ALI's WWE 2K14 Universe

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Punk, Bryan Set the Stage for MITB Showdown

ALIN Writing Staff | ALIN Sports Entertainment

When he did the impossible by defeating Brock Lesnar against all odds, Daniel Bryan determined his own fate and earned an undisputed title shot against CM Punk for the WWE Championship. Punk introduced the newly-designed gold on Raw the night after his disqualification win against Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

Nose-to-nose in the ring, Punk and Bryan took part in a heated exchange. Bryan said that he had tremendous respect for Punk, whose championship reign now borders on legendary. "Over the past year," Bryan said, "you have taken on the who's-who of the WWE and emerged each time as the victor each time. It's a great streak, but all streaks come to an end. At Money in the Bank, I'm leaving with your gold."

Surely, it will be a chaotic fight between these two for the most prestigious piece of hardware in the business when they meet at this month's PPV -- now available for the low, low price of $9.99!

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Bray Wyatt Makes an Impressive WWE Debut

ALIN Writing Staff | ALIN Sports Entertainment

After haunting the deepest recesses of NXT and taking out most of his competition throughout the WWE's minor league, the enigmatic Bray Wyatt has emerged into the main line-up to terrorize the superstars with the help of his ghoulish "Family." In his first Raw match, he defeated Dean Ambrose in a hellacious steel cage match. We can expect good (and bad, in a much different sense of the word) things from this man in the future. He's the embodiment of chaos and a walking contradiction; in many ways, The Undertaker of the new generation.

Wyatt's haunting words: "I have no followers. I have only brothers and sisters, all in the name of cause. People are sheep, you understand me. They can't lead themselves, they need to be led. People buy and sell fear. They worship war, they crave war, but I'm not afraid of their wars. I created war. And I think it's time for the masses to wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP! Wake up and look at this lie they're living in, man! The world is deteriorating between their toes and they do nothing about it. They only stand there. They whisper and wonder but they never do anything about it. I've seen it all in my dreams and in my thoughts and above everything else I understand that this is not a beginning; it's the end."

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AJ is Gunning for the Gold

ALIN Writing Staff | ALIN Sports Entertainment

It's been an up-and-down year for young AJ Lee. She's seen the highest that this industry has to offer, setting a WWE record for the longest reign as Diva's Champion in history. She's also seen its lows, with a number of consecutive losses in her determined, admirable quest to retake what sees as rightfully hers. She has dominated an entire division, she said, and clawed her way back up to the top of the ladder. There's only one obstacle remaining in her way: newly-crowned WWE Champion, Natalya.

These two are set for a collision course at Money in the Bank that will bring with it a long history of emotions. AJ is a fighter, no doubt about that, but Natalya isn't a pushover. She's beaten AJ before and she was trained by the First Family of Professional Wrestling. When these two ladies meet, they will leave it all in the ring and set the example for the rest of their division. A division, which has just received its newest competitor - the fiercely intense Paige.

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[wiscowilz]

Looks good.

Now correct me if I'm wrong but did you continue your 2K14 Universe into the 2K15 game?

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Sure did. Trying to keep continuity between the two as close as possible, but that's already impossible because of some characters missing and low CAW count on '15. Since my whole gig as always been of a visual variety, 2K15 speaks my language. I just wish they hadn't removed instant replay feature (what an asinine decision, 2K!) because I could get some truly gorgeous shots. Oh well; maybe next year.

I did run into a problem where 2K15 reset everything I had after I was a couple months into this universe so one major result changed (you'll see shortly; it directly affects MITB and I had to conjure up a way around it without having to re-do a lot). I really hope this doesn't happen again.

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HBK to take on the Roman Empire

ALIN Writing Staff | ALIN Sports Entertainment

On the eve of Money in the Bank, Shawn Michaels did what he's done best for twenty years: push buttons.

The World Heavyweight Champion, following a non-title match on Smackdown! against Dolph Ziggler, took to the microphone and cut a ruthless promo against his competitor, Roman Reigns. Michaels' relentless verbal assault against Roman Reigns. The cocky champion puts his title on the line against the young newcomer whose meteoric rise to the top, said Michaels, reminds him of a young HBK. "But Roman," he said, "there's only room for one, and 'ole HBK ain't done yet."

Reigns did not show in person to react. Instead, he tweeted a response that was simple and to the point.



Come Sunday, we'll know for sure who the better hunter is.

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Rumors and News:

Spoiler

- There's a lot of speculation circling that reborn nWo might not last for a variety of reasons. Odds are good that a split comes sooner rather than later.
- On the NXT front, the Tag Champions Men from Hell were forced to vacate the titles because of a serious (real life) injury to Mitch Asters aka Rage, who was involved in a bad three-car accident earlier this week. He is expected to make a full recovery, but there is no time table for his return at this time.
- Staying in NXT, we can expect more call-ups soon as we hit the end of the summer. Next month's Summerslam pre-show is expected see a WWE Contract match. Front-runners for the WWE roster spot include Rusev and Big E. Given that Rusev's character plays right into global instability, odds are good that it will be him.
- The short return of Stone Cold Steve Austin to the screen may be shorter than expected. Rumors have it that he's nursing injuries and may make an exit, possibly for good. The current dirt suggests that he will face Triple H or Randy Orton at Summerslam.
- Speaking of Summerslam, we can confirm that the World Heavyweight and WWE Championships are scheduled to be unified. This was originally expected to be later in the year, possibly as late as the Royal Rumble, but the time table was moved up by creative.

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MITB Results: Damien Sandow v. Curtis Axel

ALIN Writing Staff | ALIN Sports Entertainment

In the first match of July's Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View, newly-minted WWE superstar and son of Hall of Famer Mr. Perfect, Curtis Axel, took on Damien Sandow. The culmination of a month long feud between two mid-carders struggling to find themselves with the crowd opened the event. In an even-paced match, Axel and Sandow tested each other's wrestling acumen and provided a solid opening contest.



Axel looked to have the fight contained when he set up Sandow for the hangman's facebuster only to have it countered and the match prolonged. Sandow fought back, showing strong heart.



In the end,

Spoiler

Axel capitalized when Sandow missed on a high-risk attempt. Axel finished off Sandow and picked up the win via pinfall. It will be interesting to see from here where these two men go. Axel appears to be on the precipice of a long run in the WWE after he saw impressive success in the minor league NXT, including two reigns as NXT Champion before winning a call-up.