Condo on the Moon Podcast #46: The Rocky Start To Roman Empire

It was an interesting week in the WWE to say the least. We had a rumble that had fans ready to revolt. Raw and a Smackdown taping losing to Mother Nature. WWE announces they have reached a million subscribers after a much publicized mass cancellation of the same network in reaction to the Royal Rumble. Along with a live Smackdown and Raw with no matches live. Roman Reigns week was just as roller coaster like as fans hated him Sunday, some loved him on Monday and by Thursday he was transformed into the next John Cena with a very split reaction to him on a live Smackdown. Almost lost in all of this was a little used WWE talent asking for his release from the company and leaving to much less fanfare than C.M Punk.

All this and talk of NXT where the WWE still shows they can entertain us and some ROH and PWG talk as well. A jam packed 90 minutes.



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That is all for this week if you enjoy the show please help spread the word. If you ever want to reach out with your thoughts give us a shout on twitter machine @Condoonthemoon. Also go check out our latest poll and tell us what match coming up in WWE has you the most excited to see in the Wrestlemania Season?

The Rehabilitation of Roman Reigns Has Begun

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.

Condo On Moon Podcast #45: Royal Rumble Preview

We preview the Royal Rumble and talk some future business for the WWE. I call Triple H by mistake Hogan while Walder has thrown his name in the hat to be the newest member of WWE Creative. The fact he is both Swiss and Millennial might work against him. Someone else already employed by WWE is getting promotion in the front offices in Stamford. All this and a weekly Young Bucks reference or two in this week's podcast.


If you are unable to listed to us here head over to Podomatic and listen or download from there.

Best of luck in your local Rumble Pool and hope everyone enjoys that start of the road to Wrestlemania.

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 1/12/15

So last week's Raw was the worst of all-time, I get a chuckle out of that because I hear that every single week on social media and it's from the same people that don't know anything about storytelling. Last week's announcement of the firing of Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback did catch me off guard, but it was the right decision to make. Raw's in the home of WrestleMania 30, New Orleans, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman are advertised to be on the show. Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan will be on the show tonight after announcing not only his return to the WWE, but also announcing that he will be in the Royal Rumble Match. How will John Cena respond to the Authority firing his entire team? Will Nikki Bella have two total divas going after her divas championship? All this and more as I, Josh Lopez will give you the best preview for tonight's Monday Night Raw!!!!!!!! Mind you I've been very accurate with my previews over the last couple of weeks and what I put into this article is NOT my personal taste or what I would like to see on the show. What you see on this article is a look at what the WWE Creative Team will dish out before Raw starts. Here's five things to look forward to with tonight's Monday Night Raw.

1.) The Authority, Brock Lesnar and John Cena 

Here's what I have to throw out there for this storyline to head into the right direction heading into the Royal Rumble. I think we'll have a in-ring promo to start off the show with The Authority explaining their actions from last week Raw. I think we'll see Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman come out and question the Authority decision to add Seth Rollins to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match. I think John Cena will come out and he will want to get his hands on Seth Rollins (again), but The Authority will try to give John Cena the night off because they appreciate him so much. Who knows there would be a backstage segment where Stephanie or Triple H is on the phone and they're explaining their actions and they get off the phone and say they were talking to Vince or the Board of Directors. I think they need to give me a reason to care about Seth Rollins being in this Triple Threat Match. I don't think he needs to be in this match and I think the WWE should've had Randy Orton makes his return after TLC, but Orton is injured from what I hear from the so reliable dirtsheets, but yea. I think the feud between Brock Lesnar & John Cena should end in a one-on-one war, not a triple threat match.

2.) Daniel Bryan + The Yes Movement!

I'm glad that Daniel Bryan is back and I'm looking forward to seeing him on Raw tonight. It was announced that on SmackDown on Thursday, Bryan will compete in first match since after Extreme Rules 2014. We'll probably hear from Bryan in a in-ring promo and I know what I'm going to say is going to upset people, but it's the right thing to do storyline wise and just being a realistic sports-entertainment fan. The Authority will come out it could be either Triple H, Stephanie and or Kane that comes out and interrupts Daniel Bryan and will question him about his health and does he think he can really win the Royal Rumble Match. I think what will come out of tonight's Daniel Bryan segment is that Bryan will take on Kane on SmackDown this Thursday. Kane should be the first and only person that Daniel Bryan competes against.

3.) Ramifications for Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose 

Dean Ambrose had a pretty interesting week on Raw last week he fights Bray Wyatt in a brutal Ambulance Match and then he reunites with his former Shield brother Roman Reigns to take on The Authority. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins & Big Show in a very good tag team match on SmackDown. Will Dean Ambrose get punish for defying The Authority? I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a rematch from SmackDown. Maybe you can see The Big Show & Seth Rollins take on Roman Reigns in a handicap match. Or we can just see another Roman Reigns vs. Big Show match possibly turn that into a No DQ match. I'm surprised that Roman hasn't spoke about the Royal Rumble match like Batista did last year. The story should be The Authority doing everything in their power to make sure that Roman Reigns doesn't win the Royal Rumble Match.

4.) WWE Commentary Change + WWE Mid-Card's Thoughts

I always go out of my way to gives my thoughts out there for those fans that do enjoy the mid-carders in the WWE. I think it's important for any wrestling analyst, broadcaster or even fan to pay attention to what's going on the mid-card because there's alot of good talent on the WWE Roster. Continue to build that heat for The Ascension keep putting them in squatch matches why not it continues to make people talk about The Ascension and that's what they want. I think we'll Rusev continue to take digs at Ryback because Ryback is not in the WWE anymore, so yea he can call him a coward again. I think we'll see Bad News Barrett rebound from his lost on SmackDown to Sin Cara. BNB will lay out Sin Cara in the rematch tonight. It's looks like we're getting a tag team turmoil for the WWE Tag Team Championship sometime soon with The Usos, The New Day, Gold & Stardust, The Miz & Damien Mizdow, The Ascension and Cesaro & Tyson Kidd. I don't think that match will happen tonight, but that's something that can work for the Royal Rumble or at the WWE Fast Lane PPV. WWE made an announcement that Jerry Lawler will no longer will be on the Raw announce team which is an end of a era, but also there's a underlying problem with the Raw announce team it's not Michael Cole it's JBL. Why should I have to continue to listen to a bully who had a overrated career, who continues to bury young talents and is the Bill O'Reilly of professional wrestling broadcasting.

5.) WWE Divas Championship Feud

Seems like tensions continue to rise with the return of Total Divas. Natalya & Nikki Bella have been feuding over the last couple of week's, but just as the WWE Championship match turn into a triple threat match, the WWE Divas Championship can turn into a triple threat match with Natalya, Paige and Nikki Bella. Paige & Nikki Bella had a phenomenal match on WWE Main Event last week. Raw is three hours there's no reason why Paige & Nikki Bella can't have the same amount of time in the ring on Raw tonight like they did on WWE Main Event. Nikki Bella continues to improve as Divas Champion and I'm actually looking forward to see what happens with the Divas Division heading into WrestleMania 31.

Follow Josh Lopez on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

There's some rumors going around about TMZ revealing the first inductee of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015. The rumors is that Randy "Macho Man" Savage will be the headling inductee in this year's class. The announcement should be made tonight on Raw. If that does happen all of us here at Condo on the Moon would like to congratulate the Poffo family on this crowning achievement. R.I.P Macho Man OOOOOOOO YEA!!!!!!!! DIG IT! Enjoy Raw tonight.

Daniel Bryan Is Back But Is He Better?

Back for an extended Christmas vacation and some things have happened in wrestling since we have been gone on. Perhaps the most important is Daniel Bryan announcing he is coming back at the Royal Rumble and will be part of the Royal Rumble Match.

This was quite surprising as some reports not to long ago that he was likely going to be out until July and miss Wrestlemania. Now suddenly he is returning at the Royal Rumble the spot where his incredible rise to the Main Event of Wrestlemania 30. Bryan was left out of last year’s rumble and the crowd turned large on the returning Batista.

People seem to think Bryan now is in line to win the Royal Rumble and main event a second Wrestlemania. It doesn’t seem likely to me given how the WWE feels about Bryan. I still feel the WWE wants Roman Reigns to be in the main event spot and I would imagine whoever eliminates Bryan will be his match at Wrestlemania. There has to be some legitimate concern about getting behind Bryan based on his health.  How does someone go from needing a second surgery to return unexpectedly to his top spot he left when he was forced to vacate the title? It just doesn’t seem to make sense from the WWE’s point of view.

I also wonder what kind of style of Daniel Bryan we will get upon his return. It only makes common sense hat his style needs to be toned down significantly.

I can’t see myself watching Daniel Bryan without being in fear for Bryan Danielson health in real life. He likely will never get back to the level he was at coming out of Wrestlemania 30. Fans still love Bryan, but they have not come to the realization that he likely can never be the same. His best matches are likely in his past and not his future. It is sad to say but it is likely the truth.

Can Bryan still be part of the company and still stick around for a few more years? He probably can and he could do something similar to what Foley did in the late stages of his career in a more comedic based roll. That likely isn’t what Bryan’s fans want to see but it is likely what is best for him at this stage.

Will Bryan do the smart thing and do any of this and take a step backwards in terms of his work might not happen. He really needs to think about his long-term future and not end up in a position where he is worse off in terms of his long-term future.

People expecting him to storm back and end up in a main event against Brock Lesnar is likely not what is best for him. Bryan desperately wanted to work a match with Brock but this is not likely a good idea. Lesnar is about as stiff as it gets.

For better or likely for worse, Daniel Bryan is back. Let’s hope he’s smart enough to allow all those YES chants make him do some things that are not best for his future.

You have to ask yourself, as a fan is it worth it to see this guy return based on the risk involved. I worry for a guy who came so far and made it to levels he never was suppose to get too. Daniel Bryan has already over achieved to levels he likely never was suppose to get too. He is a WWE Hall of Famer if he retired tomorrow. Wrestlemania 30 will forever be the peak of Daniel Bryan’s career no matter what he does in his future from today.