Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview. Tonight's show takes place from Seattle, Washington expect a rowdy crowd. We're 13 days away from the 28th annual SummerSlam PPV from Brooklyn, New York. I thought last week's show was pretty solid. Of course we got a amazing Paul Heyman promo, but last week was great when it came to in-ring action. Hopefully we'll get some announcements of matches tonight. Here's what you can expect on tonight's show from Seattle, Washington.
1.) Stephen Amell comes to Raw
I've been very busy for the past 6 months and I've heard about the show Arrow and yea even though it's a show from CW! I always heard good things about the show Arrow and the stars of the show Stephen Amell. Amell has admitt to be a big wrestling fan and has attended numerous WWE shows over the years. It was a rumor that the WWE was interested in having Amell in a match with WWE Superstar Stardust. It looks like it could be possibility now as Amell will be a special guest for tonight's Raw. To some people it may not be a big deal, but it's cool seeing a guy like Stardust get a spotlight on tonight's show. In Michael Cole's interview with Stardust on WWE.com Stardust continues to play games and he's looking forward to his interaction with the Arrow. I don't know if the guys will get physical with each other, but if they do don't be surprise to see Amell gives Stardust a dropkick. Also this could lead to Amell being in the corner of Neville as Stardust takes on Neville at SummerSlam.
2.) Will John Cena's Respond?
Seth Rollins killed it on Raw last week and to those people who say that Rollins isn't worthy of being a main eventer or a World Champion you're just ignorant. Rollins promo on breaking Cena's nose was excellent and also bringing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Open Challenge to Raw was a nice touch. Actually that's not a bad idea to do that again tonight and maybe someone from NXT takes the challenge or maybe Cesaro. We're two weeks away from SummerSlam and while it seems like 100% confirmed that Rollins would take on Cena at SummerSlam, but can we atleast make that announcement tonight? John Cena will be a special guest on Tough Enough tomorrow and he's already at the performance center they should have a pre-recorded promo from Cena to accept the challenge.
3.) Brock Lesnar & The Undertaker Program
For those still questioning the logic behind this program watch this promo. I know that Brock & Taker will not be on this show tonight and that's fine because I think the guys in the mid-card, the divas and the other feuds have made these Raw's have been enjoyable. Would like to see Heyman on the show tonight I think his promo can help a show with no Cena, Taker or Lesnar in the building. It's also time for either Heyman bring up that Taker has never defeated The Beast or Undertaker cut on his epic promo vignette's.
4.) Will Rusev fight at SummerSlam?
We've seen countless brawls with Lana and Summer Rae and Lana has cost Rusev a bevy amount of matches over the last three weeks. Something has to give here and one of the major things I'm personally paying attention to for Raw tonight is this program because is Rusev fighting at SummerSlam? Are we getting Lana vs. Summer Rae? I think for tonight we'll see the return of the showoff Dolph Ziggler.
5.) Raw Matches
1.) Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro~ WWE World Heavyweight Championship Open Challenge 2.) Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day~ Number One Contender's Match 3.) Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper 4.) PCB vs. Team BAD 5.) King Barrett vs. Mark Henry 6.) The Miz vs. Neville 7.) Randy Orton vs. Big Show 8.) Paige vs. Nikki Bella 9.) Roman Reigns vs. Rusev
I hope you guys enjoy Raw tonight. Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR.
Check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience on Chicagolandsportsradio.com every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT. I will be talking to former WWF, WCW, and TNA writer Ed Ferrara.
Welcome to this week's Monday Night Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon. We're on the road to SummerSlam and despite what's going on with Mr. Boella, we're going to take the high road on that topic and give you a clear perspective on what you can see on tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw from Oklahoma City. The Lesnar & Taker program has started on a high note and both stars gave you a great demo as to what you may see on August 23rd. Lot's to get to, so let's see the five things I expect to see on tonight's WWE Raw from the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
1.) The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar + Paul Heyman Promo's
There was a bit of hesitation from the fans when it came to another round of a Lesnar and Taker program, but from what I saw with the pull apart on last week's Raw, everybody is hooked. Paul Heyman planted the seeds on the background behind this feud. Paul Heyman had another great line where he said that "You can sell your soul to the devil, but your ass belongs to Brock Lesnar." I don't think there's heel or face dynamic in this program cause it remnids me alot of Rock vs. Austin at WrestleMania 17 in the fact that it's a PERSONAL ISSUE and Taker is in Austin's position where he needs to get his revenge on Lesnar and take his yard back. Both guys are not advertised for tonight's Raw which I don't have a problem with. The video above was flimed at the WWE Headquarters at Stamford, Connecticut. So when Lesnar and Taker are not Raw you can expect Paul Heyman to basically continue to sell the match to you the fans. I think it will be live via Satellite, but who knows maybe Heyman shows up in OKC tonight. It would be nice to see Heyman bring up how The Undertaker has plowed through so many legends in the wrestling business, but he's never conquered Brock Lesnar.
2.) John Cena vs. Seth Rollins "Champ vs. Champ" ?
Coming off last week's Raw it seems like Seth Rollins will be defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam against WWE United States Champion John Cena. Rollins was basically rubbing in the fans face in one of his better heel promo's that you guys doubted me and I survived Suplex City and I'm still the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. For some reason Cena came out and pull out his heel tactics whenever he wants to get the WWE Championship back. When you see this on paper you see the behind the scenes coming into this storyline because it's known that ratings haven't been that high over the past couple of months and people may assume that the WWE is blaming Rollins for that, but you can't blame him because I think he's been one of the best heel champions since CM Punk. From this standpoint I think Cena has had one of the best year's of his career and I think he and Rollins can have a great match, but my thing is every since WrestleMania has talked about how the US Championship is the symbol of excellence. Now Cena want's the WWE Title? Yea I guess it's not a bad marketing idea to have a Champion vs. Champion match at SummerSlam, but would you want Rollins title reign to end in a span of a month to John Cena? I think tonight we may see another promo where Cena tries to act like he's above Rollins. As far as matches are concern I think we'll see Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro and John Cena will have another US Open Challenge.
3.) What's next for Kevin Owens?
If you didn't see last week's SmackDown you missed a good one. Let me say this and I know there's alot of people who think that the WWE is going to bury Kevin Owens because he lost a feud to John Cena. I just don't see it that way. He's not a jobber and yea he'll do mid-card stuff for awhile, but I don't think Owens should be in the main event scene already. Owens is going to be there for a long time, so why would you want him to be in the main event of every show and WrestleMania in his first year on the main roster. On SmackDown the seeds were planted for the Kevin Owens/Cesaro match. Cesaro basically was talking about how he always deliver and Owens made fun of him and then Cesaro reminded everybody how basically Kevin walks out of all of his matches. Owens laid out Cesaro after his match with Seth Rollins. I think this feud is great for both guys and we'll need to see more character development with both guys, I mean we all know that Cesaro and Owens are great wrestlers, but what's their next for their characters? I do think Owens and Cesaro will brawl tonight and it will be official that Owens will take on Cesaro at SummerSlam.
4.) SummerSlam Mid-Card Matches
I think we'll see the three way match for the Intercontinental Championship with Ryback, Big Show and Miz. I think we'll see one more match with The New Day and Prime Time Players and New Day will continue to interfere in the PTP matches until they get another opportunity at the tag straps. Even then maybe tonight we'll see New Day vs. Lucha Dragons in a Number One Contender's Match. Stardust vs. Neville is happening and I'm loving the comic book stuff they are doing with this storyline. I think we may see the mixed tag team match with Dolph Ziggler & Lana vs. Rusev & Summer Rae. Orton/Sheamus? Maybe? I think tonight could be a good implication on what other matches will be on SummerSlam besides Taker/Lesnar and Cena/Rollins. I mean hell we can see Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. The Wyatt Family in a No DQ Match. Lot's of questions and excited to see what they bring to the table tonight.
5.) Divas Running Wild
The Divas revolution segments have been dominating WWE programming over the past couple of weeks. I think for tonight it would be nice to see Paige vs. Sasha Banks and then later on the show if they want to do another divas match you can do The Bella Twins vs. Charlotte & Becky Lynch. I think it's also important to establish at least where we going as far as the Divas Championship is concern. I know that Nikki has been banged up for awhile, but we'll need to know if Nikki will be defending her championship at the second biggest show of the year.
Thanks for checking out this week's Raw preview. I hope you enjoyed it. Enjoy Raw
You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR
Check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesdays from 11am-2pm ET on Chicagolandsportsradio.com.
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
Welcome to this week's WWE Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. This week's Raw takes place from the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.! We're just about three weeks away from the WWE Battleground PPV. Also we're 5 days away from the "Beast in the East" Special on the WWE Network from Tokyo, Japan. Last week on Raw we found out three new matches for the Battlgeround Special Event: Ryback vs. Big Show vs. The Miz for the IC Title, New Day vs. Prime Time Players for the Tag Team Championship and Kevin Owens vs. John Cena for the US Championship. 20 days away from this big event will any more matches will be announced in these in between Raw's? Let's take a look at the five things I expect to see on tonight's Monday Night Raw. 1.) The Family is back together
Last week on Raw we saw the Authority comeback together to lay out "The Beast" Brock Lesnar. Rollins went onto SmackDown to signify that he's what he says he is and he defeated Dean Ambrose. It was announced on Saturday that tonight's main event of Raw will be: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Kane & Seth Rollins. Here's a fun fact for you guys. Since Kane's join the Authority he's been in 48 main events of Raw's, SmackDown's and PPV's. Here's my thing I understand that you need Rollins to focus on someone while Brock will NOT be on tonight's edition of Raw, but why are you bringing back a main event of Raw that happen not only before Payback, but also the Elimination Chamber and Money in the Bank? Joey Mercury severed three broken ribs due to the hands of Brock Lesnar we wish him a speedy recovery. Tonight for Raw I'll like to have Rollins stop harping on the Authority side of this angle. It's time for Rollins to put his focus on Brock Lesnar. We got it the family is back together. Rollins you have three weeks to give the WWE Universe a reason to believe that YOU can BEAT Brock Lesnar!!!! Bring up what happen at the Royal Rumble where YOU broke Lesnar's RIBS, Bring up WrestleMania where you stole the title away from Lesnar. Bring up that your are the architect and you Lesnar is playing your game. I believe that Bray Wyatt will disctrat Roman Reigns or even lay him out before the match starts, so I feel that Dean Ambrose will be left for nothing and Rollins takes out Ambrose for good. There's nothing for Ambrose to do here. Lay him out and write him off television for a month. Will Paul Heyman be on the show tonigth? If so talk about a great start to Raw with a in-ring promo segment with Rollins and Heyman.
2.) IC Three Way for Battleground
I want you guys to check out this interview ^^. On my radio show I close out every single show with the weekly WWE.com interviews that Michael Cole conduct with the bevy of WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends. Reason being the #LittleThings! Alot of wrestling fans talk about lack of effective character development and not paying attention the "IWC" (Which I'm not part of nor can I stand.) Ever since Triple H turn heel at SummerSlam 2013 I've aired every single Michael Cole interviews since because that's where you get the major character development. Please check out this Big Show because towards the end he explains WHY he's still in the company and in high places. I may be in a island, but I love this feud with Ryback and Big Show. It works perfectly for both guys. Ryback is looking to take Big Show's spot and Show is still trying to show that he still matters and has a purpose in the company. Tonight I think we see one or two things. 1.) Big Show takes on Ryback in a match and 2.) Mark Henry vs. Big Show. If Ryback doesn't fight Big Show tonight maybe he competes against a guy like Bad News Barrett. As far as The Miz is concern, I'm not sure he's down in Orlando, Florida helping out with the Tough Enough show, so I don't get his purpose in this match. I'm guessing they can air a pre-tape with The Miz that can air after a Ryback or Big Show match, but he need a solid reason as to why Miz is in this match. Besides that I'm looking forward to what they do with this program tonight.
3.) John Cena vs. Kevin Owens III
The battle of foregin languages happen last week on Raw! We found out that John Cena will be defending the United States Championship at Battleground against NXT Champion Kevin Owens. I expect both guys to be on the show tonight. One of the mistakes I felt the WWE made with last week's Raw was that neither guy were in a match. I know you don't want to overdue, but at the same time these open challenges and just in general the John Cena or Kevin Owens singles matches have been one of the best parts of Monday Night Raw in the past three months. There's nothing wrong with having the back and forth promos, but you have a three hour shows. There's no reason why these guys can have at least a 10-15 minute TV Match. Tonight I think John Cena gets the best of Kevin Owens. I think we'll see a John Cena US Open Challenge with Cesaro. And for Owens I think we may see a rematch with him and Dolph Ziggler. It's important tonight if Cena's going to do the Mr. USA thing tonight he gets the best of Owens.
4.) The Beast in the East Special on the WWE Network Preview
Here's the card we know about now when it comes to the upcoming WWE "Beast In The East" Special on the WWE Network on 4th of July.
-NXT Championship Match~ Kevin Owens (c) vs. Finn Balor
-Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston
-John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett & Kane
-Chris Jericho vs. Neville
-WWE Divas Championship Match~ Nikki Bella (c) vs. Naomi vs. Paige
-Lucha Dragons vs. New Day
I'm interested in seeing if the WWE does any or zero promotion for this event on tonight's show and also who else will be on this show? I'm sure we'll some type of promotional video package, but it would be nice to see Kevin Owens or any talk about the Special this Saturday.
5.) The New Day
That's it enjoy the comedic nature of this amazing trio.
I hope you enjoy tonight's Raw! Try to sit back and not be a Roger Ebert wannabe. Watch the show for what it is and then make your thoughts be apparent. We effective our "expertise" dictate our moods towards a show. I promise you if you sit back and not OVER THINK every single mi-nute points of the show you'll enjoy it.
Make sure to check me out on my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT! I will be speaking to former TNA Wrestler Gunner.
Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon. The road to WWE Battleground makes a pit stop in Indianapolis, Indiana for Monday Night Raw at the Bankers Life Field House. Last week in WWE programming we found out that Seth Rollins will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Title against Brock Lesnar at Battleground, Kevin Owens destroy MGK, and Bray Wyatt begins the mind games with Roman Reigns. We're just about 4 weeks away from the third annual Battleground PPV in St. Louis, Missiouri. Here's five things you can expect to see on tonight's edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.
1.) Is Seth Rollins title reign coming to an end?
The future of the WWE Seth Rollins, current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, has had a big chip on his shoulder since the disbanding of The Shield. Rollins was "Plan B" for The Authority and now Rollins is on his own. In a promo segment with The Authority last week on Raw, Triple H stated that its time to put the pressure on Rollins and at the upcoming Battleground PPV, Rollins will be putting his world title on the line against a raging "Beast" Brock Lesnar who made his return to WWE Programming last week. As it seems like the entire world is against Seth Rollins. How will Rollins carry himself over these next couple of weeks as he prepares for the biggest match of his career? In the video above you'll see a promo from SmackDown where Rollins states that this is the match he wants. There's no doubt Seth Rollins is a confident World Champion and I encourage that, but how can anybody believe that Rollins can dethrone the Beast? Rollins stole the WWE World Title at WrestleMania and has squeezed out victories over the past three months. It seems like the Authority are in good graces with Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar after Stephanie suspended Brock on the Raw after Mania. I think for tonight we'll see the first of a few promo battles between Rollins and Heyman. Rollins will subtly convince the authority to be on his side. If Rollins wrestling tonight I think he has a match with Kane.
2.) Owens vs. Cena III?
I put a question mark next to the title of this point because what would you do with the John Cena and Kevin Owens feud? Owens is on a roll and it doesn't matter what show he's on, Kevin Owens is seemingly un beatable at this point. Owens on Monday destroyed Dolph Ziggler and MGK and declared that he want's a rematch with John Cena and not just any type of rematch, this time he wants the United States Championship on the line. On NXT Owens gets in a massive brawl with Samoa Joe. Owens defeated Cesaro in a good back and forth match on SmackDown. In a couple of weeks Owens will be defending the NXT Championship against Finn Balor on the July 4th Special on the WWE Network from Tokyo, Japan. For tonight's Raw I think we'll see John Cena return after taking a week of television off. I think Owens and Cena will have another promo segment which will lead to Owens laying out Cena to the point he'll won't be able to compete at Battleground or we'll see the Authority suspend Owens for a month due to his actions to not only John Cena, MGK, but maybe Owens lays out an announcer on Raw tonight.
3.) Raw Matches
I'm going to put out a list of matches that we'll possibly see in this three hour Raw from Indianapolis.
1.) Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro
2.) Ryback vs. The Miz w/Big Show on Commentary
3.) Darren Young w/Titus O'Neil vs. Kofi Kingston w/The New Day
4.) Dolph Ziggler vs. Bo Dallas
5.) Sheamus & Kane vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose
6.) King Barrett vs. Neville w/R-Truth on Commentary
7.) Alicia Fox vs. Paige
8.) Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton
4.) WWE Battleground Mid-Card Feuds
I think as the weeks go by it would be good to take a big picture aspect approach in setting up the card for Battleground in four weeks. I think we can see Randy Orton and Sheamus pairing up at Battleground. I wouldn't be surprised if Dean Ambrose and Kane will meet at up at the show. Prime Time Players defend their tag team titles against The New Day. Finally in a three way match Ryback defends the IC Championship against Miz and Big Show.
5.) Roman Reigns & Bray Wyatt Feud
I'll keep this short and sweet because I want this story to play out because it's this feud has the potential to be something we haven't seen in a longtime or ever. I love this pairing of Reigns and Wyatt because we can see major character developments with both characters over the next couple of weeks. I think for tonight we'll continue to play mind games with Reigns and continue to bring up Roman's past and his family. Reigns will be upset and I just can't wait to see what they do with Roman and Bray on Raw tonight.
Hope you guys enjoy this week's Raw preview article.
You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR and I'll follow you back just let me know that you seen this piece.
Make sure to check out my wrestling radio show "Pro Wrestling Experience" live every Wednesdays from 10am-1pm CT on "ChicagoLand Sports Radio" on the TuneIn Radio App and simulcast on WLGK Logik Radio on Saturdays at 5pm ET.
Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. Last week was the end of WrestleMania week which is depressing. I was at Raw last week and it was sure interesting show. Brock Lesnar got suspended and F5 Michael Cole, Sheamus came back and turn heel, The Lucha Dragons and Adrian Neville from NXT made their main roster debuts, and Seth Rollins survived one episode of Raw as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Tonight Raw emanates from the University of Texas! We're on the road to the 2015 WWE Extreme Rules PPV. Here's five things to expect on this week's edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.
1.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Title Picture
Seth Rollins has made past one week as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Coming out of last week's SmackDown it seems that "The Viper" Randy Orton will be the guy who will take on Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules. What would've happen if Brock is still the WWE World Heavyweight Champion? Brock Lesnar is suspended for the forseable future and Stephanie McMahon will address the future of Brock Lesnar to start off the show. It's seems like the internet will be happy about this, but Roman Reigns is lost in the shuffle. Will Reigns find a way back into the title picture? I think on the show tonight you'll see the conformation of Orton vs Rollins at Extreme Rules or you'll see Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns to determine the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
2.) NXT Imports
Both NXT mainstays The Lucha Dragons and Adrian Neville made their WWE main roster debuts last week. It was cool to see those moments in person. It's going to be important to see where both of these guys career go based on the reactions from crowds and cities that don't hold 95% of the IWC. I think both Neville and Kalisto will have a great run in the main roster, but I want to remind everybody that if Neville or Kalisto are not in a particular title pictures in their first two months on the main roster that doesn't mean the WWE is burying them. Some of my concern with these NXT guys is that they come up to the main roster and everybody thinks that they need to be in all the title pictures and in all the main events of all the ppv's the moment they hit the main roster. Too much too soon can hurt talents in the long run. It worked for The Wyatt Family and The Shield it worked for them because they were a faction and superstars came out of that faction I don't know if you have the same impact if you get that type of booking out of the bat as a single competitior. I think we see The Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension. I think we see a rematch between Neville and Curtis Axel.
3.) WWE Divas Title Picture + AJ Lee Thoughts
I wanted to be brief with the AJ Lee retirment topic since I haven't had a chance to talk about it, but I think it's unfortunate she's leaving so early. Just when you think you found a diva that would've been a lifer then they retire. The shelf life of these diva's are not long. AJ Lee has had a great career despite portions of her career towards the end where she basically ripped CM Punk off. AJ is a great person and I wish her nothing but the best, but I won't be surprised if this retirement doesn't last long. Now here's the thing which makes this divas division interesting coming out of AJ Lee's retirement. Now with Extreme Rules around the corner who will take on Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship? I can see something where you have Naomi and Paige vs. The Bella Twins tonight. Then the next week you can possibly do Paige vs Naomi for the number one contendership. I think Naomi is a quality challenger for that Divas Championship she has had a lot of roadblocks put afront of her, but she deserves this opportunity.
4.) John Cena vs. Rusev "I Quit" Match?
It's official that John Cena will defend his United States Championship against Rusev at Extreme Rules. Being that this show is in my hometown i'm paying close attention to this feud. This storyline will probably be the biggest storyline heading towards the ppv besides the World Title match. We know that the match is official, but what's the gimmick? What's the stipulation? There's many possibilities you can have in this third bout. I'm throwing out I Quit stipulation because it works well with the Russia vs USA storyline and it's a John Cena esque Extreme Rules storyline. Tonight you'll see Rusev lay out John Cena and announce that the match between him and John Cena will be a I Quit match.
5.) IC Title Picture for Extreme Rules
Sheamus is back and I LOVE THIS HEEL TURN! The new music kicks ass his actions in the ring kicks ass. I love what's being doing so far. People will complain just to complain. They said they wanted a repackage for Sheamus and then when he comes back all you have to say is "You Look Stupid"! Really creative wrestling fans. I think on the show tonight you see Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler or the tag team match that was supposed to happen on SmackDown last week and that was Sheamus & Bad News Barrett vs Dolph Ziggler & Daniel Bryan. You can go in many different directions when it comes to Extreme Rules. You can see maybe a Intercontinental Championship rematch between Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan on one of these Raw's or you can do another multiple person match at Extreme Rules. Daniel Bryan is a sympathetic character don't be mad or surprised he get's beat down alot.
I hope you guys enjoy Raw tonight. You can follow me on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94
You can check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com
Brock Lesnar kicked off Wrestlemania week with a bombshell going on ESPN to announce he is retired from MMA and had re-signed the night before with WWE. He stated that Vince McMahon made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Some interesting things he stated were that he had been training for MMA for the last two months. He claimed his appearance at the Rousey fight in L.A was to be back in the UFC environment. He also said he has been struggling with this decision for about a year. He had a bad taste in his mouth, in regards to how his career ended in MMA with UFC as a fighter. He went out on a losing streak and was dealing with recovering from diverticulitis. In the end, he felt that returning to the WWE and retiring from MMA was the best choice to make for his family.
Brock still hates to travel and by his comments it appears he has resigned for the same or similar part-time schedule. He also stated that he is the only one that gets to work part-time hours for full-time pay. Which makes you wonder how wise this was for WWE given their new finically reality with the WWE Network.
While Brock claimed ignorance to angling for this deal with WWE that seems hard to believe. In fact, you can go back far before his latest moves with showing up at UFC to him playing the UFC and WWE against one another. I recall Paul Heyman doing an interview with Ariel Helwani noted MMA journalist that Brock would still watch UFC fights and tell Heyman that he could beat this guy and that guy. The subtle seeds had been planted about Brock having interest in returning. Heyman is back in the WWE based completely on his friendship with Lesnar. He would never say anything without the blessing of Brock in such a public setting. Heyman would never speak about C.M Punk’s issues prior to Punk making his reasons for leaving public. Punk also is close with Heyman and the loyalty Heyman shows has been shown in this situation as well.
While having Brock back will be seen as the big story in reality the fact this will almost guarantee Heyman’s presence on television is an even bigger deal for WWE. He has been an MVP for this company in the last year with his tremendous promos in selling angles and matches tied to Lesnar and others in the last year. He single handedly sold the Lesnar vs. Taker match a year ago. He was the driving force in selling the Lesnar against John Cena match at Summerslam and the re-match between the two.
In the end, Brock can say what he likes. He played this situation perfectly to be paid. He claims to enjoy wrestling in the ring and his just not a fan of travel. This is consistent to why he left originally to try out for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. Still to me, he will always be a mercenary that is out to be paid and is not necessarily a fan of the business. He is when it is convent to be and isn’t when it is not in his best interest to be. Bottom line Brock Lesnar is not a mark for the business he is a mark for himself at whatever he does.
The biggest loser in all of this likely will be Roman Reigns, as he now likely seems to be the odd man out. The chosen one to take the title from Lesnar now likely will not. Most felt that if Lesnar would be under contract prior to Sunday he likely will retain his title. This of course remains to be seen but seems highly likely and ultimately turn Lesnar officially babyface and have him continue his run with the title.
Even worse, a program he could have had, as a heel champion with The Rock likely now becomes The Rock against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 32 in AT&T Stadium. A program with Roman against his more famous cousin would have been a great thing for Reigns getting to another level as an attraction.
WWE can now breathe easy and can do what is BEST FOR BUSINESS if they want too. It isn’t to say they will mind you, as Lesnar in reality doesn’t care if he wins or loses on Sunday as much as he does that the check clears the bank for showing up.
How's thing going? Welcome to the final Raw preview before WrestleMania 31! It's been a fun ride getting to do these previews during this crazy road to WrestleMania. Alot of people say that the build towards WrestleMania has been lackluster, but I disagree because, more people are talking about this WrestleMania then they did for the 30th Anniversary of WrestleMania. Whether good or bad or indifferent people are talking and amongst all these "controversies" brings a high level on intrigued not only on tonight's Raw, but also WrestleMania this Sunday. I'll be in San Jose this weekend love meet to some of the fans of the Condo On The Moon website and podcast. Tonight on Raw we have a couple special guest since Raw is at the Staples Center tonight which should bring a interesting crowd instead of the past three go-home shows that were in Washington and Atlanta. Snoop Doog will be making a guest appearance and also ESPN and Grantland founder Bill Simmons will be calling some matches tonight. So with that here's five things to expect on the final Raw before WrestleMania.
1.) Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar
I will be sharing the comments that Brock Lesnar made from last week's Raw. Speaking of last week's Raw, Paul Heyman once again continues to blow us away with his ability to out do himself in his promos. I've been so bored with the whole Roman Reigns bashing or whatever you want to call this backlash towards him. It is what it is the main event is set and unlike other people I'm going to give you a look as to what they can do to make this match interesting. Tonight on Raw there's supposed to be a face-to-face segment between both the champion and the challenger. I'm figuring that this will close the show tonight or at least it should, but I wouldn't be surprised if they want this segment to start off the second or third hour's of the show. Anyways, I guess one of the only problems I've had so far with the presentation of Roman Reigns since he's came back from his injury is that we've not been given a solid reason to have a emotional investment in anything Roman Reigns. What do I mean by that? Well, WWE can say "Oh look at this guy, he has the look, he's from one of the greatest families in the wrestling business" Okay I know that, but how is Roman going to make himself standout from his other family members if he's not allowed to speak for himself. You constantly see people cutting him off when he starts talking then they start putting him over and kissing his ass. I like Roman Reigns don't get me wrong I want him to succeed, but if Roman's going to be the "next guy" you have make the fans care about him and drive away the John Cena stigma that's attached to him. Tonight on Raw It shouldn't be about Reigns talking to Paul, you should see Roman talk to Brock. We'll hear what Heyman has to say that's a given and then if a brawl happens and they want to go with this Reigns can't beat Lesnar campaign, then you have Brock lay him out with a F5! Also a wild card I think if it's possible and if he's there maybe The Rock shows up on Raw, but still even then you can have Reigns sidetracked then Brock lays out The Rock afront of Reigns and that can play off to the "rumored" main event of next year's WrestleMania "Brock Lesnar vs The Rock" Tonight is very important for this feud. You want to gain the heat and anticipation for this PPV and this match alone? You have to get the crowd off their feet and WWE is lucky they have a great crowd afront of them.
2.) Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
I guess one of the benefits that comes with having "part-timers" associated with major matches on a WrestleMania card is that with Raw you can pay attention to feuds that usuallly wouldn't been given the time its deserved. You have one of the simplest feuds in the WWE right now and it's really interesting that the Orton & Rollins storyline has been dominating the Raw's on the road to WrestleMania. Which is cool for Rollins because he's getting more and more practice to succeed on high pressure situations especially like a main event segment when a major PPV is coming up. Last week Rollins seemed to be "dismissed" by The Authority, but that didn't last long when Rollins and Authority tricked Orton and that plan was haulted by Sting! On SmackDown JJ Security had a group of security men and women to keep Randy Orton out of the building. That didn't work out and Orton has been on a RKO spree over the last couple of weeks. While Rollins continues to run away it does remind you of the feud with Punk and Orton from WrestleMania 27, but on a higher scale due to the fact that both of these guys were associated with each other with The Authority for over 5 months last year. Tonight should be interesting just to see if Orton is going to be in a match or not. Will Rollins wrestle? I think tonight you'll see Orton be put in a handicap match wtih Big Show & Kane. Orton will win and then all the Authority will come in and attack Randy Orton and just as Orton takes all the guys out Rollins comes from behind with the briefcase hits him in the back of the head and then gives Orton a Curb Stomp! You put Orton in a vunderable situation and you also put Rollins over on a major show before Mania. Have to give Rollins and Orton a big round of applause for carrying major segments of Raw over the last couple of weeks.
3.) John Cena vs. Rusev
Not even going to give that fake Russian Lawyer any attention in this piece. There's no reason to have one of your best on-air personalities shooting a movie during the road to WrestleMania it's just dumb and not necessary. For what Rusev and John Cena said to each other I enjoyed. Like I've said before not a John Cena fan, but I have alot of respect for him and he's been more enjoyable to watch over the last couple of weeks and I'm not afraid to say that. His promos have been fantastic and this is a simple feud with a simple opponent and that's not taking a dig at Rusev it's showing that less is more. Rusev has been doing a tremendous job as a heel especially with him talking more and getting heat by himself. I'm going to share the interview that John Cena conducted with Michael Cole and I want you guys to listen closely to what he says. What I like about this feud is that I don't know what happens next for John Cena. There's so many options to go with this feud and if John Cena loses maybe we don't see John Cena for awhile. Tonight I think we see Cena get the best of Rusev and hold up the United States Championship. I hope Lana is on the show she's a major assett to Rusev character development and you don't see that from other managers unless your name is Paul Heyman and that's saying something.
4.) The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt + Triple H vs Sting
It was nice seeing Sting on Raw last week and getting to talk to the WWE Universe. I mention last week we need more to this Triple H and Sting feud. I'm happy he's here and he's my favorite non WWE Superstar of all-time. What's coming out of this Triple H/Sting match? Sting says that he's here to take Hunter down, but if he beats him at WrestleMania and Hunter is on Raw the next night did he really do anything? I heard reports about Sting being in Los Angeles for tonight's Raw and I think he should be there. Tonight I think we do see a in-ring segment with Triple H and Sting and Sting will probably challenge Hunter for his "Authority" in the WWE. I think it would be really interesting if Vince came out on the show tonight and say that "I was the guy that brought Sting to the WWE and you've let me down and I told you to fix this and you didn't so I had to do it myself" BOOM!!!!!!! After that I think it would be important to have Hunter one up Sting before their match at Mania. As far as the Taker/Wyatt match goes I've been really impressed with Bray Wyatt no matter what happens in this match I think Wyatt will be elevated! Tonight is the last night to fight off the rumor that the WWE is holding Taker off until the PPV! I think it would be right to decision to hold Taker from appearing in person, but that doesn't mean you can't have Taker conduct a pre-tape video package where he talks about moving on from losing The Streak and he can talks about his feelings toward Bray Wyatt. They could go big on the hocus pocus stuff especially being at the Staples Center. I'm really interested in seeing what they do with Wyatt on the show tonight.
5.) IC Title + Mania Mid-Card feuds plus Raw matches
I've been loving what they've been doing with the build towards this Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match. The gaunlet match from SmackDown was one of the best matches I've seen this year and it crazy to think they've been spending an average 30-35 minutes of TV time on the IC Title feud. As far as tonight is concern here's the following the matches that you can see on the show tonight. I think we Daniel Bryan vs Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper, and R-Truth vs Stardust and you have Bad News Barrett on the commentary! Tonight you'll probably see AJ Lee vs Brie Bella or you can do this and you can have a Divas Title match between Paige and Nikki Bella and then you have Paige win and after the match you can have The Bella Twins snap and say that they've had enough of diva's like you and being constatnly disrespected by the crowd. After that they can say if you guys beat us we're gone from the WWE for good. We'll probably see more names added to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and then obviously for the Tag Team Championship feud you can see Los Matadores and Cesaro/Tyson Kidd vs The Usos and The New Day.
Before we head out here I wanted to congratulations to Kevin Nash becoming the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame well deserved. This will probably be my last time on the site before the big show so I wanted to put my predictions for the show.
1.) Dean Ambrose wins the Ladder Match and becomes the new Intercontinental Champion after Sheamus cost Bryan the Ladder Match
2.) Randy Orton over Seth Rollins
3.) Cesaro & Kidd retain the Tag Team Championship
4.) The Miz wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
5.) AJ Lee & Paige over The Bella Twins
6.) Sting over Triple H
7.) Wyatt over Taker
8.) Rusev retains the United States Championship
9.) Roman Reings wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
You can follow me on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94
Make sure to check out my WrestleMania preview show this Wednesday on ChicagoLandSportsRadio.com from 10am-2pm CT!
Hope you guys enjoy this piece please feel free to share this piece on all social media platforms and I hope you guys enjoy Raw and WrestleMania.
Happy 3:16 day you melee mouth bastards! Give me a "Oh Hell Yeah!" Welcome to this week's Monday Night Raw preview. WWE puts the metal forward on this bumpy ride to WrestleMania 31. We're two weeks away from WrestleMania 31 and I feel like the only person that's excited for this year's Mania and I felt this way last year. What I bring to these Raw previews is a big picture perspective. Last week on Raw we found that three major matches are confirmed for WrestleMania. The Undertaker accepted Bray Wyatt challenge, John Cena force Rusev & Lana to accept his challenge for the United States Championship, and Randy Orton finally turn and destroyed Seth Rollins. Tonight Raw is from Des Moines, Iowa which has been known over the years as one of the most quietest crowds in the WWE Universe. We're 13 days away from WrestleMania and here's five things you can expect to see on tonight's show.
1.) John Cena vs. Rusev
One of the major feuds that has been gaining my attention on the road to WrestleMania is the feud between John Cena and Rusev! Which is surprising thinking about this feud on paper, but it's not the case because the feud writes itself. The build towards this match has been perfect and honestly as a non Cena fan this is one of the most exciting builds to a John Cena esque WrestleMania match. Last week on Raw Rusev made quick work of #AxelMania which is unfortunate, but Rusev was laid out by former United States Champion John Cena who warned him earlier in the night. There seems to be some tension between Rusev and Lana after Lana accepted John Cena's challenge for WrestleMania last week on Raw. What happens tonight? We know that Rusev will be defending the United States Championship against John Cena at WrestleMania. What can they do to make things this match more relevant then it already is? I think tonight Hulk Hogan needs to come out and say that he's going to be in the corner of John Cena to make sure that we don't have the same finish from FastLane. Will Rusev still be mad at Lana? If Rusev is retaining the championship at Mania I think you can still make him look vunderable on these Raw's. If Cena is winning the championship at Mania I think tonight Rusev MUST lay out John Cena on the Raw's before Mania. Match wise is always hard to figure out cause one week Cena wrestles then he doesn't same goes for Rusev, but this is one of the storylines that I'll be keeping my eye on as far as watching Raw tonight.
2.) Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
Last week on Raw it finally happen. Orton made the face turn that was already three weeks too late, but nonetheless it was effective and very entertaining to watch. I want to show you a clip of the interview from SmackDown where Orton basically laid out the reason behind the build towards this match with him and Seth Rollins. Orton says that he's going to spit in the face of Seth Rollins and challenge him to a match at WrestleMania. I think that match will be made tonight, but Rollins will get his revenge tonight. Expect to see The Authority to deny Orton request and send the hounds towards Orton for defying the Authority! I don't look at dirtsheets and I can tell by studying the tv product where this feud between Rollins and Orton has to go. Either guy can win or lose and they'll won't be effected by it. Tonight Rollins lays out Randy Orton and accepts his challenge and the match will be official.
3.) Triple H vs. Sting
Have we come to the point where we only care about the stories that's being said on the mic. I will also be putting the Sting promo in this piece to illustrate my point in this piece. There's "reports" going around about Sting possibly appearing on tonight's Raw. Awesome and if he speaks like the Sting we all know great, but my problem is not about whether his voice is distorted or not, my problem is what's going to come out of this match at WrestleMania. Sting talked about rectifying a wrong in The Authority and that he's been waiting 14 years to put a end to the Game. I think people are worrying to much about what's he saying because we know that he was in TNA during this time last year. This is not a dig or whatever you want to call it at TNA, but we need to put the TNA stuff aside when analyzing the stuff that comes out of either Triple H or Sting's mouth. I want to know what's going to be the aftermath of this feud. Is Sting going to become the GM of Raw? Is Triple H going to lose his "Authority"? Simple questions that I have and that should be addressed on the show tonight if Sting appears on the show. I'm sure Triple H will say if Sting loses he'll never be allowed on WWE Television again, but once again what does Sting get if he beats Triple H?
4.) Roman Reigns Journey
I'm going to keep this point very short because I think we're a beating a dead horse times a thousand on this topic and this feud between Reigns and Lesnar. I get it! It's the main event of WrestleMania. You don't think that Reigns is ready? I don't think anybody is ever really ready when it's not a real sport? WWE mindset is that hey we can strike when the potential is hot, but the fans don't think he deserves this position due to circumstances that I will never understand because is subjective. Brock is holding the title hostage we don't know if he's going to stay or not, we here about MMA and UFC more than we here about this feud and this match. I have a problem with that. Tonight is simple Reigns go out there and prove your detractors wrong on the mic it's that simple. Have him come out and have a promo with Paul Heyman. Vince stop with the insecurity and scripting his promos. Let the guy come out and be himself. If Reigns is presented like himself then people will latch onto him.
5.) The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt + WrestleMania Mid-Card build
Last week on Raw Undertaker accepted Bray Wyatt challenge for a match at WrestleMania. I think they're going to keep Taker off of TV until WrestleMania and I think that's good because they haven't done that before. Wyatt has been building this feud perfectly and he's showing that he can be one of the best storytellers in the history of wrestling. We know that we'll be getting a promo from Wyatt tonight. As far as what else is going on the card for Mania. I know that AJ Lee & Paige will take on Bella Twins at Mania. Tonight you'll probably see AJ & Paige vs Alicia Fox & Summer Rae. Expecting another fatal four way tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship. We'll see The New Day vs The Usos then Los Matadores vs Tyson Kidd & Cesaro. I think we see more build towards the Battle Royal maybe you see Ryback vs Big Show. The IC Title feud has been great so far. I think Truth needs to get off the commentary and fight. Tonight we'll see Truth vs Harper, Ziggler vs Barrett and Stardust vs Daniel Bryan you can have Dean Ambrose on commentary this time.
I want to congratulate the "Living Legend" Larry Zbyzko on becoming the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame. I know the crowd won't be that hot tonight, but it's Iowa! So I know what I'm expecting to see on tonight's show I'm not asking for a lot if they address all the matches on the card then I'm fine with that. I hope you guys try to enjoy Raw tonight and not over think things let it play out if you don't like it cool, but give it a chance before judging.
You can follow me on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94
Make sure to check out my wrestling radio show dub "Pro Wrestling Experience" every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com
THE CHAMP IS HERE!!!!! Well, that's not true because the guy that came up with the catchphrase doesn't even have a WrestleMania match booked. The real WWE World Heavyweight Champion "The Beast" Brock Lesnar is advertised to appear on tonight's show With that said welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview. Tonight the WWE is in the Steel City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We're 20 days away from WrestleMania 31. Acclaimed rapper and Pittsburgh native Wiz Khalifa will perform on tonight's show. The road to WrestleMania is always a bump ride no matter which side of the fanbase you are in. I'm on the side that what matters to me at the end of the day is the story that's being told from the ring and not on the mic hence why I'm so interested in this year's WrestleMania. Here's five things you can expect to see on tonight's Monday Night Raw.
1.) Intercontinental Championship Carousel + Daniel Bryan
In one of the most anticipated matches for this year's WrestleMania we have people thinking it's a 8 person ladder match. Let me remind you guys something there's six people that are going to be in this match. Last week on Raw we saw Dean Ambrose, Bad News Barrett, Luke Harper, R-Truth and even Dolph Ziggler hold the Intercontinental Championship. There was some tease on SmackDown where maybe Daniel Bryan and Stardust would join the match. Here's the thing if Bryan's in the match I'm fine with that, but I don't think that Daniel Bryan nor Stardust will be in the Ladder Match. I think we see Daniel Bryan vs. Stardust then Goldust will distract Stardust to let Bryan win the match then while Bryan is celebrating with the crowd coming from behind is a returning Sheamus with a vicious Brouge Kick plus a High Cross to the turnbuckle that's your heel turn. As far as tonight goes for the IC Title I think we see Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper then Bad News Barrett vs R-Truth and this time you have Dean Ambrose on the commentary.
2.) Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns ?
Brock Lesnar is advertised for tonight's Monday Night Raw and hopefully this time he actually appears on the television screen. I want to make this perfectly clear with everybody I'm a Brock Lesnar fan and I enjoy his work, but there's been no return of investment with this Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight Title reign. Brock Lesnar wants to go to UFC fine go ahead knock your socks off my issue is that know there's report about Brock and WWE not getting along with contract negotiations and my issue is that he wants to fight in UFC and WWE at the same time and not only should not happen, but it's not going to happen when Vince McMahon is the owner of the WWE. As far as his match with Roman Reigns goes I think people are acting like hundinis and there's this mindset that this match is going to be like Goldberg/Brock from WrestleMania 20. I don't know how the match is going to go and neither do you. If Brock's on the show I think it would be good to hear him talk and go off the whole I can do anything I damn well please soliloquy to get some heat from the crowd. I think something that can build some heat into this match is if Reigns and Lesnar brawl on tonight's show and both guys need to be seperated. I would have it start the show actually you have Brock and Paul in the ring and they do their thing and Roman comes out and says oh you think I can beat you bam they start brawling the locker room comes out and seperates both guys. I think its a good idea because its a good test to see how the reacts to Brock and Reigns going after each other. 3.) Triple H vs Sting + Bray Wyatt vs The Undertaker
Just wanted to throw out a couple of scenairos for both of these matches. I think that Triple H and Bray Wyatt have been doing a good job so far building both matches. For Triple H you have the recent confrontations with former WCW Superstars and it's really cool from a historically standpoint because the WWE has been nailing the build for this match with Triple H and Sting. I think a nice surprise for the crowd and for this feud you have either Sting show up on a balcony or in a video package, but either way you have Sting talk about why he's in the WWE and his purpose to go after Triple H. We have to see Sting before Mania and while Triple H has been doing a good job putting words in his mouth how can you personally connect to the feud if you don't know what's going through the mind of the challenger as much as wrestling fans think that they're the smartest people on the earth they're not mind readers. As far as Bray Wyatt/Undertaker match is concern once again I think Bray Wyatt is doing the best work of his career. Last week on SmackDown Bray Wyatt said that he's going to reveal the soul of The Undertaker on Raw. Do you have Undertaker play mind games with Bray since he's holding onto the urn now? Or do you have a coffin come down to the ring with Bray Wyatt and Bray opens the casket and tries to light it on fire and as Bray opens the casket he sees himself and then The Undertaker music hits he appears and everybody loses their you know what? Taker doesn't have to be on Raw, but if he is I think we see him in person and Bray Wyatt walks away laughing.
4.) John Cena vs. Rusev vs. Curtis Axel ?
Tonight we know that we'll see Curtis Axel vs Rusev. It hasn't been made official that we'll see the rematch at WrestleMania, but someway somehow we see John Cena make Rusev accept his challenge. I think eventually Hulk Hogan gets involved with this feud and you see that in the constant actions of Curtis Axel. I think Hulk Hogan will be in the corner of John Cena at WrestleMania. Also since The Authority continues to get into Cena's head if Hogan shows up and he's involved in this feud you can have Triple H come out and ask why he's here and that can also transition into Triple H and Hulk Hogan talking about Sting. I think John Cena may have another confrontation with Stephanie McMahon. If not we'll see John Cena vs Kane and Big Show and that plays with Cena mentioning that he wanted to be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal you have Kane & Big Show feuding with each other saying that they will win the battle royal and they also represent The Authority who doesn't want John Cena at WrestleMania.
5.) Randy Orton and Seth Rollins Friendship?
I don't know why WWE is taking forever to make this match official. You already had Orton come back too late and now you're continuing to stall this friendship if you will with Orton and Rollins when everybody knows that Orton is going to turn on The Authority. You're missing out on a major face moment in Randy Orton career and on Raw. This has to end tonight. I think we see Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns tonight due to what happen in the main event of last week's Raw. Rollins cost Orton the match and then he finally turns. It has to happen tonight. I think we see Seth Rollins brag about beating Roman Reigns and how he feels that he needs to be in the main event of WrestleMania, but eventually things will change where Ryback comes out you have Seth Rollins vs Ryback on Raw.
As far as other stuff for the show I think we see who else enters the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Also coming out last night's Total Divas The Bella Twins are no longer WWE Divas, so it makes sense now with AJ Lee & Paige vs Bella Twins at WrestleMania. I think we also see more tensions between Miz & Mizdow who will be in a match with The PrimeTime Players. I think tonight we see The Usos vs. The Ascension and the winner of that match will take on Kidd & Cesaro for the WWE Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania.
That's a wrap for this week's WWE Raw Preview. Hope you guys enjoy it you can follow me on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94 and also make sure to check out my wrestling radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience which airs live every Wednesdays from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com
Welcome to this week's Raw preview for Monday February 2nd, 2015 as the WWE is back to schedule and we're on the road to not only WrestleMania 31, but also WWE Fast Lane on Sunday February 22nd. The WWE sure had one of it's most hetic weeks as a company, but just like any obstacle that's put in front of them from the government, to the networks, to mother nature and fans, the WWE puts it's best foot forward as Raw tonight emanates from Denver, Colorado. If you're a first time reader of this Raw preview, what you'll see is a forecast as to what you'll probably see on this week's edition of Raw. This preview includes a take at current storylines, and what's the most realistic options for those particular storylines to progress in the positive direction. Take a look back at our previous Raw previews, and what you'll see here on Condo On The Moon is the home for the most accurate Raw previews that you can't find anywhere else. These previews don't represent the personal taste of I Joshua Lopez. My goal here is to not only showcase my expertise if you will on the WWE product, but also to show you why these storylines are happening and how we can turn negatives to positives. WWE had alot of controversy coming out of the Royal Rumble PPV, and how will WWE's flagship show respond to the offering from the Royal Rumble PPV? Well, here's five things to expect on tonight's Monday Night Raw.
1.) Triple H Announcement
Why not start off Raw with a bang right? If you missed the live SmackDown this past Thursday, WWE COO Triple H came out and said that he was going to make an announcement on Raw tonight regarding the controversy surrounding the Royal Rumble match and Triple H said that this announcement will shake the WWE Universe to it's very core. Now what can this announcement be? I mean to be honest with you despite the backlash one Roman Reigns has recieved in this past week in storyline sense, Reigns won the Rumble fair and square. There's alot of people that feel that Roman Reigns is not ready for the WrestleMania main event spotlight. Will Triple H announcement be that Roman Reigns will be stripped from winning the Royal Rumble due to the fact that The Rock came out and took out The Authority even though, Kane & Big Show were already eliminated? You need intrigued for the WWE Fast Lane PPV right since the WWE Network is for free in the month of February, so what a better way to have Roman Reigns put up his title match on the line against Daniel Bryan. There's many variables that can come out of this announcement and to me I still feel that Roman Reigns will be the main event of Mania. With that I think we'll something where Triple H will either strip Roman from the Rumble Match or forced him to put up the title match on the line to take on either Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match like previously advertised in Memphis, or we can see Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan? I think it would be best to have this announcement start the show, I know people are not into the 20 minute promos, but this one will have meaning to it, so let's what happens and we'll go from there.
2.) Daniel Bryan YES! Movement Part 2
The leader of the YES! Movement sure hasn't had the best start to 2015. Not only did he fail on his goal to come back from injury and win the Royal Rumble Match, but Bryan's favorite sport team the Seattle Seahawks just lost the SuperBowl to the New England Patriots who by the way are The Authority's favorite team, go figure. Last week on Raw with a sit-down interview with Renee Young, Bryan explains his displeausre with not winning the Royal Rumble Match. In that same interview he kinda takes a dig at Roman Reigns for the fact that Bryan didn't have the WWE feeding him his whole enitre life. Bryan finally I hope put a end to his feud with Kane this past Thursday on SmackDown in a very physical Casket Match. Daniel Bryan & Daniel Bryan fans are heading into this Road to WrestleMania with unrealistic expectations. While yea it would be nice to see Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan, we had this storyline last year and Daniel Bryan is no longer the underdog character no matter what you think it's the truth. I understand that he didn't have the opportunity to have a long run as champion, but for the people that say that Daniel Bryan is treated like crap from the WWE is totally ridculous. Daniel Bryan in the 5 years he's been in the WWE has competed in either a title or main event level match at WrestleMania. I'm not sure yet what Bryan's doing at Mania, but as we're building towards this FastLane PPV. I say you have two realistic options here for Bryan. 1.) He can take on Roman Reigns for Reigns WrestleMania title shot. 2.) He can take on the man that eliminated him from the Royal Rumble Match Bray Wyatt. Now I'm not saying that a feud with Wyatt & Bryan needs to brew over to WrestleMania, but for a February PPV, I think Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt would be the best thing for both guys. As far as tonight is concern I think we'll probably see Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt or Big Show.
3.) John Cena vs. Rusev
One of the already announced matches for the WWE Fast Lane PPV is John Cena vs. Rusev. Is this match for the United States Championship? I think we're seeing this match a month early because of two reasons. 1.) Like I stated already you need to give the people a reason to care for this Fast Lane PPV especially with networking being free this month. 2.) I don't think we're seeing John Cena vs. Rusev at WrestleMania. Last week on SmackDown, John Cena & Rusev had a really good in-ring segment. I thought we saw character building from Rusev with the fact that he didn't have Lana cut the entire promo for him and secondly John Cena took this upcoming challenge seriously. Now that we're 3 weeks away from the PPV, i'm interested in seeing where do Cena & Rusev go from here, and what's there actually beef with each other. If its what Rusev said last week on SmackDown that John Cena is the past and that he needs to be CRUSHED! then okay I'm fine with that. I think tonight you'll probably see another in-ring promo with both John Cena & Rusev. I think it will also be good to see Rusev in the ring tonight. You'll probably see Rusev vs Dolph Ziggler tonight. As far as John Cena is concern I think that he takes on someone like Bad News Barrett or Luke Harper to make a statement to Rusev. Either way I'm intrguied by match quality with John Cena & Rusev, but what's their storyline and why should we care. I think we'll get a good jist of why these guys are feuding with each other and it's not a bad thing that these guys are fighting at Fast Lane.
4.) Bray Wyatt & The Mid Card
The MVP of the Royal Rumble Match this year for me was Bray Wyatt. Make sure to check out Bray Wyatt's promo from SmackDown last week it was very creepy and maybe it's a subtle reminder as to who Wyatt may face at WrestleMania this year. Now that the mid-card is not strangled from the gimmick PPV, now we can see more title matches & mid-card feuds for this PPV. I think you can see The Usos vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro for the WWE Tag Team Championships I can buy into that match at Fast Lane. You'll probably see Cesaro vs. Jimmy Uso tonight on Raw. Where do Miz & Mizdow go now? There was tension rising between both Miz & Mizdow at the Royal Rumble. Is tonight the night we finally see the split between Miz & Mizdow. You'll probably see a The Miz & Mizdow vs. The New Day and that's where you'll see the split. We found out at SmackDown that Nikki Bella will be defending her WWE Divas Championship against the beautiful Paige at Fast Lane. You'll probably see Paige vs. Brie Bella tonight or Paige vs. Alicia Fox with The Bella Twins on Commentary. Who's the next challenger for Bad News Barrett's Intercontinental Championship? After seeing what happen at the Royal Rumble the most realisitic option for a challenge for BNB championship is Dean Ambrose. Now I don't see Ambrose winning the IC Championship from Bad News Barrett, but if you don't have anything for Ambrose at Fast Lane put him in a match with Barrett. Lot of options tonight for the mid-card heading towards Fast Lane & WrestleMania 31, I like that because it gives you a reason to tune into Raw, Main Event & SmackDown each week.
5.) The Future?
After watching one of the greatest triple threat matches of all-time at the Royal Rumble there's no doubt in my mind that Seth Rollins is without a shadow of doubt the future of the WWE. Seth Rollins is sure walking with a big chip on his shoulder these days even though he's The Authority chosen boy and that he still has the Money in the Bank breifcase. Last week on SmackDown, Seth Rollins was issuing out an open challenge and we saw Ryback, Dolph Ziggler & Erick Rowan going after Seth Rollins. You'll probably see Seth Rollins vs. Ryback. As far as Fast Lane is concern i'm not sure because it's been two months where I tried to come back with the perfect scenairo to have Randy Orton come back and seek his revenge on not only Seth Rollins, but also The Authority. So this is what I had in mind for both Orton & Rollins at Fast Lane. Rollins beats Ryback and The Authority tries to take out Ryback, and then Orton makes his return, and Rollins runs for his life. You'll probably see Randy Orton vs. Kane at Fast Lane and then you'll see Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler for Rollins Money in the Bank breifcase. I think that's the best options for both guys before they face at WrestleMania.
Before we head off I would like to remind everybody that Triple H will be on the LIVE Steve Austin Show Podcast on the WWE Network right after the show is over tonight. I've been waiting for this interview for months. I can't wait to see what Austin ask Triple H not expecting any particular questions, but it should be very interesting, and unlike the interview with Vince, I think we'll see Triple H expand on his thoughts on certain topics. That's a wrap for our Raw preview. I hope you enjoyed if you have any questions please comment below.
The rehabilitation of Roman Reigns has begun. It took a little help from Mother Nature but it maybe off to a decent start after the disaster that was the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia.
It was a Raw that we will likely never see again as the show was cancelled in Hartford and they showed the two main events from the Royal Rumble on free T.V. They also had a number of sit-down interviews that felt very unscripted. It made for some interesting television in the shadow of perhaps the worst Royal Rumble event of all-time. In all of it, there was a lesson to be learned not to say the WWE will learn it.
Roman Reigns the man who was booed out of the build less than 24 hours earlier in Philadelphia did some of his best work on the microphone in his career. It speaks to how Roman has been more a victim of bad creative more than he is a terrible performer on the microphone. Is he actually ready to main event the biggest show of the year in Wrestlemania? It still remains a question, but perhaps it now is the time as Reigns getting a year to build to Wrestlemania 32 makes better sense than having him get the main event at that massive event.
Paul Heyman did a brilliant job selling this match and if this leads to Reigns turning heel and siding with Paul Heyman it could be great. Imagine a year out Roman Reigns complains that the Rock tried to steal his moment winning the Royal Rumble. It was the Rock’s fault the people booed him. Rock against Reigns with Heyman as Reigns advocate could be a great main event for Wrestlemania 32.
The key is that Roman Reigns needs to be distanced from how John Cena is presented. They have tried to present Reigns like Cena and it has been a massive failure. Reigns made the point that he has a massive opportunity and it is up to him to take advantage of it. Ultimately, Reigns needs to learn to say the word NO to creative that is awful and hurts him and his long-term career.
This is certainly a crossroads for Roman Reigns and the WWE as they face something they truly have never had to deal with. John Cena is not going anywhere and this is the first time the WWE has made a choice to move to a new top guy without having it forced upon them. Hogan left the company so did Bret and Shawn and Steve Austin was injured and Rock went to Hollywood. This is the first time they have not been forced into making a change at the top of the company as its face.
I have never had this hate and hostility for Roman Reigns that the fan base seems to have developed. Daniel Bryan is never getting back to the place he was at and that is just the reality of things. If you’re the WWE can you honestly have faith Bryan can remain healthy for any lengthy period of time? I would have to answer no to that question. He will still have his moment from Wrestlemania 30 and it will be a question of what might have been had he remained healthy and had his proper reign as champion. The reality is though we still could very well be in the same place we find ourselves now. If Bryan ever faced Lesnar as champion, I would not have favored him to win that match. So we still could be on this same path to Reigns against Lesnar main event for Wrestlemania 31.
How the WWE presents Roman Reigns in the next 60+ days will greatly determine both his future and their future to a large degree. This is a high stakes time for them and honestly, something the WWE has never truly done by replacing their face of the company with the other still remaining. C.M Punk was always in the shadow of Cena similar to how Savage was to Hulk Hogan. This is different and WWE is counting on Reigns to be the guy to carry this company for the next decade more or less.
It certainly has got off to a Rocky start if you will pardon the pun. Still if Reigns is allowed to make the position his own and fans are willing to give him a chance it can work. Those are two major factors that are easier said than done.
The Roman Empire eventually crumbled this Roman Reigns empire has started from the rumble in ruins. Time will tell if he becomes one of the great names that we talk about in the history of this company. If he doesn’t get there, the blame is on the WWE for how they handcuffed his launch into this position of prominence in the company. Reigns has come a long way in a short time and is being asked to take on far more than he should be at this point. This is his opportunity though and he needs to make the most of it regardless of if he is ready or not. He might not get another one, or maybe he will get many, but none will have the potential that this one has for him to solidify himself as a top guy.
Well to everybody that canceled the WWE Network, cool story bro. We'll see you tweeting about #RAW tonight. Point is you want to have your voice heard back up your threats like none of you did last year it's simple as that. Last night was the 28th annual Royal Rumble PPV. Brock Lesnar retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a stellar Triple Threat Match with John Cena & Seth Rollins. Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble match and the main event of WrestleMania is ready booked, set and stone. Here's five things to expect on the January 26th edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.
1.) Roman Reigns
Obviously Roman Reigns won the Rumble last night and there's a lot of people mad about it. My point of the view of the finish or just the Rumble match in general. I'm sorry but it's the truth and I understand they're not listening to what the fans want, but that's what you get when you have the Royal Rumble in a smarky crowd. I like Roman Reigns, I don't know how he's being shoved down our throats when he only appears one or two times throughout the show. Was Reigns my pick to win the Royal Rumble, no, but for me as a wrestling analyst I just stay netural in these type of situations it's not about what I want who am I? They made their choice awhile back and we shouldn't be surprised that this happen and even when we complain about the WWE never having a long term outlook on any of these PPV's, but when they have something set in place like they do right for WrestleMania people will still complain about it. It's simple and I understand you can't please anybody anymore so why still do shows? Anyways, as far as tonight is concern if I was Roman Reigns I would go on the turnbuckle and give the entire crowd the middle finger while the crowd is booing him. Roman will probably cut a promo tonight and it's going to be interesting to see how he handles advertisy especially with these type of promos heading towards WrestleMania. I think we'll see Big Show coming out and blaming The Rock for helping Roman winning and say that he deserves to win the Royal Rumble. This will lead to their match at WWE Fast Lane where Reigns will put up his WrestleMania spot on the line to take on the Big Show in some type of a gimmick match. We'll see what happens, but it's sure the "cool" thing to boo Roman Reigns now.
2.) Brock Lesnar
I earn alot of respect for Brock Lesnar for the performance he put on last night. Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31. Tonight for Monday Night Raw it's going to be interesting to see what happens for two reasons. One because obviously I want and I'm for sure we'll hear Paul Heyman's point of view of Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble Match. Secondly I saw Brock Lesnar on the WWE Fast Lane promo package and with this "broken rib" is Brock going to compete at the PPV in Memphis. Will we see Brock Lesnar get confronted by either Seth Rollins or John Cena? Do we actually see a in-ring promo between Roman Reigns & Brock Lesnar. While I don't agree with having a part-time performer main eventing Mania as champion and leaving the WWE the next day, you can't deny the pure natural talent that Brock Lesnar possesss. Expect a perfect promo from the one and only Paul Heyman.
3.) Seth Rollins
If there was anybody that believes that Seth Rollins is not a quality WWE main event star, I don't know what to tell you bro. I was sure as hell sold on Seth Rollins last night. He's the real deal and I will be ultimately shocked if by the end of the year, Seth Rollins doesn't have at least ONE title reign. It's going to be interesting to see what Seth Rollins does at WrestleMania. There's been many of rumors about Randy Orton making his return to the WWE. Yet we don't see him. What's taking so long? You're missing out on a potential great feud by continuing to drag out the Randy Orton return. It makes not only is Sting looking to own up The Authority, Orton is looking for revenge for The Authority to take him out of action for almost four months. I think we'll also see a in-ring promo from The Authority tonight I wouldn't be shocked by that and I actually condone that because we do have to hear from Triple H and his thoughts about guys like Rock and or Sting coming back and getting in the way of all of The Authority winning titles, rumbles, and stipulation matches etc. I think we'll see either Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler or Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton will make his return tonight.
4.) John Cena
I'm not a John Cena fan, but I sure as hell do respect that guy. You can say that he's a terrible actor, wrestler or whatever, but when you see matches like that Triple Threat Match as much as Rollins & Lesnar deserve credit for making this awesome, John Cena also deserve as much praise for that match. John Cena had a face-to-face confrontation on the Royal Rumble post show with Rusev. Looking at that stare down I'm actually ok with seeing John Cena vs. Rusev. You're going to have to find a way to take the title away from Rusev because I don't know how John Cena goes from one year taking on Bray Wyatt then the next year taking on Rusev in a United States Championship Match. I hope he does take this feud seriously instead of doing childish jokes towards Lana & Rusev. I think we can possibly see a brawl between Rusev & John Cena. At the same time we don't have to rush into that program who knows maybe somebody comes out of no where and takes on John Cena for a match at Fast Lane. Do you want to see Rusev vs John Cena at Fast Lane or WrestleMania? I'll let you guys answer that question down below.
5.) The Authority + Daniel Bryan
So are we going down the same path we did last year with WrestleMania? Daniel Bryan was in the Royal Rumble, but he didn't win the Royal Rumble Match. I'm happy that Bryan is back and he'll eventually get the title back, I just wondering what they're going to do with him as we're on the Road to WrestleMania. I don't think it's going to be Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania due to Bray eliminating Bryan, but I could see that match happening at WWE Fast Lane. As far as The Authority is concern like I said earlier I would like to see Triple H talk about The Rock & Sting situations. We'll find out what they think about Reigns winning the Royal Rumble. Do we see Rowan, Ziggler & Ryback punished on Raw for coming back we'll see, it's a big night for The Authority they need to rebound from a rough night last night.
By the way congratulations to Arnold Schwarznegger who announces on TMZ that he will be the celebrity inductee in the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame.
