5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 8/3/15

Welcome to this week's Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. My name is Joshua Lopez and I'm the host of the Pro Wrestling Experience and I do TV Show Reports for Between The Ropes. Obviously it hasn't been the best time to be a wrestling fan over the past two months and surprisngly it has nothing to do with the product it has to do with the recent passings of Roddy Piper and Dusty Rhodes. Whether I'm writing a piece or doing a radio show my goal is to make someone's day better as a fan of wrestling and at the same time promote the good and history of the business instead of tearing it down. With that tonight's Raw is from the home of where Suplex City began. That's right the WWE is back in San Jose, California at the SAP Center (which is a great arena with good seats and AIR CONDITIONING) and watch out Michael Cole as Brock Lesnar will be back to the program. We're three weeks away from the 28th annual SummerSlam PPV and I will talk about what happen on last week's WWE Programming and what new matches can be made for SummerSlam in fact I will actually lay out a demo card for your liking and also I'll give you my thoughts on the passing of Roddy Piper.

Roddy Piper:

I wasn't born in the 1970's or 80's I'm a 90's kid and I really didn't get a full grasp of who Rowdy Roddy Piper was until I was like maybe 10 years old and I was starting full studying of the business. I always saw Piper on video packages and etc and the first time I saw Piper on TV was two occassions. The first one was of course when he got inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and the great Piper's Pit Segment with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 21. The second one was on the Legends of Wrestling Roundtable program that used to be on WWE Classics On Demand. What's their to say that hasn't already been said? Piper is the personification of what a true villan in pro wrestling is supposed to be. Piper was the man and doing my research over the years Piper did alot of amazing things that go under the radar at times especially his stuff in Portland and his feud with Greg Valentine in the NWA in the early 80's.  If there wasn't Piper in 85 there's no WrestleMania and with the rate the territories were going at that time I'm not sure if wrestling would still be here. Piper was a mainstream from the business and had a underrated career outside the ring in the movies and of course when he was in on the TV Show Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I love Piper's Mania matches with Bret Hart, Adonis and Goldust. Piper's run in WCW was really good from the standpoint that he reinvented himself in way when he was feuding with the nWo in the way he was cutting his promos. Obviously being born in this generation of wrestling I always enjoyed Piper's sproadic appearances on WWE programming and there's two moments that I always remember from the Piper we saw in today's wrestling. The first one was the segment with Piper and Cena where Piper was trying to bring out the inner anger in Cena and then second one is Old School Raw in 2014 where he closes off Raw with my personal favorite wrestler CM Punk who Piper was a major influence on Punk. Piper had a charm to him and what's more important that even though he went through alot in the wrestling business he always tried to find a way to be happy and be the best father out there. I send my colodences to the Toombs family and Roddy will be missed. I loved the guy I think to me he will always be the gold standard of what a true heel is and it's unfortunate that he was decided to be taken away from us that young. Love u Piper! Thank you for everything you've done for the business and setting example for what a good man and father is and you will never be forgotten even if your out of Bubblegum high above.

1.) John Cena vs. Seth Rollins at SummerSlam? 

The John Cena/Seth Rollins US Championship Match from last week's Raw was great. Cena broke his nose and continue to fight on for another 6-7 minutes and you have to give it up to a guy like that no matter how you feel about his subjective character. A couple weeks ago I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this program because obviously it's ironic that Cena is going back for the title when the ratings haven't been earth shattering. Rollins has gone through Reigns, Ambrose, Orton, and survived Brock and still is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and for him to go all through that and then just lose like nothing in first encounter with Cena since last year's TLC would be a major spit in a face to everything this guy has done in the past year. With that being said and just going off what i've seen in the past couple of WWE shows is that Rollins getting a win against Cena on a big stage like SummerSlam would be a major rocket booster to a title reign which I already thought it was going really good. Cena could win the title and I wouldn't been surprised or upset because he's realy had a stellar year this year when it comes to matches and his promos have been good, so Cena hasn't had a bad feud this year. With Cena nose being shattern your not going to see Cena in the ring which is unfortunate because I would have love seeing some US Open Challenges before SummerSlam and now it looks like it will be champion vs. champion at SummerSlam. I'm sure Rollins will start the show and brag about Cena nose being broken and that Cena is not entitled to another World Title Match and he's not here, so Rollins is moving on. If Rollins was to wrestle tonight I think he would fight either Roman Reigns or Cesaro. It would be interesting to see if Cena would have a cut pre-recorded promo towards Rollins, but we'll see what happens.

2.) The Beast is Back  

Brock Lesnar is back on tonight's show and I'm really looking forward to that. We've all seen Heyman cut amazing promo's especially the ones before WrestleMania 30. There's always been one stat that I don't know why someone like Heyman would continue to overlook and not bring up. That stat is the fact that The Undertaker has never beated Brock Lesnar. I'm sure Heyman will cut a cool promo tonight and then it would be distrupted by Undertaker in a cool Taker esque video package if Taker is not at Raw tonight that's just a idea we haven't seen that in a while. I would also like to know if this will be a fight or another wrestling match like at Mania 30. This match NEEDS a stipulation to it. The fans in Brooklyn will boo the match out of the building if it's just another wrestling match with 20 suplexes. This is one of the major things I'm paying attention to for tonight's show especially coming off that amazing pull apart a couple weeks ago.

3.) Steve Austin Podcast with Paige + Divas Revolution

Tonight after RAW is the return of the infamous Stone Cold Podcast on the WWE Network with special guest former Divas Champion and Tough Enough Coach the beautiful Paige. I'm really looking forward to this. Obviously for me I know about Paige's upbrining with her legendary Knight family, but I'm also interested in learning more things about her and what type of question Austin would have for her since he has admitted over the past couple weeks on his podcast that he hasn't been watching the product due to his crazy schedule with filming the next Broken Skull Challenge season. Will Austin bring up AJ Lee? What's Austin thoughts on the Diva uprising in the WWE and will Austin ask Paige about her experience on Tough Enough this season. I love Paige, so it will be alot of fun covering this podcast tonight. As far as tonight is concern I think we would see Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch then later on that night we'll see Paige & Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks & Naomi.

4.) SummerSlam 2015 Match Card 

1.) No Holds Barred Match 
The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman

2.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match 
Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena

3.) Fatal Four Way Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship 
Prime Time Players (c) vs. The New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores

4.) Triple Threat Match for the WWE Divas Championship 
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige vs. Sasha Banks

5.) Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

6.) Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

7.) Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship 
Ryback (c) vs. The Miz vs. Big Show

8.) The Wyatt Family vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose


I hope you guys enjoyed this week's Raw preview. It will be nice to see the WWE pay some type of tribute to Piper on tonight's show. It's going to be a good night to honor a legend and enjoy some good wrestling.

You can follow me on Twitter it's @JoshLopezCSR

Check out my radio show this Wednesday the Pro Wrestling Experience from 11am-2pm ET on Chicagolandsportsradio.com

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. 

Dean Ambrose Is Starting to Realize His Potential

I first remember hearing about Dean Ambrose was him having a match with CM Punk down in FCW. That was the former developmental prior to NXT. I watched the match and was blown away by this guy wrestling Punk who at the time was at the height of his popularity and the WWE Champion.

I was so intrigued, I did my research and found out this guy was John Moxley on the independent scene. The promos this guy was cutting for independent promotions that I had never heard of were amazing. They were dark and had a real edge to them. Bray Wyatt in current WWE draws comparison Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Which are valid but Ambrose was cutting promos of a similar nature back at this time and they were all very good and stood out. There is a short list of great talkers you find in the independent scene as the opportunities to cut promos are far less.

Ambrose when The Shield first started was billed by most hardcore fans as the big potential star when they first arrived. It was well deserved and you could understand why. Dean Ambrose for me still is the most complete package for money as we see The Shield clearly going their separate ways.

Set Rollins is the first ever NXT Champion and has shown the ability to cut a promo and has always has the skills in the ring. I was not following ROH closely during his time as Tyler Black to be honest but he is always mentioned as one of the guys talked about. The follow up to his turning on The Shield has lacked any real big build to it. He is heading towards a match with Ambrose which should be a heck of a match. They have been working the house show circuit and did go at it Hamilton where I call home. I was not at the show but heard the reviews from folks that were as very positive.

Roman Reigns is thought of as the WWE’s Golden Boy and could be thought of as a guy that eventually replaces Cena by the company. I can see the reasons for them thinking along those lines. He is big which has always been a positive in the WWE based on history. He has been getting better and better in the ring and is advancing quickly. His work on the mic and in segments is also getting better as the weeks go on.

Ambrose though sells everything so well and is already in my mind a master at his craft. The thing most remember about the Rollins turn was the reaction of Dean Ambrose which was just perfect. He sells everything so well as this half crazy maniac. Another guy beyond a Jake “The Snake” Roberts that he reminds me of is “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Piper was always a guy that was one short step away from losing his mind at any point. That is something Ambrose does so very well and when he snaps he is a "wild man" much like a Piper was back in the day.

The fact I am comparing Ambrose to long-time WWE Legends is not out of place praise it is well deserved and earned. They say that you need to be your character from the moment you hit the stage to moment you go back behind the curtain. Dean Ambrose embodies this concept and is brilliant at it. Every movement of Dean Ambrose means something and that is top level work by a professional wrestling in any era.

People love Dolph Ziggler and they question why he is where he is at given his obvious talent. I would say compare Ziggler to Dean Ambrose and you have at least part of the answer as to why. Ambrose is just as good at selling things as Ziggler but he goes about it in a much safer way. WWE especially based on recent events with lots of injuries happening has to always be concerned with the longevity of their top talent and be able to count on them to perform. Once in awhile there is a time to take risks as we saw in the feud with The Shield and Evolution. Still you want those moments to mean something and the rest of the time you want guys to choose the safe route. Dean Ambrose can sell with his face as good as he can with his body. He knows when it is appropriate to use both skills. Dolph clearly struggles in this regard.

Dean Ambrose is off to a great start to his singles path and for fans that are missing CM Punk this is a guy that offers a different kind of unpredictability that Punk offered on weekly basis. Punk was a huge fan of Ambrose and was a guy that was an advocate for him advancing in the WWE System. You can see why and can see that many of the same people that loved Punk are the same people that should and are supporting Ambrose now. He will always be a favorite for the hardcore audience that is looking for people to get behind.

I believe in Dean Ambrose and he gives me more and more reasons to believe on a weekly basis these days.

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