5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 6/15/15

Hope you guys and girls had a good weekend. Welcome to this weeks Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. We're just coming off the heels of the Money in the Bank PPV. In this piece I'll give you my thoughts on the PPV and also five things you can expect to see on tonight's Monday Night Raw from Cleveland, Ohio. Let's do this.

Money in the Bank Review: 

For the most part I thought the Columbus crowd exceeded my expectations especially with being a guy that covers just about every single WWE show the Columbus crowd tends to be one of the worst in the WWE Universe. I thought that Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler had a great outing on commentary, but JBL has to go to. He drags down every single Raw, SmackDown, PPV and etc. I thought the WWE did a phenomenal job paying tribute to the late great Dusty Rhodes with the video package and the ten bell slatue. I'm interested in seeing if they do the same thing tonight for Raw, or they'll just go on with the tribute special that will be on the WWE Network immediately after Raw. 

Maybe to a fault I look at the positive and big picture aspects of professional wrestling too much. I just never wanted to be "THAT GUY" who acts like he knows everything about the business and just being the wrestling verison of Roger Ebert. I thought the Money in the Bank Ladder was good, I was really surprised that Sheamus captured the briefcase and you know what? I don't have a problem with this. It came out of nowhere and that's what you usually expect in these MITB Matches, so just because my guy didn't win doesn't mean the match sucks. We as fans play that card way too much. I thought the Divas Championship match was good both Nikki and Paige really beat the snot out of each other. Shenangians insued in the finish, but I knew Nikki was going to retain no matter what. I thought the Ryback/Big Show match was disappointing, but it is what it is. I thought the Cena/Owens match was awesome. There's not much that needs to be said about that because the match and the storyline speaks for itself. Congrats to the Prime Time Players becoming the new Tag Team Champions more on that in our Raw preview. The main event was awesome. Overall I really enjoy the show despite JBL, but if I had to grade the show it would've been a B+ or A-. 

1.) John Cena vs. Kevin Owens Fallout 

The series is tied at 1-1 and this feud has been far more entertaining then the NBA Finals in my opinion, but hey NBA isn't a work right? ;)! I don't think Owens is "buried" lets put a end to that arguement. He's not going to become a Wyatt, a Ryback, a Rusev, etc. Say what you want about John Cena and I'm not part of Cenation, but you have to respect the guy. Owens powerbombs Cena on the ring apron after the match last night, so here's the question. How long will Cena be out? Will this feud brew over Battleground or will Cena take some time off and then we have the rubber match at SummerSlam? For tonight I can expect to see another promo between both guys unless Cena will not be on the show. By the way if your saying Owens is buried by losing to Cena last night you don't know anything about wrestling. Owens is not going to be like the other guys who were supposely "buried" by Cena because they were heels and the baby face is never supposed to beat the bad guy. 

2.) WWE Divas Title Picture + IC Title Shenangians 

Here's a scenario I have for the Divas Title Picture with WWE Battleground coming up in 5 weeks. It's time. It's time to bring up Charlotte. It all makes sense with Raw being in Cleveland, Ric Flair loves LeBron James, and if you listen to this promo. The Bellas were born this way and Charlotte is genetically superior. Bring up Charlotte you can have Paige and her team against the Bellas at Battleground and Charlotte will take the title from Nikki at SummerSlam. For the IC Title Picture I think we'll see a beginning of a three way program with Miz, Ryback and Big Show. Not sure how I feel about, but there is history between all three guys even before the PPV last night. I can see maybe Miz vs. Ryback or Big Show tonight. Maybe you can even have ShowMiz come back and take on Ryback in a handicap match. 

3.) PTP vs. The New Day 

Congrats to Titus and Darren on becoming the new WWE Tag Team Champions! With Kidd & Cesaro out of the picture with Kidd's injury and the Usos on the shelf. I think we can see a fun three month program between these two tag teams maybe the titles go back and forth, but that's not really a bad thing if done right. I expect for tonight we'll see New Day requesting a rematch for the Tag Team Championship. 

4.) Sheamus + Roman Reigns/Bray Wyatt feud, What's next for Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler and Neville?

This point will be shorter then the most here. I think Sheamus and Randy Orton can continue their feud if they want to especially with Orton trying everything he can to get back in the WWE World Title Picture, I'm intrugied about the Bray Wyatt/Roman Reigns feud I'll keep it to that because I'm not really sure what's going to happen here and that's what's great about this upcoming feud. Wyatt does remind alot of a darker verison of Mankind and Undertaker. Yes I understand he's lost some of his feuds, but the guy is like underlying power of the Authority whenever the Authority needs someone to take the World Title away from Ambrose and Reigns or anybody else here comes Bray Wyatt. For Dolph and Neville that's the interesting question. Not always in favor with just throwing two guys together for the sake of a having great wrestling matches unless the storyline was about "Oh I'm better than you, you call yourself the Showoff, but I'm the new Sensation and I'm here to stay." 

5.) Seth Rollins & Authority Back Together 

This is out of left field and if it happens I won't gloat about it ;), but I have this thing feeling where Rollins and HHH were buddy buddy now and Rollins will celebrate with The Authority on Raw tonight in the main event segment and I think we see either Kane pick Rollins in the air and Triple H drops the thumb down and the Authority destroys Seth Rollins. I also think you can have Rollins out there and Brock comes back and ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Either way I think it's interesting scenarios, but also who knows does Ambrose gets his third shot at the title or does he go away for awhile? 

That's a wrap for this week's Raw preview. I hope you guys enjoy Raw. Let me know what you think about the piece on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR. 

Go Blackhawks!!!!!

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 5/25/15

Happy Memorial Day! Just as you think things in wrestling are slowing down after WrestleMania, you couldn't be more wrong. We just had Payback and the NXT Takeover Special last week. This Sunday is the Elimination Chamber on the WWE Network and coming up soon we'll be the Money in the Bank PPV! Lot's and lot's to get to and in this piece. I'll give you my thoughts on the current storylines heading towards the Elimination Chamber PPV + My predictions for the event and the five things you can expect on the go-home show for the Chamber on tonight's WWE Monday Night Raw from Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York.

1.) The WWE Tag Team Chamber Match 

Last week on Raw we found out the following participants that will compete in the very first tag team elimination chamber match are: The New Day, The Ascension, The Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores, The Prime Time Players and Tyson Kidd & Cesaro. If you guys missed SmackDown this past Thursday? You missed a pretty sweet four corners tag team with Los Matadores, Lucha Dragons, The Ascension and Kidd & Cesaro. This match is so intruging since it's a first of it's kind and to think about 12 people in one chamber match. ALL HELL IS GOING TO BREAK LOOSE! I think for tonight we see probably a rematch from SmackDown or we'll see a massive 12 men tag team match with The Lucha Dragons tagging up with Kidd & Cesaro + Prime Time Players vs. The New Day, Los Matadores and The Ascension. You can even do a match between the Prime Time Players and The New Day. Many options, but very interested in seeing what they do for the build up for this tag team chamber match.

2.) Vacant IC Championship Chamber Match + WWE Divas Title Feud

As we move from one chamber match to another, we move to a division that's been in a state of flux in the past two months. With Daniel Bryan relinquishing the Intercontinental Championship. Who's going to be the guy to take Bryan's spot? We know that Dolph Ziggler, Rusev, Bad News Barrett, Ryback, Sheamus and R-Truth are in this Chamber Match. One of the major angles that came out of last week's Raw was the split between Rusev and Lana and this sudden pairing of Lana & Dolph Ziggler. Obviously it seemed like a lot of people didn't like this decision, but I can't judge a whole storyline off of one week of programming. For tonights Raw I think we see three matches. Ryback vs. Bad News Barrett, Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler and Rusev vs. R-Truth. Or you can do Rusev vs. Ziggler then you see a tag team match with Bad News Barrett & Sheamus vs. Ryback & R-Truth. Another cool thing that happen on Raw last week was the return of Paige. We found out that at the Elimination Chamber, Nikki Bella will be defending her WWE Divas Championship in a triple threat match with Naomi and Paige. Last week on SmackDown we saw a really good divas talking segment which I felt really helped out this feud.

3.) Owens vs. Cena I 

It's been one of the biggest WWE news stories of the week! Kevin Owens made his WWE Raw "Debut" last week and laid out United States Champion John Cena. We also found out that the NXT Champion will be taking on John Cena this Sunday at the Elimination Chamber. It's not known as of now if the US Title will be on the line, so many differents ways you can go with this match. As much as it cool to see Owens be part of this show on Sunday, I'll like to remind everybody that he's not going to be part of the main roster after this show. I think this is going to be a one off appearance. Also like to remind everybody to be careful what they wish for. Owens and Cena will be a awesome match, but here's the question? Do you really think that Owens is going to beat Cena? Is John Cena "burying" a talent if Owens loses this match? Tonight's Raw is in Long Island and maybe this won't happen, but I think it's a good idea. So the US Open Challenge has been on fire these past two months and with it being at Nassau Coliseum what a better way to keep the momentum going with Zack Ryder accepting John Cena's challenge and while Ryder is walking down the steps you have Owens come out and lay out Zack Ryder! If Owens wins at the Chamber Cena will get the best of him on Raw tonight.

4.) Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins 

After threatening Seth Rollins last Monday on Raw and forcing The Authority to grant him a WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match against The Architect at WWE Elimination Chamber, Dean Ambrose succumbed to the numbers game as Kane, Rollins and J&J Security brutally attacked Ambrose. Putting an exclamation point on the carnage, Rollins hit Ambrose with Triple H’s signature Pedigree. Will this feud continue after the Chamber? That remains to be seen, but with what happen on Raw and then the continued issues Roman Reigns has with the Authority. I just wouldn't be surprised if we see that Shield triple threat match quicker then anybody expected it to be. I expect the deck to obviously be stacked against Dean Ambrose, but I think it's safe to say that Rollins will be walking out champion this Sunday. If Rollins gets the best out of Ambrose then there might be a chance, but I think this match was put on the Chamber Card to appease fans give them hope that Ambrose will be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. 

5.) WWE Chamber 2015 Predictions 

- I see the New Day somehow retaining the Tag Team Titles over the Lucha Dragons, The Ascension, Matadores, PTP and Kidd/Cesaro 

- I see Sheamus winning the IC Chamber Match.

- I see Nikki somehow retain the Divas Championship 

- I see John Cena beating Kevin Owens 

- I see Rollins once again get the best of Dean Ambrose 


I hope you guys enjoy this week's Raw preview. Enjoy your Memorial Day. Enjoy Raw and the Chamber. 

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR 

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

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 5/4/15

Welcome to this week's Monday Night Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon. We're on the fast road towards the third annual WWE Payback PPV which is taking place in Baltimore on May 17th. As things are getting crazy in the city of Baltimore the same can be said for the WWE right now. Last week found out two major main events for this year's Payback PPV. There's still issues withthin the Authority. Bray Wyatt finally revealed who he was speaking about. We have a new King of the Ring Winner. Let's take a look at the five things you can expect to see on tonight's WWE Monday Night Raw from Montreal, Canada.

1.) Kane & Seth Rollins Issues + Triple Threat Match at WWE Payback

Ever since WrestleMania has come to an end, Kane and Seth Rollins have been arguing on every single edition of Monday Night Raw. Kane and Rollins have interwine with each other to the point Kane played a pivotal part in Seth Rollins retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules. Check out the clip above this is a interview that Kane conducted with Michael Cole and he spoke candidly about Rollins. Last week on Raw we saw Kane & Rollins vs. Reigns & Orton and earlier on the show Kane revealed that the WWE Universe would have the opportunity to decide with match Rollins would have at WWE Payback. We found out that Rollins will be in a triple threat match with Roman Reigns and Randy Orton. Fun fact this will be the third straight year that Rollins, Orton and Reigns will be in the same match together at a WWE Payback PPV. Tonight on Raw I can possibly either Kane vs. Randy Orton and then Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins OR you can see Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Kane, Rollins and JJ Security. I think it will be important to have either Rollins or Orton go off air on top looking strong.

2.) John Cena vs. Rusev "I Quit" Match 

In recent history John Cena has never loss a "I Quit" Match and obviously it's seems like Cena will beat Rusev and once again retain the US Championship at WWE Payback. Raw is in Montreal this week and I'm not saying it's official or anything, but it would be something that would really help this feud out. I say while Cena goes out and issues his open challenge you have Bret "The Hitman" Hart come out and talk to John about how Rusev is on a road rage and you need to be concern about him. Rusev comes he and Cena get into a brawl. Rusev lays out Bret Hart with the Accolade. Bret Hart and John Cena on screen have been close friends for years and what a better way to get HEAT on Rusev then layout the Canadian hero on Monday Night Raw.

3.) Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback + What's next for Dean Ambrose?

Usually when a new feud starts with stars from the main roster they usually have the "first" match on Raw, so that's why I feel we'll see Ryback vs. Bray Wyatt on Raw tonight. As much as I like the backstage promos from Wyatt it could be really hard to understand what he says. I rather see him cut a promo with Ryback in the ring and let us know why your going after Ryback. Is it because he bullied your brother? Is their a new family? Did Ryback do you wrong? Lots of questions, but that's what intrigues me about that feud you don't have the answer and we'll see if this is a one off at Payback or goes longer after that. What's next for Dean Ambrose were just about 7 weeks away from the Money in the Bank PPV and Ambrose is one of those guys who's looking to find his way back to the main event scene in the WWE. I see Ambrose continuing his feud with Harper and they'll have another hardcore match at Payback and Ambrose will move on forward to the next big thing.

4.) King Bad News Barrett 

Bad News Barrett became the first King of the Ring winner in 5 years. I'm very interested in seeing where this King gimmick goes with Bad News Barrett. It could be some epic heel stuff, but here's the question. What the hell is going on with Daniel Bryan? We got barely a update from Brie Bella on last week's Raw, but we don't even know what the injury is now. Barrett is entitled to a championship rematch with Daniel Bryan he didn't get the match at Extreme Rules. I can see Barrett declare that he wants his rematch at Payback and if he doesn't get it he'll be declared the new Intercontinental Champion. In the mean time I think there's still weight in having a solid mid-card feud with Neville. I can see on Raw tonight you have Dolph Ziggler & Neville vs. Sheamus & King Bad News Barrett.

5.) WWE Payback 2015 Match Card 

1.) Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

2.) I Quit Match for the WWE United States Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Rusev w/Lana

3.) Vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
King Bad News Barrett vs. Neville

4.) No Holds Barred Match
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

5.) WWE Tag Team Championship Match
The New Day (c) vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro

6.) Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback

7.) Tables or Stretcher Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper

8.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Naomi

9.) WWE Payback Kickoff Match #1 Contenders Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
The Prime Time Players vs. Lucha Dragons.


I hope you guys enjoyed this week's Raw preview. I hope you enjoy Raw.

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Follow the site @CondoOnTheMoon

Check out my show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT!

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5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night 4/20/15

Hello all! Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw Preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. We're 6 days away from the Extreme Rules PPV in Chicago, Illinois. Tonight is the go home show to the annual hardcore PPV and the WWE is back from a large European Tour. Raw emanates from Albany, New York which has been a major city for the WWE throughout it's history. I'll give you five things that you can look forward to seeing on the show tonight and also I give my thoughts on the current feuds heading towards Extreme Rules and I will propose my final card for the PPV and make my predictions. James & Walder got you covered for a full PPV preview this Friday and hope you guys enjoy the piece.

1.) Rollins vs. Orton + Big Show vs. Roman Reigns 

I decided to mix these two matches together just due to the fact they all intertwines with each other and each match has a Authority member represented in the bouts. We found out on Raw last week that Seth Rollins will defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage Match with a added bonus, the RKO finisher is BANED! I thought the WWE did a good job setting up these match for the PPV. Less is more you don't need a super complex drama storyline for this particular match it writes itself. On SmackDown we found out that Roman Reigns will take on The World's Largest Athlete Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match. I know that alot of people will give two fig newtons about the Big Show/Reigns. The stipulation makes sense to finally put this dreaded feud to an end. It's going to be interesting to see where all these four guys go after the PPV this Sunday. Last week Kane was extremely embarrassed by Seth Rollins and there seem's to be a rumbling that Kane will turn his back on The Authority. The Authority is back on Raw tonight and we'll see how Triple H handles the recent issues between Kane and Seth Rollins. Tonight in good ol The Authority fashion you'll see Randy Orton & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, Kane and Big Show.

2.) John Cena vs. Rusev in a Russian Chain Match 

The John Cena's United States Championship Open Challenge has been a delightful addition to the weekly WWE Monday Night Raw programming. I'm not a fan of the goody good shoes John Cena, I was a fan of the heel John Cena and I do have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Having John Cena as the United States Champion has made that particular championship the most relevant it's been since the WCW days. Last week on Raw we saw John Cena vs. Bad News Barrett in a really good back and forth physical match in London. We found out that John Cena will defend his title against the former champion Rusev at Extreme Rules in a Russian Chain Match. Usually chain matches it's your standard chain or bull rope match where you drag your opponent around four turn buckles to pick up victory. I think this is a interesting stipulation with of both these guys tremendous strength and I think this will be the most physical match of the show. Tonight for the open challenge I think we see John Cena vs. Luke Harper or Dolph Ziggler. Rusev got the advantage on John Cena last week. Whoever is standing tall on tonight's show will be the United States Champion at Extreme Rules.

3.) Triple H Announcement 

For the first time since WrestleMania 31, WWE COO Triple H makes his return to WWE Programming. If you're not in the know, Triple H is the executive vice president of talent relations for the WWE and is the man behind NXT and the founder of the WWE Performance Center. With the recent of announcement of the popular show "Tough Enough" The Game will make an announcement on the show. Now what will be in that announcement, an announcement on a date or the name of wrestlers that will be the coaches for the show or we'll find out who'll be the contestants for the show. It makes for an interesting segment, but where's the payoff for this segment especially when it's on the go-home show for Extreme Rules. I'm not sure if it's going to happen or not, but might as well go for it. I've been trying to find out who in the blue hell is Bray Wyatt talking about this time. It's a stretch, but I wouldn't be surprise if Bray Wyatt attacks Triple H in this segment.

4.) Extreme Rules Mid-Card Feuds + Raw Matches + Neville RANT 

Ok if you I offend in this portion of the article I apologize, but I'm an honest human being. No wrestling fan knows anything about "booking" hate to be that guy or whatever, but it's the truth. It's cool to guess what's going to happen on these shows, but I swear to god if I hear another person complaining about Neville's booking I'm going to lose my mind. Look I listen to the LAW this past weekend and I love their show, but was really irked by their evaluation on the recent trend of Neville on the main roster. Neville is fine, but as the months and years go by to think that any of these NXT Stars are going to be in the main roster main event storylines the moment they debut on the main roster it's unrealisitic. It's official we have the very first Kiss Me Arse Match, it's whatever I guess I mean I think the match with Sheamus and Ziggler will be very good, but the stipulation is head scratching to say the least. Tonight I think you see a change in a stipulation for that particular match. Paige is "OUT" going to film a movie with The Miz. Will Paige make it to Extreme Rules? I think tonight we see Naomi take Paige's spot and she takes on Brie Bella on Raw tonight. Tonight Miz and Mizdow will have their final bout for the right for the particular gimmick. I think for tonight we see Daniel Bryan & Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett and Sheamus.

5.) Predictions

I won't be on the podcast this week, so I decided to make my predictions for the upcoming PPV this Sunday in my hometown for Chicago, Illinois.

1.) Steel Cage Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship *RKO Banned
Seth Rollins retains over Randy Orton due to help from Bray Wyatt

2.) Russian Chain Match for the WWE United States Championship
John Cena retains over Rusev

3.) Kiss Me Arse Match
Sheamus over Dolph Ziggler

4.) Tables Match
Dean Ambrose over Luke Harper

5.) Last Man Standing Match
Roman Reigns over Big Show

6.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella retains over Naomi

7.) WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Daniel Bryan retains over Bad News Barrett

8.) WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd over Lucha Dragons


I hope you enjoy Raw this week. I'll be at Extreme Rule this Sunday from the Allstate Arena. If your attending the show please come and say hello.

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Check out my radio show the PWE Show every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT

Also I'll be on the "Brass Ring Club" at 5:30 pm ET on TheNBShow.com


Enjoy Raw and Enjoy Extreme Rules

#StudentOfTheGame

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 4/13/15

RAW IS JERICHO!!!!!! Just kidding welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview. I'm Joshua Lopez and I hope you guys had a tremendous weekend. Last week on Raw we found out that Daniel Bryan will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules and we also found out that Randy Orton will take on Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the same particular event. This week Raw invades Europe as WWE's flagship show is in London, England. We're 13 days away from the Extreme Rules PPV which will be live on the WWE Network on Sunday April 26 from Chicago, Illinois. To remind everybody that tonight's Raw is taped, so I'm not looking at the spoilers for tonight's show, but I will give you my predictions as far as what and should happen on tonight's show.

1.) Kalisto & Neville Progression + Divas Battle Royal 

Couldn't be happier for Kalisto and Neville! They've been doing a tremendous job since coming up to the main roster. I think as the months progress we as a fanbase need to lower our expectations for these particular NXT Superstars that come up to the main roster. You had your few exceptions like The Shield or The Wyatt Family where they automatically connected to the WWE Universe and were in those major feuds right off the bat. I've had no problem with what they've been doing with Kalisto and Neville so far less is more. I think bringing the Lucha Dragons to main roster has helped the tag team division. For tonight's Raw I think we'll see Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day or The Ascension. Would it be too soon to have the Lucha Dragons go after the tag team championships at Extreme Rules? As far as Neville is concern, look if the WWE thought that Neville was going to be a joke why would he have a two segment match with the WWE Champion Seth Rollins in his second bout since coming up to the main roster? I'm just happy the guy is up on the main roster. Who cares that they changed his name, who cares that he wears a robe, it's the same guy that you saw on NXT turn up a little bit. Do I see Neville competing for the mid-card titles soon? No and I don't think that he should be fightning for those titles yet. Okay he lossed in this second bout, is he buried now? No absolutely not. As far as tonight is concern I think you can mix in Neville into some of the mid-card feuds for this next PPV. For example tonight you can see maybe Neville vs. Luke Harper and then Dean Ambrose comes back and that programs begins or you can have Neville vs. Miz. Miz can be a the great heel guy who knocks down the rookie saying you don't belong here all that jazz and then you can have Neville/Miz and Mizdow cost Miz the match. There's many different ways you can go with Neville, but for me I think it will be a double whammy to have Neville in a match that can also set up a mid-card feud for Extreme Rules. Tonight WWE is having a battle royal to determine the Number One Contender for the Diva's Championship at Extreme Rules. Last week Naomi had a rough outing in her match against The Bella Twins, but this chick can go trust me she can be a great assett to this Divas division and I think that tonight you see Naomi or Paige win the battle royal.

2.) IC Title Picture 

The talk of the wrestling world for the last couple months was can the Intercontinental Championship be brought back to prevalence? Being a kid who grew up during the Attitude Era the IC Title wasn't always the vocal point of the show, so I don't get as outraged over a mid-card title like the folks who grew up in the 80's do. I think it's interesting that Daniel Bryan is the Intercontinental Champion and now we know that he will be defending his championship against the former champion Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules. Here's the thing Extreme Rules has always been known for the particular gimmick and stipulation type of matches. Do you see one added to this IC Title match? Sheamus has came back with a blaze of glory. This heel turn has been best for business for not only the WWE, but for Sheamus as well. Sheamus comes out each week and he talks about hating well the vanilla midgets and that he's the real man's man. I think tonight we see Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan. I don't think that the IC Title match will change into another multiple person type of match. I think we find out that Sheamus will face Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules. So for tonight I think we see Bryan and Ziggler vs. Barrett and Sheamus. We'll find out whether there will be a stipulation added to the either Barrett/Bryan or Sheamus/Ziggler matches at Extreme Rules.

3.) John Cena vs. Rusev III 

So we know that the rematch is set for Extreme Rules between Rusev and John Cena. You don't have to complicate anything with this storyline it's speaks for itself. Rusev feels that he didn't lose at WrestleMania. John Cena is the fighting american champion. We got the pay per view coming up soon in Chicago which is a very important town for John Cena on many ends from a positive and a negative standpoint. When you try to figure out a stipulation for a match with these two particular superstars it becomes challenging, but i'm going throw out a couple stipulations if they happen cool if not hey at least I gave it the college try. Here's the following stipulations that I feel could be added to the John Cena/Rusev match at Extreme Rules: "I Quit", Last Man Standing, Chicago Street Fight or a Chain Match. What I do know is that this match will be a war and who knows maybe this match will have a color, but at the end of the day I don't think either guy gets negatively effected whether they win or lose this match. Tonight for the John Cena open challenge I think we see John take on actually Bad News Barrett why not. I think what's important tonight is that we see Rusev lay out John Cena and we found out what's the stipulation for that match at Extreme Rules

4.) The Authority vs. Roman Reigns & Ryback! Plus Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins 

Raw tonight it's going to be interesting to see what the WWE does with Roman Reigns. It's been speculated that Roman may fight the Big Show at Extreme Rules in a Last Man Standing Match. I think it would be good to bring back a tag team Chicago Street Fight with Roman Reigns & Ryback vs. Kane & Big Show. As far as tonight is concern I think we see maybe Ryback vs. Big Show or Kane. I think for the Seth Rollins/Randy Orton program I think that will the Extreme Rules Match you'll see at the PPV. I think tonight on Raw we'll see maybe I'll throw this match out there Orton vs. Cesaro. Then for Seth I think maybe he takes on maybe Ryback or Dolph Ziggler. Is there any possibility that Roman Reigns get sidetracked from Bray Wyatt and you see the beginning of the Bray/Roman Reigns program? I think that would be a good swerve just in case the Authority/Reigns & Ryback match doesn't happen at Extreme Rules.

5.) Extreme Rules 2015 Match Card 

WWE is in a good position with the fact that they have a great crowd in London tonight for Raw. When you have these gimmicky type of ppv's these types of crowds help the builds for these particular ppv's. It's important to get Extreme Rules established on Raw tonight with the match card and everything. Here's a proposed lineup for the PPV with the stipulation added to the matches.

1.) The Miz vs. Mizdow

2.) Tables Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper

3.) No Holds Barred Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Bad News Barrett

4.) Strap Match
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

5.) Chain Match for the United States Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Rusev

6.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige

7.) Chicago Street Fight Match
Kane & Big Show vs. Roman Reigns & Ryback

8.) Extreme Rules Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Randy Orton


I hope you guys enjoyed this week's Raw preview article. Don't look at spoilers it does ruin the experience of watching wrestling shows trust me I know from experience. I hope you guys enjoy the show tonight it should be a lot of fun.

You can follow me on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94

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

5 Things To Expect On WWE Monday Night Raw 2/16/15

"Hey, hey, hey. What's going on here?" It's not time for save by the bell, but it's time for this week's Monday Night Raw Preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon's very own Joshua Lopez. It's the go-home show to the WWE Fast Lane PPV. Tensions continue rise as we down a hill to the last stop on the road to WrestleMania this Sunday. We've been on a roll with these previews as this columns are giving a unqiue perspective on the current WWE Creative Team and their plans for editions of Monday Night Raw. A lot of people try to find things to be mad or complain about, but here we take a look at the current storylines and if there's issues we try to turn those negativies to a positive. The American Dream Dusty Rhodes will be on the show and The Nature Boy will be on tonight's show as well. Here's five things to expect on tonight's Monday Night Raw.

1.) Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns Fiasco 

I don't know about you guys, but I'm at the point where I could care less who wins the Daniel Bryan/Roman Reigns match. Here's a dose of reality, for those saying that the WWE holds Daniel Bryan back you don't know anything about wrestling. Little fun fact for you if a guy was being held back or buried why would WWE have Daniel Bryan compete in a title match in all of the 5 WrestleMania's he competed in. Roman Reigns is not ready, but at the end of the day who is? It's a lose lose situation for whatever type of wrestling fan you are. Don't get me wrong I like both guys and I enjoy the current storyline they're in it's the fans and the mood surrounding this feud that just gets me aggravated. People say that Daniel Bryan deserve his title run, but will people put their money where their mouth is when he's the main event of Mania and main eventing future Raw's and PPV's? Is the YES! Movement about the fans being part of the show or supporting Daniel Bryan for what he stands for? To me the YES! Chant is like the What? Chant. WWE has brought the anything you can know I could do better storyline back with Reigns & Bryan and for what it's worth it's been working so far. I enjoyed their tag team turmoil on SmackDown this past Friday night the fight they had with The Usos was awesome. Tonight will we see possibly Roman Reigns vs Kane, then Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show. You can also see Roman Reigns vs Kane & Big Show and Daniel Bryan vs Seth Rollins and J&J Security. Either way I tonight you will see Daniel Bryan seek his revenge on Roman Reigns for what happen on last week's Raw.

2.) John Cena & Rusev Program

I thought the WWE did a good job with the Rusev & John Cena storyline last week. I thought the video tribute Rusev gave to Cena last week was really funny and effective. I think what's helping this feud right now is not only because it's the perfect WWE esque storyline for both of these guys right now it's the fact that they're taking their time with this and not rushing anything. Last week on Raw we establish why this feud is happening and now it's about who will come out of Fast Lane as WWE United States Champion? Another cool thing with this feud if you will is that we don't really know what the long term plan is for both Cena & Rusev coming out of this feud. Can John Cena really become the US Champion on Sunday? Is this a one off feud? Can Cena put over Rusev? Tonight is going to be interesting because last week Rusev got the best of John Cena and his injured eye, now will the Cenation Leader get the best of the Bulgarian Brute. I think John Cena should take on Luke Harper tonight. Also what if any chance of us seeing the returning Celtic Warrior associate himself with this feud and get back the title he lost or possibly turn heel and go against the guy the left him off Team Cena at Survivor Series. I think tonight you'll probably see Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler or Ryback.

3.) The Rhodes Family Debacle 

What's more tradition in wrestling new sites? The yearly Carlito & Shelton Benjamin apperance in the Royal Rumble? Or the Cody Rhodes vs Goldust match at WrestleMania? I think we may finally get it and what a perfect time for both of these guys. Reports are coming saying that Goldust will be hanging up the boots after Mania and what a way for him to go out against his younger brother at the grandest stage of them all. Will it be Stardust vs Goldust at FastLane then Cody Rhodes vs Goldust at WrestleMania? I'm really excited to see what goes down between The Rhodes Family on Raw tonight. I think we'll finally have a mid-card feud in-ring segments that's intruging and meaningful. What I think eventually happens is that Dusty will try to play to the crowd a little bit he'll introduce his sons and during the segment Dusty or Goldust will spit out the name Cody and either Stardust will attack Goldust to or knock down his dad and walk away.

4.) The Authority  

I found out that the legendary "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair will be on Monday Night Raw to talk to Triple H about his upcoming confrontation with the vigilante "Sting" at WWE Fast Lane. I think we'll probably see a opening in-ring promo with The Authority where they promote the ppv say it's free you know the usual The Authority stichk and then they'll address what happen on SmackDown with Big Show & Kane and also the Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns situation. Wonder if this Authority storyline has brought unwaranted heat towards the company because let's say for the casual viewer who tunes into Raw and they see The Authority and people know that Triple H & Stephanie McMahon are actual authority figures it puts a black cloud on what we're watching because is this how they real feel about Daniel Bryan or it's a what's best for the storyline type of thing? Because you watch Raw and then you see The Authority constantly degrading Daniel Bryan and for those who are not die hard wrestling fans they can assume that's how the company feels about Bryan and the character's The Authority don't care about the fans. It's a double eged sword in this reality era, but in today's society people are so insecure and gulliable they see something on television it could be a random match on Raw and they'll believe it's a new storyline or this or that, so it's interesting to see where this Authority storyline goes and how its finishes. As far as tonight is concern I think we'll see the confrantation with Triple H & Flair and then it will be interrupted by a interesting video package from Sting that will get Triple H flustered before their confrantation at Fast Lane

5.) WWE Fast Lane Undercard 

We know that Nikki Bella will defend the WWE Diva's Championship against Paige. Tonight we'll probably see Paige vs. Brie Bella again or her against Alicia Fox and maybe this time we'll see Paige get the best of the Bella Twins. Hopefully tonight they announce that it will be The Usos vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Will Dean Ambrose gets his opportunity at the Intercontinental Championship? I think we may also see Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins, Kane and Big Show at FastLane due to what happen on Raw last week. Something else maybe for the pre-show you can do a number one contender's match with The Ascension vs. The New Day vs. Miz & Mizdow. That's all I got it's realistic outlooks as to what can happen on the undercard for FastLane.

Follow Josh Lopez on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94

Enjoy Monday Night Raw everybody

Like what you read make sure to check out my wrestling radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw

Happy New Year's everybody. New leash, New year, New WWE? Well maybe not new WWE, but tonight is the very first Monday Night Raw of 2015 in Corpus Chirsit, Texas. WWE finished 2014 on a high note with a stellar edition of Monday Night Raw. Tonight there's no special guest general manager because The Authority is back "BABY!" sorry Adam Cole. There's not another WWE LIVE Event going on tonight, so everybody is back it's a new year and we'll see how the build towards the Royal Rumble continues. Here's five things to expect on January 5th edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.

1.) The Authority Returns

I know alot of people are upset with the fact that The Authority is back, but I couldn't be happier. This show with the exception of Seth Rollins has been severley missing powerful and impactful heels. I love The Authority they're great, and I don't mind they're 20 minute in-ring promos because when you see Triple H & Stephanie McMahon on WWE Television it's the purest demonstration of how to be an effective heel. Was it too soon for them to return? It's subjective, but we already knew that The Authority was coming back. I think we'll get The Authority special meaning that tonight's main event will be John Cena & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins & Big Show. Also we'll probably see Kane vs. Ryback. The Authority's back and it's best for business. Believe That!

2.) The Ascension + WWE's Tag Team Division

It's not enough, but it's better than nothing. I love how people complain about WWE not bringing up new tag teams and they don't try to build stars and when they actually bring up new tag teams or new stars up to the main roster you don't give them a chance. The Ascension just debuted last week on Raw and I couldn't be happier for both Konnor & Vitkor making the most out of this opportunity because it's something different we don't really know what their gimmicks is and please can we give this gimmick sometime to build before throwing into the firepit. I get it they look like the Road Warriors, but I didn't know that the Road Warriors were into illuminati. The Usos became the brand new WWE Tag Team Champions last week in a great back and forth match with The Miz & Damien Mizdow. I expect to see The Usos defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against Miz & Mizdow in a title rematch and after the match The Ascension will lay out The Usos to send an impactful message. If The Ascension doesn't come out during that match I wouldn't be opposed to seeing The Ascension do the same thing they did on SmackDown last week where they put waste to local enhancement talent.

3.) WWE's Mid-Card Feud's

For what it's worth I think the WWE has been doing a great job with the fact that they're using actual storylines are for all the mid-card titles. We know that the WWE is teasing a match between WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella and Natalya. Yea it's kind of a plug for E! Total Divas, but they've been slowly building an actual feud between Natalya and Nikki with the fact that Tyson Kidd & Nikki Bella continue to flirt with each other. The Ryback & Rusev feud intrigues me, I loved the Ryback promo from Raw last week they haven't done that type promo for any mid-carders in year's. Rusev continues to improve in the ring and as a heel. I proposed that Ryback and Kane match and possibly Rusev will come out to interfere in that match who knows maybe Kane wins that match since The Authority is back, but I really think the feud between Ryback & Rusev is the best thing for both guys at this prior moment. My boy Bad News Barrett came back from injury last week and it seemed like he was going to be a babyface now, but I think a good way to put Barrett back into that heel role is if you do this. I would set up a match between Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler & Bad News Barrett. It would be a great match for the WWE and all of the fans and to spice things up you have Dolph trying to give Bad News the hot tag and he gives him the Bad News Bull Hammer there you go that's your Intercontinental Championship feud. Bad News goes after the title he never lost.

4.) Who will enter the Royal Rumble Match?

Even though I hate when current Money in the Bank Contract holders enter Royal Rumble Match, I do think to start off the show as a gift to Seth Rollins for bringing back The Authority. The Authority will announce that Seth Rollins will be in the Royal Rumble match. I think we'll finally see Royal Rumble Qualifying Matches or maybe a Beat the Clock Challenges for certain enteries for the Rumble Match. I'm just throwing it out there because I think that would be a great idea because it allows the three hours to be must see and it's the first Raw of the year you would think that the WWE would want to start the year off with a bang. Possible entrants of the Rumble Match that come out of my head are Luke Harper, Jack Swagger, Big Show, Erick Rowan, Dolph Ziggler etc. I would like to see how they'll follow up the return of Daniel Bryan he's not currently advertised for tonight's show, so will it be a pre-recorded interview or just a recap highlight package of his announcement from last week? We'll see what happens, but it's important for the WWE to make sure they tell the fans that there's numerous amount talents that can be favorites to win the Rumble instead of just Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan

5.) Ambulance Match

The feud between Dean Ambrose & Bray Wyatt comes to an end tonight and I really do believe that. I've enjoyed the feud between Ambrose & Wyatt it kind of reminds me of the feud between Ryback & CM Punk. Is Dean Ambrose buried if he loses another big stipulation match? Is Bray Wyatt buried because of all the hype of his return was for all him to go into a Ambulance? Honestly who cares, really because both of these guys have great futures ahead of them remember folks they've been on the main roster television for 2-3 years their careers are not over yet. I think this will be a great match whether it finishes off the show or not I do think that Bray Wyatt & Dean Ambrose are going to head into this match with a massive chip on their shoulder because there's alot of talk of Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns becoming the main focus of WrestleMania 31 and I feel that Bray & Dean will look make a major statement as the Royal Rumble is fastly approaching.

Follow Josh Lopez on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Make sure to tune into Josh's wrestling radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience @PWEShow. The first show of the year will be LIVE this Wednesday January 7th from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com. We'll be reviewing #RAW, WrestleKingdom 9, a preview for the returns of Lucha Underground and TNA, and we'll have an interview with Nigel McGuiness from ROH and LA Fights.

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw

"WELCOME TO MONDAY NIGHT WRAW!"~ Vince McMahon. It's the final Monday Night Raw of the year coming from Washington D.C. for the third straight year. You can expect another quiet crowd tonight because the Washington crowd is not that good whatsoever and if you need example go-ahead look at the go-home show to WrestleMania 29 on the WWE Network. The once in while appearing WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will bless us with his pressence tonight. Also one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history Edge & Christian will be hosting Monday Night Raw. I think tonight's show is very important for the WWE as a whole and for the build towards the Royal Rumble PPV. Here's five things to expect on the 12/29/14 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.

1.) Edge & Christian 

You think you me? I always enjoyed that theme song. Here's a idea to start Raw tonight. Edge & Christian do their entrance coming through the crowd or they can go old school and come up through the stage with The Brood music. It's going to be nice to see Edge & Christian especially Edge since he's on of those legends that rarely comes on the show as often as the other contracted WWE Legends. It's been the running trend lately Seth Rollins will come out and interrupt E & C in-ring promo and whine and complain about The Authority no longer being in power. Who knows maybe we'll see some of those silly hats their wore during the Attitude Era or they'll bring back the kazoos. Either way it will nice to see both Edge & Christian and tonight should be a fun night.

2.) The Ascension 

They're coming the fiery and powerful tag team from WWE NXT will make their main roster debuts TONIGHT on RAW. Who will be the first casualty for The Ascension? The video vigentte for The Ascension haven't been earth shattering to be completely honest with you, but I'm really looking forward to seeing The Ascension tonight because I'm a big fan of their tag team. Alot of people are clamoring for NXT Superstars to come up on the main roster and tonight and heading towards 2015 you'll see change in the WWE presentation I totally believe that and it starts with The Ascension tonight.

3.) Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena III 

The anticipated final battle between Brock Lesnar and John Cena will come to a head at the Royal Rumble. Brock Lesnar laid out John Cena during his Steel Cage Match with Seth Rollins a couple weeks ago. There's some storyline question that I have with this pairing heading towards the Royal Rumble. Ok Brock is back. Why? All we knew about Brock Lesnar before he became the WWE Champion is that he was "Plan C" for The Authority to take the title away from John Cena. Cena is the only person that holds the power to bring The Authority back. There needs to be a in-ring promo between John Cena & Paul Heyman tonight and it will be interesting to see if Paul Heyman brings up that very association Lesnar & The Authority had before they lost their power at Survivor Series. How do you bring The Authority back? Brock will come out during the show who knows maybe John & Brock have a full out brawl in the same building they had a bloody fist fight in 2012.

4.) Bad News Barrett 

I think it should be noted that tonight WWE is having a "WWE LIVE" show in Richmond, Virginia. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt are advertised for this very show. There's star power left out of this show. We have Brock Lesnar, Edge & Christian and The Ascension on the show tonight, but something to really spice things especially with it being the final of Raw of the year we see the return of BNB! Bad News Barrett has been out with a shoulder injury for six months and I think it's the perfect night for him to come back. Dolph Ziggler is the right guy for Barrett to feud with. Alot of people are riding the wave of momentum of Dolph Ziggler, but "I'm afraid I've got some bad news!" Ziggler will have to deal with a dose of reality and a feud between Ziggler & Barrett to start 2015 is the right way to go for the WWE.

5.) Randy Orton? 

It's time! I'm keeping this one short and sweet. Randy Orton will be make his WWE return tonight and will seek his revenge on Seth Rollins & JJ Security. Calling it right now.

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Raw Talking Points For Christmas Edition of Raw

Raw had its typical holiday offering last night. There wasn’t a ton of significant things as it basically just continued a number of existing feuds. The typical diva’s Christmas costume 6-women tag match. We had the new holiday tradition of the Miracle on 34th Street fight. Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt destroyed many Christmas themed items. Hulk Hogan was the host of Raw dressed up like Santa and he was his typical boring self. If you’re into Hogan, you probably found it fun. If you have had enough of Hogan this was evidence of why you do. Still we found some talking points from this holiday for the most part throwaway Raw show.

1. Adam Rose Turns Heel on the Bunny: After a loss to R-Truth the Bunny still in his neck brace, after a couple attacks from Kane in the past week, he goes to comfort Rose after the match. Rose put a real serious beat down on the bunny. He would take off the Bunny’s neck brace and would continue the beating after the Bunny tried to escape to the outside. The highlight of the segment was the crowd chanting for Rose to throw the Bunny into the guardrail one more time. The crowd was not having any sympathy for Bunny, which was the goal of the segment. So Adam Rose is suppose to be a heel but at least on this night in Minnesota he was a face to this crowd.

2. Fandango Gets a Win: This was more about where Jack Swagger is in terms of this company. The new and improved Fandango is not exactly setting the world on fire. Swagger had almost all the offensive moves until the end. Fandango landed some kicks, went to his top rope leg drop, and actually got the win. Poor Jack Swagger has fallen down since his resurgence with his original feud with Rusev.

3. The Night for The Shield: Rollins and Cena kicked off the show and Rollins after a win last week in a cage match with the help of Brock Lesnar, Cena natural gets his win back this week after Hogan made the match for his good buddy John Cena. Roman Reigns was paired with the Big Show and was booked terrible only able to get a count out win after hitting Big Show with a superman punch over the announce table. Big Show really seems to have little interest in helping Reigns get over. Dean Ambrose meantime in the Main Event once again losses to Bray Wyatt in your typical Christmas Street fight. Overall, it was not a great night for the former members of the Shield.

4. WWE Announcers Continue To Fail: I could bring up many examples of why this is true every single week but I have a specific example this week. Natalya was in a match with Brie and she had Nikki in her corner. During the entire match, Tyson was wearing a Nikki Bella hat and there was zero reference to it the entire match. Even in the post match where Natalya pushes Nikki off the apron and notices the hat Tyson was wearing after that. She takes it off and throws it away. Announcers made zero reference to this so if you missed it can’t blame you.

5. Piper’s Pit Isn’t What It Use To Be: It was kind of a pathetic attempt at nostalgia with Roddy Piper showing up and his guest was Rusev. Piper mispronounced his name and predictably introduced Ryback who had a bow on him no less and he attempted to attack Rusev but he was able to escape. Ryback was over with Minnesota crowd so it looks like the C.M Punk comments have not affected Ryback and his face push of late. Seeing Piper and Hogan at their age is more sad and pathetic than any sort of nostalgic feel good moment.

The match quality on this show was pretty good overall but some questionable booking and little plot advancement. The biggest note was Rose heeling on Bunny and I am not even kidding about that. I didn’t hate this show but if I had missed it, I can’t say that much happened I needed to see. 

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw

Coming off the heels of last night's WWE TLC PPV on the WWE Network, WWE heads to Detroit, Michigan as the road to the Royal Rumble begins tonight. We have a new Intercontinental Champion, John Cena is still the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Dean Ambrose looks to rebound from Bray Wyatt, Miz & Mizdow are still WWE Tag Team Champions and "The Powerhouse" Roman Reigns is back. Tonight show is going to be very interesting than your usual PPV fallout show. Chris Jericho will be the special guest general manager for Raw tonight and WWE World Heavyweight Champion "The Beast" Brock Lesnar makes his return to WWE for the first time since Night of Champions. It's going to be fun a night and here's five things to look forward to on tonight's Monday Night Raw.

1.) Chris Jericho as Raw General Manager 

"Would you please SHUT THE HELL UP?!" Sorry I had to do that, tonight former WWE Champion and WWE Legend Chris Jericho comes back to the WWE to serve as special guest general manager for Monday Night Raw. It's always nice to Jericho on WWE programming, I wonder what he has instore for tonights show. Maybe Jericho sets up series of Royal Rumble Qualifying Matches I think that would be a great idea since were 6 weeks away from the Royal Rumble PPV. I think we may see Jericho start the show, but here's the thing I think we may see Seth Rollins come out and complain about losing to John Cena and maybe Rollins challenges Jericho to a match. I know it's out there, but I wouldn't be suprised if we saw Rollins vs. Jericho and then after the match Rollins + J&J Security attack Jericho and try to do the triple powerbomb and cue in Randy Orton's music, Orton returns and we start the Rollins/Orton program.

2.) Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena III

 After a very chaotic Tables Match at TLC, John Cena will officially head towards the Royal Rumble to take on the Beast Brock Lesnar for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I'm sure we'll hear a in-ring promo from Cena tonight and who knows maybe Cena will take on The Big Show again tonight and then after the match Brock Lesnar comes out and gives Big Show a F5 as a message to Cena. Or we can see Brock and Paul Heyman come out to the ring and have a face to face in-ring promo to sell the PPV which I don't think it's a bad thing. Especially when it comes to aftermath of PPV's you have to sell your audience as to why we have to wait six weeks for this next event. Either options works well for me and I'm actually looking forward the final battle between Brock and John Cena. I saw John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules 2012 live in person and I've loved all the other matches they partcipated in since that match, so this Royal Rumble match will be very intruging to yours truly because I'm not sure if Brock will be heading towards WrestleMania 31 as WWE World Heavyweight Champion

3.) Ambrose/Wyatt Fallout 

I loved the TLC match between Ambrose and Wyatt last night, but the finish to that match left me scratching my head because I don't know where these two guys go next. That's the big million dollar question we as fans have to pay attention to aside from the part timers because you know everbody says that the WWE only focuses on John Cena, but Dean Ambrose just main evented two out of the last three PPV's and WWE has also took their time to build stars like Ryback, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt. You ask yourself out of all the part timers that we'll see at WrestleMania this year where do these guys fit into the card? I think Ambrose will come out with a full head of steam and anger and will take on Luke Harper on Raw tonight. If they want to continue this feud we can see maybe a Last Man Standing Match between Wyatt and Ambrose at the Royal Rumble. I think out of everything that came out of last night's TLC PPV this Wyatt/Ambrose feud is the only feud I still had questions about. We'll see what happens tonight.

4.) TLC Mid-Card Fallout + Royal Rumble Build 

I mention earlier in this piece that I would like to see a series of Royal Rumble Qualifying Matches. As far as the WWE Divas Championship feud between AJ Lee and Nikki Bella is concern, I think that we'll see AJ Lee vs. Brie Bella again due to the hair spraying incident that occured last night. As far as Dolph Ziggler/Luke Harper is concern I think both men will be in the Royal Rumble match. I see a rematch coming between Miz & Mizdow vs. The Usos at the Royal Rumble usually at the Royal Rumble the WWE always wants at least one Tag Team Title match on the show and with a rowdy Philadelphia crowd I think that would be a great opportunity to debut The Ascension that night. I think Rusev and Swagger will be in the Rumble match as well, we may see this match happen tonight in case they got nothing for Rusev tonight. Ryback/Kane enter them into the Rumble Match along with Big Show and Erick Rowan. We may see The New Day vs. Gold & Stardust again tonight on Raw. I'm always concern for mid-card guys during this time of the year, but I'll keep hope that some of these guys do get spotlight on the road to WrestleMania.

5.) Roman Reigns Return

"The Powerhouse" Roman Reigns is back. Here's the thing I'm a Reigns fan and coming out of the CM Punk Podcast and this Superstar of the Year fiasco, I really feel that this guy is going to be treated just like Batista last year and it's pisses me off to be honest with you. Reigns is a young guy he's not in the position Batista was in last year, but here's the thing whether you or I agree that Reigns deserves to be in the main event of WrestleMania is subjective. I want to hear from Reigns tonight and he needs to hit the ball out of the ballpark tonight because his promo last night at WWE TLC was absolutely attrocious. Do we see Roman Reigns vs. Big Show on the road to WrestleMania since the WWE is prepairing Reings for Brock Lesnar? I think we may see Roman Reigns vs. Kane again tonight and it is what it is there's nothing we can do about it, Daniel Bryan is not here and we're on the road to beginning of the Roman Empire. Believe That!

That's 5 things to expect on tonight's WWE Monday Night Raw. Tell me what you think? What would you guys like to see happen on Raw tonight? Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR for live coverage of Raw and check out my radio show "The Pro Wrestling Experience" every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com

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.

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw

It's the go-home show to the 6th annual WWE TLC PPV, and tonight it's the 13th annual Slammy Awards Show. WWE looks to move the needle heading towards 2015 and some of these young and upcoming talents are trying to make a name for themselves as WrestleMania season is coming ahead. Now, if you have been living under the rock, Condo on the Moon has been the most accurate coverage of professional wrestling. If you looked at last week's WWE Monday Night Raw Preview? I Josh Lopez basically gave you a virtual outlook on what was going to happen on last week's Raw and basically everything I said in that article happen. Tonight may be a different story, but I think I got a good jist of what's going to happen tonight. I've rewatched Raw twice this week plus SmackDown, so I did alot of research. Usually with these type of awards show you usually don't see heavy amounts of wrestling which also usually doesn't happen at go-home shows for PPV'S. Here's five things to look forward to for tonights Monday Night Raw.

1.) Seth Green Hosts The 2014 Slammy Awards 

I know there's alot of people who don't care for Seth Green, I actually didn't have a problem with him the last time he hosted Raw. We'll probably see some backstage segments with Seth and possibly a in-ring promo segment. As far as the Slammys it's self, I would like to predict some of the winners for the following categories in this year's Slammy Awards. Now mind you this is not my personal prefence this is just using my knowledge of the WWE.

Match of the Year: Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batistia~ WrestleMania 30

Superstar of the Year: Brock Lesnar

WWE Diva of the Year: AJ Lee

LOL Moment of the Year: Damien Mizdow

Extreme Moment of the Year: Seth Rollins Curb Stomp

Suprise Return of the Year: Hulk Hogan

"This is Awesome" Moment of the Year: Occupy Raw

The OMG Shocking Moment of the Year: Brock Lesnar ends The Streak~ WrestleMania 30

2.) Mid-Card Title Matches for WWE TLC 

Coming into this week's Raw we know that at TLC, The Miz & Mizdow will defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against The Usos and Luke Harper will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a Ladder Match. Tonight we'll probably see the announcements of AJ Lee getting her title rematch against Nikki Bella with a added stipulation that if AJ Lee loses, she will leave the WWE. I think we'll probably get the announcement for Rusev vs. Swagger for the United States Championship. I think we may see Swagger taking on Cesaro to make a personal statement to Rusev, while Rusev and Lana will cut a promo from the stage. I think we'll see AJ Lee vs. Brie Bella tonight with Nikki Bella on commentary. I want to hear a promo between both Nikki and AJ. If this is really AJ's last WWE appearance I want it to mean something even if Nikki doesn't talk let AJ talk gives us a reason to care about this match. Give us a reason to care about Nikki Bella as a "Heel" Divas Champion.

3.) Bray Wyatt/Dean Ambrose Program 

I think we'll see Bray Wyatt cut a backstage promo or be in a match with R-Truth or Sin Cara.  I think we'll see Dean Ambrose take on someone like Curtis Axel or Rusev. I want more from this feud, because this match is the match care about when the subject WWE TLC 2014 comes up. I want to hear more from Dean, the unpredictable cat vs. the master minipulator. Give me a in-ring promo segment  tonight. I'm 50/50 on who i'm rooting for in this match. I think the obvious pick would be Dean Ambrose, but where they do Dean and Bray go after TLC?

4.) Team Authority vs. Team Cena Fallout 

Coming out of the Team Authority vs. Team Cena match from Survivor Series, it was pretty obvious that the members from both teams would be in seperate matches. Ryback will be taking on Kane in a Chairs Match, Erick Rowan "Big Red" will be taking on the Big Show in a Stairs Match whatever that is. I'm happy for all four of these guys in these matches. You want to know why? Because they're following standard procedures when it comes to heel vs. babyfaces storylines. Both Kane and Big Show have been playing their heel roles perfectly because they're acting like a heel, people you don't like them they don't care. I think Ryback can gain alot from this match with Kane, he's a season veteran hell Kane is a legend in my eyes and for Ryback to pickup his first singles PPV victory over a legend like Kane can only get Ryback on the right track. As for Rowan is concern he's in the same situation I mean everybody thought that Rowan was the weak link of the Wyatt Family now people care for him, out of the 100 heel turns we've seen from Big Show I'm enjoying this one because he's just being a giant heel and a freaking crybaby every single show. Bro I don't know what a Stairs Match is, but hell man there's WAY more hardcore gimmicky matches than we have from last years' TLC PPV. I'm all for it. I think tonight we'll see Erick Rowan & Ryback vs. Kane & Big Show.

5.) John Cena vs. Seth Rollins 

They need to hit the ball out of the ball park with this match because for me that opening in-ring promo between John Cena and Seth Rollins was not only force, but boring. Why is this match happening? We got the added stipulation that if Cena loses he'll no longer be the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, what I think can make things interesting is that if Cena adds a stipulation where if he loses The Authority gets their power back. I think we may see Paul Heyman, Cena and Rollins in a in-ring promo because Brock Lesnar you know the WWE Champion will be back after WWE TLC, so we'll hear from the advocate of the no-visual WWE World Heavyweight Champion "The Beast" Brock Lesnar. I think we'll see a tag team match because that's the new main event each week, I think we'll see John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins & Luke Harper in the main event.

That's what I got for tonight's Raw I hope you enjoyed this piece I give you the reasons as to why the WWE do the things they do. When it comes to go-home shows I just look to see if they address every match that will be on the PPV, so usually on these shows I'm not that crtical because the WWE already knows since the inception of the Network they've done a good job of telling everybody what the matches will be at the "Special Event" whether you like the feuds or not is subjective, but tonight just gonna sit back and try to enjoy the show as a fan and so should you and who knows maybe we'll get some suprise presenters for tonight's WWE Slammy Awards.

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

WWE Monday Night Raw Preview

Tonight is going to be one of the most interesting nights in sports entertainment since the night after the Montreal Screwjob. With former WWE Superstar CM Punk coming out and speaking about his depature from the WWE, there's alot of interested in the live "Stone Cold" Steve Austin podcast with Vince McMahon. WWE didn't follow up the debut of Sting on last week's Raw, and with WWE TLC coming up in two weeks, What new matches will be announced for the annual gimmick PPV? Here's five things that I think people should look out for tonights show.

1.) The next step for John Cena and Seth Rollins 

Coming off last week's Raw, I think it's pretty obvious that Cena will be taking on Seth Rollins at TLC. Brock Lesnar is advertised for the 2014 Slammy Awards next week which is the go-home show for WWE TLC. I don't think that Lesnar will be competing at TLC, so where does John Cena and Seth Rollins go? I heard some people throw out this idea where Dolph Ziggler takes on Seth Rollins with Rollins Money in the Bank breifcase on the line. I think that would be a cool match especially for this type of PPV, but I don't see that happening. With tonight's show we may see something where it's John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback vs. Seth Rollins, Kane and Luke Harper in the main event or John Cena will take on J&J Security in a handicap match. Now are these matches that I want to see, I don't know, but being a pretty good observer of WWE programming I wouldn't be surprised if either of these matches happen. Cena vs. Rollins is the logical step with the Royal Rumble coming up. Despite Rollins taking a loss to Cena, I think to make a "statement" to Brock Lesnar, Cena defeats the top heel in the company at WWE TLC.

2.) The Anonymous Raw General Manager

Like you guys, I used to DESPISE the Anonymous Raw General Manager in 2010-2011. Now these days as I got more in tuned with the product and wrestling in general, I've come to appreciate the Anonymous Raw General Manager. I'll tell you why? Well, maybe the main reason why the Anonymous Raw General Manager doesn't bother me anymore is because it's gives people "HEAT" aka Michael Cole. Every time we here "May I have your attention please?" people cringe and boo and you don't really see alot of people these days on the WWE Roster get the type of "Real Heat" like Cole does when he reads those emails "And I Quote!" I'm just going to get a good laugh out of it because yea it may not be the best on thing on the show, but anything to get the crowd to boo the worst announce team in the history of wrestling is a pretty good day for yours truly. I can of hope that maybe since he's going to be there in Tulsa, Oklahoma, would WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin make a LIVE appearance on Raw and mess the computer and Michael Cole up? I think that would be fantastic.

3.) Ambrose/Wyatt Program 

I'll tell you what guys, I think more than anything on this show tonigth, I'm looking forward to see what they do with Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose the most. Bro (Vince Russo), I think what they've been doing with Wyatt/Ambrose is great because this feud is turning into war and it was supposed to be like that since the beginning of this feud. Will we get a in-ring Wyatt promo I think so, but Wyatt will have to bring up something different in his promo instead of continuing to bring up Ambrose's daddy issues. Wyatt has been getting the better of Ambrose since this feud has started. I think Ambrose will be in a match with Cesaro or Mark Henry and than after the match he will stack Tables, Ladders and Chairs on either man. Wyatt will come up and try to attack Dean again, but this time Ambrose gets some revenge as Wyatt escpaes and runs up the ramp. I think it would be nice to see Bray Wyatt compete in the match, but who do you have him go against? With two weeks away to TLC I think WWE needs to bring their A game tonight when it comes to this feud.

4.) A New Day Is Here 

I was really happy to see Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E debut their "New Day" gimmick on SmackDown this past Friday Night. I'm happy for them because they're trying something different and at the same time entertain the WWE audience. Yes the music and pomps and circumstances of this gimmick will reminds you of Flash Funks, The Oddities, The Tons of Funks of the world, but I think we got something here with this new gimmick and it will sure add some vareity in this stagnant WWE Tag Team division. Give it a chance people, maybe it will grown on you, maybe it won't if you're a natural cynical person. A New Day is Here and as far as tonight is concern, I think we maybe seeing a run-in between with The New Day and The Dust Brothers. I wonder if they do come out with all Red thought for Monday Night Raw as opposed to SmackDown where they came out with the powder blue. Either way this a fun gimmick there's too many heels on this roster as it is, let's have some fun and enjoy a new stable on WWE television.

5.) WWE TLC's Mid-Card 

Here's the thing, if you haven't seen my previous column where I predicted the entire match card for WWE TLC, I advise you to check it out it's really cool and I think you may like it. I think tonight with the Raw Anonymouys General Manager we'll get some matches announced for TLC. With the feud between AJ Lee/Nikki Bella I WANT TO SEE A IN-RING BACK AND FORTH PROMO BETWEEN THESE TWO LADIES. Give me a reason to care about this match, I enjoyed what little of a promo Nikki had on SmackDown and I enjoyed the attempt of CM Punk AJ displayed on last week's Raw. Let them talk gives us a reason as to why this match matters. I think we'll Big Show vs. Erick Rowan tonight on Raw, but ultimately this will lead to their upcoming match at TLC. I think we'll already have the announced Ryback/Kane match, I will like to see if they announce Rusev vs Swagger at TLC, also possibly Ziggler/Harper for the IC Title would be nice and that's that for now. I think what's going to make WWE TLC a success is the mid-card for this show.

*With the live "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Podcast with Mr. McMahon, I don't think he should ask Vince about CM Punk. Don't bring more attention to somebody that continues to bring the company down in a negative light. I think it would be more important for Austin to grill McMahon about the direction of the company, maybe ask a couple of school questions like "Who came up with the idea to have Austin job to Lesnar on Raw in 2002?" stuff like that. This will be in my opinion the biggest interview in the WWE this year. DON'T MISS OUT AND WHAT CAN BE SOMETHING VERY VERY SPECIAL.

I hope you guys enjoy Raw tonight, try not to be like a Roger Ebert/Dave Meltzer wannabe and be so nit picky and try to enjoy the show as fan. That's the advise I give to people before watching Raw. I hope you guys enjoyed this preview. Let me know what you think about this article? And what would you guys like to see happen on Raw tonight?

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

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.