5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 7/20/15

Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon. Lot's to get to. We're coming off the heels from last night's WWE Battleground and now we're on the road to WWE SummerSlam. Tonight's Raw emanates from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. We're on the road to SummerSlam. A legend is back another is expected to be on the show tonight. In one of the five points in this article I'll give you my FULL review of last night's Battleground event.

1.) WWE Battleground PPV Review 

I enjoyed the R-Truth/King Barrett match. Despite the fact I didn't have that much interest in the feud I thought the match was pretty solid and thank god Barrett won the match. I thought the opener of Randy Orton and Sheamus was good and the crowd in St. Louis was great tonight. I think the Prime Time Players/New Day match was better then their one from Money in the Bank. Don't have a problem with PTP retaining here they continue to grow each week and they deserve a longer title reign sorry New Day fans (I am one too). The Roman Reigns & Bray Wyatt match was one of the best matches on the show and love the ending of the match and not only did Wyatt picked up the victory, but at the same time there's a Wyatt Family reunion with Luke Harper. The Divas three way was okay it was nice seeing Charlotte and Sasha getting that spotlight on a main roster WWE Special on the WWE Network. Thought they made the right decision letting Charlotte submit a Bella Twin. The John Cena and Kevin Owens match was great what else is new and no I don't think Kevin Owens is negatively effected by tapping out he's a HEEL AND HE'S SUPPOSED TO LOSE! The main event was I thought it was going to be and then Undertaker came out and I marked out I have no problem with Brock and Taker at SummerSlam. Overall I thought Battleground was one of the best PPV's of the year and I can't wait for SummerSlam.

2.) What's next for John Cena and Kevin Owens? 

John Cena and Kevin Owens had another stellar match last night and now everybody is losing their minds because they think it's all over for Kevin Owens. I have to disagree with that stand point. There was no way that Kevin Owens was buried. Cena obviously is up 2-1 in this series and I doubt that this feud is over. I think for Raw tonight Cena will have another US Open Challenge. I think this time Dean Ambrose will accept the challenge time or maybe Stardust that's my guess in case they actually do the open challenge tonight. I'm sure Cena will have a talking segment, but tonight is about planting the seeds for SummerSlam this year. There's many questions as to what we'll see from both Owens and Cena at this year's SummerSlam, but I think tonight we'll get a great talking segment with both guys tonight. Owens is not done. He's not buried. Take a chill pill and enjoy the ride.

3.) Wyatt Reunion 

Bray Wyatt defeated Roman Reigns in a very physical match last night and Luke Harper reunited with his Wyatt Family brother. In theory you would think that Reigns would try to go after Wyatt. I would think maybe we'll see Wyatt and Harper vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam. There was rumors about Sting possibly coming in for SummerSlam this year and fighting Bray Wyatt and if that happens I'm fine with that actually I'll mark out for that. I think Wyatt's performance last night proved why he's in the position he's in the company. Wyatt can lose, but at the same time he's put on amazing performances and people still care about him. I'm really interested in what they do with this feud tonight on Raw. I think we may see Roman Reigns vs. Luke Harper, but besides that I don't think Bray Wyatt will be in a match on Raw tonight, but he will lay out Roman Reigns tonight.

4.) Divas Revolution 

Charlotte made Brie Bella tap out in the divas three way last night at Battleground. Shared a special moment with her father Ric Flair last night in the video above. I have a feeling that Nikki Bella will be defending her Divas Championship at SummerSlam against Charlotte or we can have whole malay and have that triple threat tag team match. I'm not going to be nit picky with this particular storyline because I want to sit back and see where they go with this because it's so subjective and there's so many different directions this storyline can go. Congrats Charlotte and let's see what happens on Raw tonight.


5.) Taker vs. Brock 

Short and sweet. It's pretty simple that Brock will take on Taker at SummerSlam. This about Taker getting not only revenge for his brother, but also avenging the streak. The next four to five weeks of TV will tell a great story about where we're heading to especially not only SummerSlam, but also WrestleMania. I'm sure Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar will have a lot to say tonight and hopefully we'll see Taker tonight.

Hope you enjoyed this week's WWE Raw preview. Hope you enjoyed Battleground

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday on Chicagolandsportsradio.com from 10am-1pm CT

A.J Lee Still In WWE Last We Checked.

Stop me if you heard this before but A.J Lee is once again rumored to be on the way out of WWE. It has been a constant rumor in wrestling websites since Punk left in January. I don’t hate wrestling websites that deal in rumors and behind the scenes news. I find it interesting as a wrestling fan but on this topic, they are all looking like the little boy that cried wolf at this point. Still based on some recent actions of A.J Lee and her husband C.M Punk this time the rumor may final come true of her leaving after TLC. A.J’s speech when she won the Slammy for Diva of the year felt like a good-bye message. Her promos that felt like shoots on the Bella twins were another indicator she might be out the door. A.J mentioned a number of females in the company the majority from NXT and not the Total Divas portion of the roster. Paige is going to be on the new season, but can obviously work in the ring so she doesn’t count. 

While A.J Lee’s departure from the company potentially is sad and a big loss for fans of women that can actual have decent feuds and matched it seemed inevitable to happen. When you consider the story her husband told to the public it is hard to imagine how she has lasted this long in that company. She was in a terrible position you have to figure being stuck between her employer and her husband that left the company for in his and likely her mind just cause. I think personally, when the day comes that A.J leaves that her story is the one I am most interested to hear in wrestling right now. It has to be an incredibly difficult place for her to be.

Nikki Bella made some post on instagram almost whining and complaining at the fact fans seems to like A.J more than her. In addition, saying that A.J was mean and difficult and a few other things. She kept it PG though not saying the B-Word, which was perfectly acceptable for her sister Brie in the feud with Stephanie. In a perfect world the feud that could have made the Diva’s division more relevant than it ever has been would have been Stephanie vs. A.J Lee. I made no secret of my desire to see this match at Wrestlemania 31. In light of the Punk interview, I knew that dream was as good as dead. It would have been the most in-depth feud in WWE history with the back-story of Stephanie hating A.J’s husband legitimately. Sadly, when you hear all that was involved it would have been a near impossible match to have happen.

It would have been a dream match for A.J at one time who has admitted her love for Stephanie in the past and not even being able to talk to her when she first arrived in the WWE. That was a longtime ago though and you have to figure given how their respective husbands have a legitimate dislike to hate for one another that has to have trickled down and influenced their relationship. It only makes logical sense for that to happen.

People seem more concerned with people chanting C.M Punk at the sight of A.J Lee on WWE programming. In addition concerned with when she actually would walk out the door than what she was actually doing in the show. Her rivalry with Paige likely suffered from all that was going on around it. It is a shame we likely never see her have matches with the likes of Charlotte or Bayley in NXT. It feels like the end of the story though for A.J Lee with the WWE.

Her appearing with Punk at his announcement of joining the UFC seemed like a clear sign that she likely isn’t long for sticking around in the WWE. Punk did say that she still works there in his presser for the UFC but you get the impression it won’t be for long. Punk has been doing a serious media blitz after the UFC announcement. He was on Fox Sports One last night and is scheduled to be at ESPN soon as well. He recently was interviewed in Rolling Stone. In every interview, he is asked about if he would ever return to WWE and the answer is a simple never.

I feel like the Punk situation has robbed us of a few good years of A.J Lee’s career and a match that would have been truly epic with Stephanie McMahon. This for A.J at one time would have been living out a fantasy for her by all accounts of her feelings about Stephanie.

I understand the concept of family first though and C.M Punk is A.J’s husband and her family. WWE claims to be a family but that family has become very corporate in the last decade. It is no longer the McMahon family wrestling business, it is a sports entertainment publicly traded company and that is what Vince McMahon has made it.

It rather makes me sick that the last image of A.J Lee in the WWE will likely be her being pinned by Nikki Bella. A.J earned her place where many will question if Nikki has really earned her spot. Talent may not be sexually transmitted but a spot on the card when you date the golden boy of the WWE likely is. It could be worse I suppose she could lose to Brie who makes her sister look like she has some talent in comparison.

Still it is not the fairy tale finish that another great diva Trish Stratus had. She ended her WWE career winning the WWE Women’s Championship on her last night in the company as an active full-time competitor. A.J Lee still can lay claim to the longest reign as Diva’s Champion. There is some irony that she never fit that Diva’s mold.

It maybe good-bye to A.J Lee and you hope and pray that people like Paige Charlotte and others can save this division from becoming a total joke moving forward.

So... thanks for making crazy cool A.J Lee.

Raw and Survivor Series: Talking Points

It was an eventful Survivor Series for a number of reasons and an interesting Monday Night Raw in the aftermath of the special event. We saw the long anticipated debut of Sting a return to television for Daniel Bryan. Many things going on but not necessarily making the product better. I did for first time for me DVR Raw and it made avoiding Larry the Cable Guy segments. I have been little out of the mix with my birthday on the weekend. Back at it full force now with the five things were talking about coming out of Raw and Survivor Series.

1. Sting is Here: I admit that I am in the minority in not caring about Sting being here. In fact even a little angry that he is in a sense that he for me is a traitor after staying away as long as he did he returns at the very end of his career to join the company he was always against in WCW. That is not opinion of the majority though who seem genuinely excited to see Sting final here. It appears he is on conclusion course with Triple H for Wrestlemania. This would answer the question about the Undertaker returning as likely a no. Sting after affecting the main event at Survivor Series he did not appear on Raw.

2. Bellas are Bad and A.J is Still Here: So the Bellas screwed over A.J Lee and Nikki became the Diva’s Champion. Most felt it was the exit of A.J Lee from WWE but she was back on Raw and faced a now heel Brie Bella. It appears the WWE has just given up on the Bella vs. Bella feud. A.J perhaps had the line of the night on Raw when she informed Nikki and Brie that talent is not sexual transmitted. The Irony of whom all these three ladies are with makes the line quite interesting.

3. Dolph A Top Guy Again?  Can we finally believe that WWE has finally got behind Dolph Ziggler? It certainly seems like it based on the Survivor Series and follow up on Raw that he is being booked as a high-end babyface. He being paired with Cena is a big issue though as we have seen many times being tied to Cena can be a death sentence at some point. For now, Ziggler is riding high and skeptical fans can still feel that way based on history. This all being stated it has been the strongest push he has been given since cashing in his briefcase to become World Champion.

4.  Mizdow Remains A Huge Hit and Tag-Team Champion: It seems like Damien Mizdow is over and WWE is starting to get in line with his fan reactions that have been growing for months and months. This gimmick is really working with the Miz as people genuinely hate the Miz and love Sandow even prior to this run as Mizdow. It is nice to see, this should lead to the break-up of the team and a major mid-card angle for the show. 

5. Roman Reigns Declares A Return Point: Almost lost in everything was yet another hey Roman Reigns in injured, but still coming back promo at the pay-per-view. Reigns claims he will be back by the end of the year. It is likely after the TLC event in just 3 weeks as he made it clear the end of next week. Reigns will have a ton of work to do just to get back to the spot he left with in the company. Many people took him being out as an opportunity and at top of that list is Dean Ambrose.

In other news, the Anonymous G.M gimmick is back. Yet I thought we made it clear that was Horns waggle. In any case, it appears we are going to have a series of rotating G.Ms until some angle allows the Authority to return which will eventually happen. In the end, there is a lot buzz about Sting but this is no solution to wrestling’s problems. People, who claim to want change, pop for nostalgia acts like Sting. That is the problem fans sending mixed messages of change but still cheering for Sting and other people well past their prime.

Raw Preview: Brock Is Back On Raw

Can the WWE do anything at all to convince us John Cena is not going to get his ass kicked as he did  last time is the biggest question going into the final show before Night of Champions. I really remain unconvinced and think the build for this re-match has been done wrong 100% from the start and should have focused around Cena never quitting. If this were, being built as an “I Quit Match” this Sunday far more people would have mixed feelings about the result of the match. As it stands and with news of Lesnar re-working his contract it is a foregone conclusion he will win. An "I Quit Match," would have been fantastic just as it was with Mick Foley and The Rock back in the day. The reason was that no one believed anyone could make Mick Foley quit not even The Rock. It is likely true of Superman John Cena in terms of even his detractors admitting he has never quit in a match. So, it would have been compelling.

This idea of John Cena embracing the dark side has been done to death. Even with the greatness of Paul Heyman delivering the message, no one believes Cena will ever turn heel. Vince McMahon is said to be heavily involved in the booking of Cena means it is not happening at all. It is an old tired angle that we have seen far too many times and with Cena being so public about never turning heel, it takes away from any belief that he will.

The Bella’s train wreck feud continues full steam ahead despite the two not being in a match at night of Champions as of yet. Nikki currently is in a triple threat with Paige and A.J Lee with Brie on the sidelines for this match. Safe bet if she remains there after tonight she will still be involved in the match and likely cost her sister the Diva’s Championship or worse help her win it as some form of trying to bring them back together.

You have to wonder seriously if these girls were not dating two of the top stars in the company would they be where they are now. Maybe based on the success of Total Divas that is underway for its third season, but that said it all just does not seem right with Nikki and Brie being involved in a semi-main event angle. It feels flat out wrong to be honest. Trish and Lita at one time earned the way to main event status and you felt happy for them. In this case it seems like something that was handed to them on a silver platter.

As for the rest of the night of Champions card we have the Rusev and Henry feud heating up off Smackdown where Lana through powder in the face of Henry during the dreaded arm wrestling segment. So expect Mark to be looking for some payback heading into Sunday. Dolph and The Miz continue their feud with extras and all for the I-C Title.

Really for all the talk of Night of Champions having to be this big show to help secure renewals for the WWE Network it has really come off as just another boring WWE special event that is lacking any real sizzle. Rollin vs. Reigns will be on this card likely. It was confirmed that Randy Orton and Jericho would have a match on Sunday prior to Jericho going back to be a rock star with Fozzy.

It just is not a compelling card in the slightest and the WWE really seems to be heading down a terrible path right now. Nothing seems to be capturing the attention of the audience at all right now.

The one WWE Superstar that seems to be gaining the most from all of this is Dean Ambrose as he is disconnected from the product while off shooting a movie for WWE Films. When he comes back I expect there will be a monstrous response for him. Right now he seems to have even gained some steam with fans by being away for this time period. Guess John Cena is wrong you really do not have to be there every single week at least not to get over with fans.

I do feel we need to see John Cena get some licks in on Brock Lesnar prior to Sunday for any of us believe that he will have a snowball’s chance of winning. Will see how it all goes down tonight during Monday Night Raw.

From Live ROH To On The Couch Watching Raw

We took a bit of a break over the weekend as I was at the All-Star Extravaganza being a wrestling fan more than a journalist. I did do a piece on Ring of Honor for the folks at Between the Ropes as there was a lot of drama tied to the card up here in Toronto with Michael Elgin dropping the ROH title.  Jay Briscoe is not just the second two time ROH Champion in history. Aside from all the drama with that, I got to see Adam Cole and Young Bucks who are not just my personal favorites but are some of the best workers not in WWE today.

The Young Bucks I will gladly declare are the best tag-team wrestling on the planet today. People will say they are two small for the WWE, but I would say they make up for it with an exciting move set that is ever expanding. They are almost unable to have a bad match at this point. Cole has grown in the last few years to be a fantastic heel and worker in the ring. It may still be awhile before we see any of these three on a Monday night but based on the last few Monday’s we could use some fresh ideas and or faces.

To make the transition from live Ring of Honor wrestling to Monday Night Raw will be interesting. Especially seeing as this is a streak of two weeks in a row where Raw has been awful. Can they make it three in a row? After Michael Sam got a job with Cowboys and passed on WWE’s invitation, they kept in the gutter and came up with “Plan B” of Jerry Springer. WWE has  Springer set to be in a segment with Brie and Nikki Bella. This has train wreck waiting to happen written all over it.

Total Divas is back and I barely could get through the first episode of the third season of the show. I am over the whole concept and maybe resentful that it is leaking into regular WWE programming. I just do not find the show very interesting and it has just stopped being entertaining to me. I may be alone in this will see how season three does in the ratings as it appears there is lots of contrived cat fighting and forced fake drama ahead for this season.

NXT is set to have its third special event of the week that is something to look forward too. The main event 4-way match is the one clear standout match on paper. Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd and NXT Champion Adrian Neville as part of that championship match.  The rest of the card on paper does not look as good as the past efforts for the NXT crew has offered. Will see how it turns out with the show set to take place on the significant date of September 11.

So that is about it. Condo on the Moon is back after a minute to catch our breath. Now if my voice will come back to 100% that would be great. Cheering for Adam Cole and Young Bucks can be tough on the vocal chords.

 

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Raw Notebook: Another Lost Oppurtunity To Entertain

Another week and another Raw that was not worth a damn would pretty much be my reaction to last night. An opening segment that again was just awful from the start as Chris Jericho hosted a "Highlight Reel," that just never seemed to end. Not just that but it at the end of the day made very little sense with Triple H threatening to call off John Cena and Brock Lesnar’s re-match. Cena countering with the fact he would sue and a bunch of other guys making their claims to be the champion. All of this took close to 18 minutes as well when it probably should have taken more like 8-10.

The amount of cheesy and uncreative plugs for the network within this segment I could do with out as well. Not to mention the Canadian version of the network is 11.99 and as of yet not offered in my area and if it was the Canadian version blows with next to no archived footage at all. In the end these 9.99 jokes and constant references have gone back to being annoying. This marks the week that initial subscribers would be renewing had they signed up on the original week the network launched. Raw offered little for them to be optimistic about the product in the next 6 months.

I will say all of the marketing we see now for the WWE Network is much closer to what I had thought we would have seen from the launch. Maybe had it been at the time I would be less critical of it as annoying as it might be it made sense for a new product. It really feels like the WWE launched this thing and fell asleep for 6 months thinking this network was going to sell itself with little needed on their behalf. Which is so unlike the WWE that over promotes everything yet they under promoted perhaps the most important product they have created in the last 20 years makes no sense at all.

Once again, we seem to have a great divide on the whole Nikki Bella and Brie Bella storyline. I again thought on a show that lacked anything good Nikki Bella was the exception to the rule. Were the Growing up Bella segments just nonsense in general? Sure they were, but Nikki never the less sold them like a champ. It all had a very 90210 feel to it and I could easily see the Bella’s as characters on that show.

It would lead to an in-ring segment in which Nikki would be named the number one contender to the Diva’s Title which makes sense seeing as she helped Steph win. It would lead to the Bella’s yelling at each other, than A.J Lee came out, and this segment rather changed focus for me. A.J pointed out to Stephanie that she was due a re-match thanks to her contract and much like John Cena claimed earlier about his title match. Which is really lacking creativity on part of WWE, but never the less A.J claimed to be the rightful number one contender. Paige would come out into this mess as well and honestly add little to things. Nikki would demand her sister quit the WWE and she refused instead pushing Nikki into Paige and taking off. Leaving A.J to pick up the Diva's Title and skips around right into Stephanie and they have a stare down and Stephanie demand’s A.J give her the belt, which she did. Therefore, it appears the WWE is slowly giving up on the women and combining these stories for one match at Night of Champions. Perhaps the most interesting thing was the teasing of an A.J and Stephanie feud and this has not been the first time. Briefly, the two got involved in A.J’s time as General Manager of Raw that lead to nothing. Maybe the dream match is alive for Wrestlemania with A.J Lee vs. Stephanie and this is the start? I need something to be optimistic about after this terrible show.

Speaking of terrible shows we had a match filled with people on Total Diva’s that was a total train wreck so we have those to look forward to as season three of Total Diva’s debuts on E this coming Sunday. I honestly use to follow the show, but I really am not sure if I will bother this season. Rosa Mendez has been added to the cast and I could care less.

There was for the second week in a row not a match on this show that mattered in the slightest. In that, finding mix between being entertaining and actual wrestling they have went far too heavy on the entertainment side and this is even by the WWE’s standards that slant that way. This was the last Raw prior to Monday Night Football returning next week and maybe that has something to do with promoting they have invited the first openly gay NFL player to Raw next week in Michael Sam. Stephanie  has even written a public letter to Sam inviting him to attend.  I would suggest the WWE try promoting their first openly gay wrestler Darren Young instead that might be an idea. Maybe that is where this bizarre angle is supposed to go. If I am Sam’s agent, I tell him to stay miles and miles from this, if you ever want a chance to play in the NFL in your life. I do not think the league would be happy about a player that is used as a sideshow to make the league look bad on WWE programming. Call it a hunch on my part.

The Miz and his train wreck Hollywood gimmick gets more ridiculous by the week. Rusev and Mark Henry feud is back on track. While Swagger gets Zeb back and appears to be going down the ladder in a feud with Bo Dallas. We are supposed to care in a feud with USO’s and Stardust and Goldust as heels, but I really do not. Adam Rose and Zack Ryder both with matches on the card and there was not two moon’s in the sky. In the Rose match, the Bunny of all people taking out Heath Slater at ringside causing the distraction to have Titus O’Neil be pinned highlighted it. The main event of the show was a drawn out long and quite dull 6-man tag match. All of the folks from the opening segment with Jericho, Reigns and Cena facing the Authority team of Orton Rollins and Kane. It was to long and ultimately boring and to boot made no sense to the storyline they were telling. John Cena was trying to save his title opportunity by proving to Triple H that he is ready for Lesnar tags in Roman Reigns to finish the match. I say, bravo, to yet another awful conclusion to the second week of horrible Raw programming in a row.

I blame myself as much as I do the WWE for expecting them to have a compelling program on a night that they expect numbers to be down because of the Labour Day Weekend holiday. Still, Raw is on quite the pathetic roll when it should be trying to peak with all the concerns with the network. Raw was once again awful.

 

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Raw Launches A New Era in WWE

It was a much-anticipated Raw coming off a very memorable Summerslam. In the end, the show had a few highlights but did not seem to live up to hype unlike Summerslam. The show boiled down to three big things. It was a strange Vegas crowd that cheered Ryback in a six-man tag to insane levels.

The show opened with Stephanie coming out to Daniel Bryan’s music in her new Steph! Steph! Steph! T-Shirt. She talked about how great Summerslam was and bragged about her victory over Brie Bella. She said that she did not do it alone and thanked her husband Triple H for his love and support. She than introduced Nikki Bella and invited her to come out to the ring.

Nikki has her shoe come off and then has her microphone not work when she starts to cut her big heel turn moment. Nikki tries to explain why she turned on her sister. I thought Nikki was slightly better than Brie. In any case Brie would come out and say Nikki is breaking up their family and Nikki eventually slaps Brie and she goes crying to the back. For better or worse and honestly I am leaning to worse the Bella vs. Bella feud is underway. May the Lord help us all that we survive this one!

Brock Lesnar is presented with a brand new WWE Title that features the New WWE Logo that debuted on this show. Triple H and Stephanie were out to reveal the new title and present it to Brock Lesnar. He and Heyman come out and he is given the belt. All four pose for pictures on each side of the ring like Hulk Hogan use to do cupping his hand to the ear back in the day to all sides of the ring. 

Triple H and Steph would exit and Paul Heyman would cut an epic promo that would just continue to keep his streak of great promo work in tact. Heyman attempts to put over John Cena and even claims his only children are John Cena fans, which makes him sick. He does a recap of the match by repeating Suplex and repeat. It was just another epic Paul Heyman promo. It is fair to say that Paul Heyman has been the performer of the year to this point. Given the lack of appearances the New Champion, we should see a lot more of Heyman moving forward.

Last and not least earlier in the night, Seth Rollins is doing an interview with Renee Young and is showered with ice water. He turns around to see Dean Ambrose and Ambrose has a strange look on his face. Ambrose says what it is for charity and than smashes, the bucket in his face and fight breaks out.

This enraged Rollins who went to Triple H demanding that they do something to take care of Ambrose once and for all. Triple H who was talking to Kane at the time tells Rollin to relax that they were going to make a match for tonight and allow the fans to pick the stipulation. That way the blood of Ambrose would be on their hands.

In the end fans would pick a falls count anywhere match that was as crazy and wild as you night expect. These two went all over the place and perhaps topped their match the prior night. The match would end with Ambrose getting curb stomped into cinder blocks of cement and knocked Ambrose out which caused the ref to call for the bell. Kane assisted Rollins by holding Ambrose down to allow the stomp on the cement. In reality Dean Ambrose is off to do a movie so this was a nice way to go out with a great match and a legitimate explanation as to why you are out for a long period of time.

Aside from these three big parts of the show, it seems we are starting a Bo Dallas vs. Swagger feud and Rusev vs. Mark Henry feud as well. Bo came out and said Swagger let down America lost his manager but do not lose hope you just have to Bolieve. While Henry came out, challenged Rusev, and brought up his experience as an Olympian and being disgusted by what he saw last night on Summerslam.

There was some other stuff, nothing that blew you away. It was a decent Raw but might have not lived up to the hype of a hot Summerslam. We are promised a John Cena return next week. I have a theory that we are going to see a Cena vs. Lesnar re-match at Night of Champions that I feel will be an I Quit match. I gave further explanation to my thoughts on this in the Post Show of Summerslam for Between the Ropes on Sunday night.   

Will see if that is where we are heading Brock will not be on Raw; next week so will see what happens.

 

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Stephanie McMahon Is Ready To Kick Some Bella Butt

Earlier today, we had our preview of Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella coming up at Summerslam this Sunday. In that I mentioned the amount of work Stephanie had done with her husband’s personal trainer over the past few years. Now the WWE comes out with this video much as they do when Paul (Triple H) is having a big match of Stephanie in intense training. Have a look for yourself below:



This to me makes two clear points about this upcoming match. One is obvious in that Stephanie McMahon is taking this very seriously. Those who expect this match to fail to be good may end up being very surprised. I have always been under the impression that it will be. The second and maybe not quite as obvious is how the WWE is really treating this match like the Co-Main Event of Summerslam. They even have come out with merchandise that mocks Daniel Bryan’s Yes! Yes! Yes! T-Shirt’s with Steph having here own shirt in the same design and colors saying Steph! Steph! Steph! This is something here Brother Shane would often do when he had matches making parody shirts of his opponents back in the day. I do not remember if the WWE ever sold those but they are selling these ones with Stephanie. This is a great way to use up some of those shirts that would have been going to Daniel Bryan fans. A move that you could say is “Best for Business,” or maybe not.

Getting into character :))). http://t.co/YZsvX4FdHt pic.twitter.com/ZR4r0uogC0
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) August 14, 2014

In any case the WWE seems to be all in on this feud being a success. We will be having are live google hangout at 7:30 PM (Eastern) as myself and Josh Lopez will be talking all things wrestling so come back to the site and join us live.

Check out the rest of our In-Depth Summerslam previews so far: 

Stephanie vs Brie     

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins   

The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler   

Jericho vs Bray Wyatt 

Swagger vs Rusev 

 

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Summerslam: Stephanie vs Brie

This is a feud that really dates back to January of this year between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella. It at first was the side attraction to Daniel Bryan’s feud against the Authority leading into Wrestlemania 30. Since Bryan has been ruled out to injury, it has risen to be arguably the co-main event angle of Summerslam. Part of the interest and intrigue to this event has little to do with Brie Bella. This will mark the first time Stephanie as competed in a WWE in ring in over 10 years. In that time, Stephanie has had three daughters in real life with here husband Paul Lévesque (Triple H) and I think many felt we would never see Stephanie in a ring again.

That all changed when Brie Bella called Stephanie a bitch over her less than really concern for Brie Bella’s husband Daniel Bryan being injured at the time in storyline. It sparked something in people to think that perhaps we would see Stephanie return to the ring in a match. The storyline would be used to deal later with the uncertainty of Daniel Bryan’s now legit injury to his neck and lack of recovery from neck surgery. Stephanie forced Bryan to choose between the WWE World Heavyweight Title and his new wife Brie Bella’s employment with the company. Brie would take the choice out of her husband’s hands by quitting instead and slapping Stephanie in the face on the WWE event Payback.

As things turned out Bryan would legitimately have to forfeit the title, he won as his neck surgery and recovery from it did not improve. The angle would be shifted to Stephanie punishing Nikki Bella as a way of getting at the now unemployed Brie Bella. The feud would heat up again with Brie in attendance to watch her sister wrestle and she would get in a verbal altercation with Stephanie that turned physical when Brie called Stephanie a bitch yet again causing Stephanie to deliver one of her most famous slaps. Mick Foley lays claim to being the first person Stephanie every slapped. He advised her to slap him as hard as she could but not directly on the jaw. Wise advice he gave as Stephanie has been know to lay in quite the slap. Anyway, this slap would land Stephanie in hot water, as she was arrested for assault, as technically Brie was just a fan so she pressed charges. In order to drop the charges she demanded her job back and this match at Summerslam. Stephanie tearfully agreed and than turned on a dime and slapped Brie off the ring apron promising to make Stephanie her bitch at Summerslam.

This angle main evented Raw in back to back weeks and despite Brie being totally outclassed on the microphone by Stephanie this was a match people wanted to see and maybe still do but likely not as much as they did before Monday. What happened on Monday with Stephanie bringing out a physical therapist named Megan Miller having Miller admit to an affair she had been having with her client Daniel Bryan was just going to far with this. Brie would attack Miller and Stephanie leading to her own arrest. It was unnecessary and took away from this great and rare long-term build to a match.

Many have wondered what kind of a match we will get once this match makes it to the ring. After all, it has been 10 years since Stephanie has wrestled and Brie Bella herself has not had a match in several months after this angle driven departure from the company. Call me crazy but I think it will be better than you think. Stephanie has worked out for years with Triple H’s personal real life trainer since having the couple’s third child. She also has taken up Jiu-Jitsu learning it from Rener Gracie the husband of former WWE Diva Eve Torres. Her daughters had been taking a program for kids and Stephanie was said to have taken an interest and learned some things as well. Gracie is also known for working with Ronda Rousey and C.M Punk.

While Brie has been, helped in real life by her husband Daniel Bryan considered one of the best wrestlers in pro wrestling today. She has shown improvements in the ring as a result. Therefore, in theory this could be a decent match and not strictly a cat-fight of hair pulling and slaps. It may turn out to be that but the potential is there for it to be more than that.

At first, many speculated this would be a match for Brie to earn her job back with a victory, as the story has played out this has not been the case. This opens the door widely to the idea of Stephanie actually winning this match. There were rumors that Nikki Bella would actually turn on her sister as part of how this all would take place. Keeping with the rumor mill the WWE has been less than impressed with Brie’s work in the build-up to this feud and it makes you wonder if spinning off into a feud of Bella vs. Bella is a direction the company would still want to go. Also with Stephanie, landing a pedigree on both Bella’s it makes that also seems a little less likely or at least logical.

Another question is when and if we see Daniel Bryan get involved in all this. Bryan now being brought into this angle with his loyalty to his wife questioned makes you wonder if he now appears involved in this. He is not ready to return to the ring to wrestle. In fact may well require more surgery as his neck has not heeled correctly causing him to lose strength in on of his arms. It was also revealed that he since has discovered and injury to his shoulder that also could require going under the knife. I question if him being involved is wise given he really can’t return to active duty in the WWE. Does it not make sense to save such a moment for when he is ready to return and fight?  

Despite all of these issues at the finish line to the build to this angle, I remain very invested and interested in seeing it. Perhaps it is just me but I am not rooting for Stephanie to get was it coming to her. I almost would like to see her win at this point. Which the door is clearly the door is now open too. I also would not mind seeing Stephanie in a match at Wrestlemania against A.J Lee the current and defending Diva’s Champion. A feud between these two would have a lot of real life drama tied to it with A.J being married to C.M Punk and Stephanie being believed to be one of the people behind the scenes glad that he is gone. Add in the fact that at one time and maybe still is, the idol of one A.J Lee. In the past, Lee has talked about how she finds it is hard for her just engaging in a conversation with Stephanie as she is so excited to be talking with her and it brings out the fan in her that idolized her. Sounds like a good idea to me.

What I think we can say, or should say, is that this match with Brie should be a one and done type affair which should mean Brie gets the win. I would not bet the house on it though as the WWE logic might suggest having Stephanie win. If there is a plan in place to have her wrestle again at Wrestlemania she would have some legitimacy to her match against a different female opponent.  Not that she would need it but that is a line of thinking. Brie’s failure to hold up her end of this feud might be a reason to see Stephanie win as well.

Whatever the case you can make the argument this is the most anticipated women’s wrestling match since the retirement match of Trish Stratus in Toronto against Lita at Unforgiven in 2006.

It has been the match most people have expressed interest in seeing, beyond the Brock and Cena battle for the title. We have poll on website here that reflects that.

Check out all the rest of our Summerslam Previews so far below:

Bray Wyatt vs Jericho
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins
The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler 

 

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! 

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Raw Preview: 5 Things We Expect To Happen?

We are just under two weeks out from Summerslam and we have two more Monday Night Raw’s to go. Therefore, what can we expect aside from endless reminders to purchase the WWE Network? One thing we do not expect is to see John Cena who is off being a movie star again this week. I thought that was the new gimmick for the Miz. We will see Paul Heyman and likely Brock Lesnar along side him Paul did a great interview with Brian Fritz on Between the Ropes about his DVD/BluRay that is coming out this Tuesday. Here are five things we expect to see on Raw tonight:

1. Expect another great Paul Heyman promo and maybe Brock Lesnar beating someone up in the absence of John Cena to make a point. I do not expect a match to happen just someone getting F-5ed and suffering the rather of Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman has been doing a wonderful job of selling this match and expectation is for that to continue.

2. The introduction of the A.J injury angle as part of her feud with Paige to the Raw audience that does not bother to watch Smackdown Paige did a number on her on Smackdown and maybe finally is a full-fledged heel? In any case, this feud for the Diva’s Championship has taken a backseat to the Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella feud.

3. Dean Ambrose to be back on Raw where he belongs and getting his plans for Summerslam made official. Expect him and Seth Rollins to get into it once again leading to a match at Summerslam maybe even for that briefcase that Seth holds with the Money and the Bank Contract.

4. More “Bitch Slaps” and smack talk between Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon. I expect Steph to book both Bella’s in a match where they are out numbered and over matched. I think ultimately we are heading to a Bella sisters feud coming out of this match with Stephanie getting the win at Summerslam. So seeing the Bellas together and united, the next couple of weeks will make it a bigger surprise for some when Nikki turns on her sister.

5. Roman Reigns need to get his Mojo back after taking a heck of a beating from Randy Orton. Some might have heard that these two might have some legitimate heat between them based on Randy kind of dogging it in house show matches between the two. This feud may well be going on in the ring and outside of it. For my money Reigns needs to get some measure of revenge between now and Summerslam.

Other things we should see is more build to Wyatt against Chris Jericho. Perhaps some clarity on where the Tag-Team titles our heading for Summerslam. Expect to see more U-S-A Chants as the Swagger against Rusev build continues.Have the match made for an Intercontinental title contest between Miz and Dolph Ziggler made official for Summerslam. We should expect some more character development on the new trio of Xavier Woods, Kofi and Big E as they continue to evolve into the nation 2.0?  A crazy Goldust and Stardust promo and Damien Sandow dressed in some locally offensive costume.

All in all that should all be part of you Raw three hour tour.

 

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! 

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Ladies Night On Raw: Steph and Brie Feud In Main Event Spot

I walked away from last night’s Raw with one thought in my mind that basically the Co-Main Event for Summerslam is Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon. It is quite the revelation to come too, but honestly can you argue it is not the case. The build up to making the match that I honestly have wanted to see for some time. Part of the reason for that I think is the fact Stephanie has not wrestled a match in over a decade. Her last match to the best of my recollection was against her father a week before her real life wedding to Paul Lévesque AkA Triple H.

Will get to what to expect from Stephanie in the ring, which might be better than you think in a minute, but let’s talk about the build to this match. It has been a slow and steady build that began even prior to Daniel Bryan’s injury and they still carried on with it.

They worked around the Bryan injury and still ran with this angle as Brie in the end got fired for basically no reason with Bryan unable to return and was stripped of the title anyway despite Brie quitting to save Bryan from having to choose between his wife and the title.

I think the best selling point to this angle on a personal level to me is my mom who is not a wrestling fan in the slightest and her only really exposure to it is me. She has been interested in watching this angle just based on Stephanie alone. Even the most casual wrestling fan to someone who is aware of wrestling knows who she is and she is very good at what she does.

For those who just dismiss Stephanie as a character are just simply hating on her based on her real life position in the company but she is for my money the best female performer on microphone in this company and has been for quite sometime. A.J Lee is the only female in this company that can even comes close to her in terms of skill on the microphone.

Brie Bella is not a terrible wrestler her acting skills are not exactly the greatest and that is being kind. She is only mildly better than her sister Nikki who is terrible at acting in any sense. In this angle they have kept her talking to a minimum. She has been able to drop some naughty language in the PG WWE landscape.

The match itself is never going to live up to this tremendous build-up it has been given. It will not be as bad as you think though I believe. Brie is as I mentioned getting better in the ring and really showed growth in the time she was broken apart from her sister who was out with an injury. Daniel Bryan giving her some pointers has not hurt at all. Stephanie has recently been training in Jiu JitSu, her girls have been getting trained in it by Rener Gracie, who is married to former WWE Diva Eve. Stephanie has been learning as well. So this alone might make Steph a more component in-ring competitor. This is all assuming this is more than a slap fest cat fight which it has been in the build up to that point.

This has been one of several female angles that WWE has been running with in the last month or two. Even the Diva’s title program with A.J Lee and Paige has taken a backseat to this angle. This is not surprising considering even big angles have been positioned behind this feud between the two.

Another part of this is so many times Steph has been positioned against male performers where they are basically rendered helpless in the WWE where a man hitting a woman is not happening in this PG era. So Brie is able to in a sense be the one to get revenge on Stephanie through Brie.

What is the outcome of this angle? Some have suggested perhaps will spill off into a Bella vs. Bella feud with Nikki turning heel on her sister. The logic of this thought is a little flawed but maybe the plan was always to sucker Brie into this match. Will see how it plays out, but it made a majority of the wrestling audience interested in a women’s angle with great passion since Trish and Lita.

You may not be happy with who is representing the ladies at the top of the heap here but it is a huge step for women in the landscape of things. I am pretty sure a female angle has not closed Raw since the much talked about match with Trish and Lita that Main-Evented Raw.

The success of all these female angles recently can be debated but this angle with Steph and Brie has been as good as it gets.

 

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! 

If you have questions/comments for our NEW Weekly Google+ Show Live Thursday's 7:30 pm EST use hashtag #AskMachoMoon. You can find us now at Condoonthemoon.com.