for the second time in the match, and the leader of the Cenation was unable to bounce back as his shoulders were pinned to the mat, much to the surprise of the live audience in Corpus Christi, Texas.

It is extremely rare for Cena to take a clean loss, and doing it against a guy who is new to the roster is almost unheard of. An argument could have been made for Owens to win by cheating or perhaps pummel Cena to the point of a no contest prior to the match, but few could have predicted he would win in the manner he did. Since Cena's credibility is still very much intact, though, it was a great decision by those in charge.

Aside from Brock Lesnar, there aren't many heels in WWE who win without bending the rules. Owens took down Cena in a straight-up fight, which sets the tone for him to be one of the most dangerous and dominant heels in WWE for a very long time.

Rumor Mill

Backstage news on Owens' contract (F4WOnline.com via WrestlingInc.com)

Seth Rollins Retains Via DQ Against Dean Ambrose

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have engaged in one of the most entertaining, on-again-off-again feuds in wrestling over the past year. They reprised their rivalry at Elimination Chamber in a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

WWE's Lunatic Fringe seemingly became the new champ much to the shock and amazement of those in attendance, but an overruling by the referee saw Ambrose awarded the win via disqualification, which allowed Rollins to retain.

Question on Everybody's Mind: Was This a Sound Booking Decision?

Because of their history together as members of the Shield, it can be argued that no two Superstars in WWE have better in-ring chemistry than Rollins and Ambrose. That was evident once again at Elimination Chamber, as they put on a really solid match that wasn't impacted much by interference from Kane and J&J Security.

They were left to their own devices for the most part, and it led to a well-worked contest that was certainly worthy of closing the show.

In the latter stages of the bout, the self-professed architect of the Shield pulled the referee in front of him, which prompted Ambrose to take both of them out with a top-rope elbow drop. The unstable Superstar then hit Rollins with Dirty Deeds and won the match when another official ran down to make the count.

Ambrose celebrated with the title for a couple of minutes, but when the initial ref returned to consciousness, he reversed the decision and rewarded the title back to Rollins on the grounds of a disqualification loss.

Ring Rust Radio's Take

In general, wrestling fans prefer for pay-per-views to end with decisive finishes. Anything short of that can seem cheap and often leaves a bad taste in the fans' mouths. It used to be commonplace for that type of finish to occur, especially when Dusty Rhodes was the booker in Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW.

So-called "Dusty finishes" have become much rarer over the years, so the fact that WWE decided to go through with one at Elimination Chamber was surprising, but it also happened to feel like a fresh way of booking in the current era of wrestling.

Based on the fact that Rollins and Ambrose are set to meet again for the title at Money in the Bank, ending Elimination Chamber in that fashion was logical. It furthered the feud between the two combatants and set the stage for a rematch. It also allowed WWE to gauge what type of reaction Ambrose would get if he does eventually win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Perhaps above all else, though, Ambrose stealing the title sent Rollins off the deep end on Raw and forced him to stand up for himself. The Authority's handpicked face of the company has been booked to look very weak since winning the title at WrestleMania, but it now appears a new side of the WWE World Heavyweight champion is starting to emerge.

Rumor Mill

Backstage news on WWE Creative (Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestlingInc.com)

RRR Interview with ROH Star Adam Cole

Professional wrestling is much healthier than it has been in a very long time, and a big reason for that is the quality of the independent scene. Ring of Honor continues to lead the way in that regard, as it has for so many years, and Adam Cole is at the forefront.

The 25-year-old former ROH World champion is one of the best all-around performers in the business, and he stopped by Ring Rust Radio to discuss what the future holds.

Question on Everybody's Mind: What's Next for Cole

Cole recently returned to action after missing several months with a shoulder injury, and the rising star seemingly hasn't missed a beat. He is already back to mixing it up with the likes of A.J. Styles and the Young Bucks, and it shouldn't be long before he is back in the world title mix against Jay Briscoe, who may very well be his greatest rival.

There is a great deal of excitement surrounding ROH right now, not only because of Cole's return but also because the company's new television deal with Destination America. Cole believes that the partnership opens up some great opportunities for himself and Ring of Honor as a whole:

"

With how everyone feels, how amped we are, and with how hard everyone has been working, this is a giant step forward for us. I think we are going to be in an additional 57 million homes, and that's huge for accessibility and viewership potential for Ring of Honor.

This is something our entire team has worked very hard for, we feel that we deserve it, and we're not going to give anyone any reason to believe that we should not be on a national television platform. 

"

ROH will serve as a lead-in for TNA, and while nobody is quite sure how or if the two promotions will co-exist on Destination America moving forward, it is an intriguing situation that can only be good for professional wrestling.

Ring Rust Radio's Take

When someone excels in the way Cole has on the indie scene, the focus inevitably shifts toward WWE. Cole has essentially done it all in ROH and has nothing left to prove. Meanwhile, NXT is the hottest brand in wrestling and features many Superstars who made a name for themselves as independent workers.

Cole acknowledged that WWE is very much on his radar, but he also isn't in a hurry to make the move because he is still enjoying his time in ROH:

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Of course I have entertained the idea of working with WWE someday. NXT is indeed the epic catalyst or best shot to getting up to the main roster. With the way things are going with Ring of Honor and how good they have been to me since the injury from 2010, I am not even thinking about WWE right now. I am totally focused on what we got going on with Ring of Honor.

I am still young—I am 25 years old—[and]the relationship with Ring of Honor and New Japan is fantastic for me. The fact Ring of Honor just got this television deal has really changed the game. You never know, if Ring of Honor continues to grow the way it is, it will be a legitimate place for guys to make a living in pro wrestling for years to come.

Ring of Honor is the place I call home, but like they say in pro wrestling, never say never.

"

Based on the impact that guys such as Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Neville have made under the WWE umbrella already, it seems inevitable that Cole will follow in their footsteps at some point.

Whether it happens in one year or five years, Cole has WWE Superstar written all over him, and it is difficult to imagine him being anything less than an enormous success.

B/R Article

Adam Cole Talks Ring of Honor's Move to Destination America, WWE NXT and More (via Brandon Galvin)

Ring Rust Radio's Season 8 Fantasy WWE Standings

1. Donald Wood: 192.5

2. Mike Chiari: 107.5

3. Joe Arcidiacono: 95

4. Brandon Galvin: 60

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio. Catch the latest episode in the player below (some language NSFW).

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