In case you've been out of the wrestling loop over the last 24 hours, the historic King of the Ring Tournament will be making it's return tonight on Monday Night Raw. The announcement was made in a promotional package for the WWE Network during the Extreme Rules PPV last night. The King of The Ring Tournament started in 1985 and then became it's own PPV in 1993. King of The Ring was one of the yearly traditional PPV's for the WWE back in the day. This will be the first King of The Ring Tournament since 2010. The first round matches will take place tonight on Raw and the Semi-Final and Final Round matches will take place LIVE on the WWE Network. In the picture down below is the bracket with the participants for this year's King of The Ring Tournament.
Here's the list of former King of the Ring Winner's. This list also features former WWE World Champions and Hall of Famers.
1985- Don Muraco
1986- Harley Race
1987-Randy Savage
1988- Ted DiBiase
1989- Tito Santana
1991- Bret Hart
1993- Bret Hart
1994- Owen Hart
1995- Mabel
1996- Stone Cold Steve Austin
1997- Triple H
1998- Ken Shamrock
1999- Billy Gunn
2000- Kurt Angle
2001- Edge
2002- Brock Lesnar
2006- Booker T
2008- William Regal
2010- Sheamus
This year's King of The Ring Tournament is very interesting because it features the top mid-card peformers for the WWE. You have a upstart in Neville. You have former Intercontinental Champions in Sheamus, Bad News Barrett, Stardust, Dolph Ziggler, and Luke Harper. Of course you got your wild cards in R-Truth and Dean Ambrose. WWE hasn't announced if the winner of this match gets a future title opportunity, but I think bringing back this tournament it's not only good for the mid-card and Monday Night Raw, but for the WWE Network as well.
One would suggest that the early favorites to win this King of The Ring Tournament would be Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose or Bad News Barrett. If you look at the bracket up top you'll see there's some intrguing matchups and personally I'm really looking forward to see how this torunament will end up in the next two days.
For old time's sake I'm going to post a clip of one the most iconic King of The Ring moments.
I hope you guys enjoy the tournament on Raw tonight and on the WWE Network tomorrow. For more updates on the King of The Ring Tournament please stick tune to the website.
Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview. For those who didn't know I go to attend the Extreme Rules PPV last night in Chicago. I had a great time and I will talk about the live event experience at the PPV. Most of our fans shouldn't be suprised that James hated the PPV if you listen to last week's podcast you already knew this was going to happen. I happen to enjoy the PPV and I'll explain why and I'll also talk about what we can expect to see at the WWE Payback PPV which is coming up pretty soon. Here's five things you can expect on the Extreme Rules Fallout edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.
1.) Extreme Rules Fallout + Review
I've been to good to historic PPV's at the Allstate Arena and I have been to disappointing PPV's at that same building. I stood off social media yesterday, so I can enjoy the show as a fan. Never said I was a expert I'm just a fan. I saw alot of people say that the PPV felt like a Raw and it was a disappointing PPV. I watched the show back on the Network fully both the kickoff show and the PPV. Being there in person I had a blast it was one of the better PPV experiences I had at the Allstate Arena. Loved the Neville/Barrett Match, The Street Fight was fun it was everything I expected it to be with a added bonus of them actually driving out of the arena, I loved the Tag Team Championship Match was surprised they won the title, but they're doing really good stuff as heels, I thought the Ziggler/Sheamus match was solid wish it had more time, but I was surprised that Ziggler picked up the victory, but once again Sheamus wins as heel of the night. I thought the Russian Chain Match was kind of clunky and disappointing that was probably one of the things I didn't enjoy about the PPV. The Divas match was okay, but there's many question marks with this Divas Division and I don't know who to cheer and it's time to bring in new Divas. I was really happy for Roman Reigns, Everybody said oh this was the "Last Man Awake" Match, but Big Show and Roman Reigns had the best match of the show. The Chicago crowd never disappoints doesn't matter what's on the card it makes the show alot more enjoyable because Chicago is not a "SMART" town it's a city that enjoys wrestling and they want to be there to have a good time. The main event was good I wouldn't call it great, but it served it's purpose and Rollins retain and I think this will be the beginning of the end of The Authority. Overall I had a good time at the PPV and was it the best one I've went to no, but it was one of the better ones I've went to and I don't regret going. I would give this show a B+.
2.) John Cena vs Rusev IV
We're three weeks away from the WWE Payback PPV from Baltimore, Maryland which is another old-school wrestling town which will help the WWE in this PPV. You have three weeks before that show and I don't think that there will be much change as far as major feuds heading this PPV. I think we'll see a fair amount of rematches from this PPV on that PPV. We found out last night that John Cena will be defending his United States Championship against Rusev at Payback in a I Quit Match. Only problem I have with this match is that the I Quit match should have been the stipulation for their Extreme Rules Match. There's only way to go with this feud for Rusev and Cena as we head towards the PPV and that's just have Rusev come out and beat the crap out of Cena on every single Raw befor e the PPV because right now it's seems really obvious that Cena will not say "I Quit". As far as tonight is concern, I think that John Cena will defend the United States Championship against maybe Harper, Sheamus, or maybe a surprise pick in Neville.
3.) The Authority Issues
I think as we are on the road to WrestleMania 32 we'll be seeing the demise of The Authority. Obviously the Authority storyline will be dominating these Raw's during the summer it what it is. There was controversary with the Seth Rollins and Randy Orton Cage Match. There will be more issues with Kane and Seth Rollins. Will this time for Payback Kane will be the special guest referee? Will Kane will be inserted in this title picture and it would be a three way for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? Last night we found out that the King of the Ring tournament will be back and it's seem that we'll be having the first round tournament matches on Raw tonight. What will be coming out of this tournament? Will the winner get an opportunity to face the WWE World Champion at Money in the Bank or Battleground? Lot's of questions, but that's what makes tonight's Raw very interesting not only for the fallout of the PPV, but also what we can expect to see for the world title picture during the summer. Expect a lot of bickering and shoving and pushing to start off Raw tonight, just for warning you.
4.) Divas Title Picture and WWE Tag Team Division's Future
Want to make this point brief, but it's obvious that both of these divisions has it's issues and instead of constantly barbing on our problems on it. How about we find a solution? I may be the only person on this site that doesn't always harp on the negatives all the time. It's time for the WWE to bring up a couple divas from NXT. Nikki Bella has been doing a good job as Divas Champion and she's not getting the respect she deserves. There's way too many heels in this Divas Division and it's heel's we don't care about and that's the problem. There's no reason to have Paige shooting a movie while the Divas Division is in a state of flux with AJ's retirement. I think we'll get another rematch with Nikki and Naomi for Payback, but we need to find out on Raw tonight what roles are these ladies protraying. Tonight I think we see Brie Bella vs. Naomi. The tag team division is in a interesting place as well because we got new Tag Team Champions who've been doing a stellar job as heel's recently. The Prime Time Players, Kidd/Cesaro and Lucha Dragons have doing a stellar job as well. If there's guys on the roster who are lost in the shuffle and are wrestling on Superstars and Main Event each week find somebody on the roster that you have chemistry with and become a tag team. The more teams that are join together the better you get with fresh matches on Raw and SmackDown. I think you can get a couple of good months with this New Day and Kidd/Cesaro feud, but sooner or later there's going to be alot of tag team turmoil matches for the Tag Team Championship until one of these tag teams standout from the pack.
5.) Payback Mid-Card
Could this King of the Ring tournament be used for the Intercontinental Championship? I don't know what's up with Daniel Bryan. Bryan gets injured so much and it's really unfortunate, but what know for the second straight Payback PPV Bryan has to be stripped out of the title? If not I think we see Bryan vs. Barrett at Payback. I think it would be cool to see a number one contenders match for the IC Title with Neville, Ambrose and Harper. I think we'll see Sheamus and Ziggler and I don't have a problem with that. Also if Roman and Big Show have a rematch will be this the retirement match for Big Show? I don't know who Bray Wyatt is talking about. The rumors are is that Bray will be feuding with Ryback I'm down for that actually because I like both of those guys and with any Wyatt feud always brings a sense of good character developement for his opponents. The mid-card will be similar to Extreme Rules, but it should have some solid matches in between and that's all i'm asking for when it comes to these in between summer PPV's.
We are back after two weeks away and chatting WWE and NXT and ROH heading to war perhaps. Lots to catch up on and look ahead too. So let's get this thing going.
So we are back in the saddle sorry for taking the time off but there wasn't a ton going on and needed a break. We would love to add some people to the staff to help out with the workload and expand our coverage. We are working on it and looking for people interested in joining our team.
Hello all! Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw Preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. We're 6 days away from the Extreme Rules PPV in Chicago, Illinois. Tonight is the go home show to the annual hardcore PPV and the WWE is back from a large European Tour. Raw emanates from Albany, New York which has been a major city for the WWE throughout it's history. I'll give you five things that you can look forward to seeing on the show tonight and also I give my thoughts on the current feuds heading towards Extreme Rules and I will propose my final card for the PPV and make my predictions. James & Walder got you covered for a full PPV preview this Friday and hope you guys enjoy the piece.
1.) Rollins vs. Orton + Big Show vs. Roman Reigns
I decided to mix these two matches together just due to the fact they all intertwines with each other and each match has a Authority member represented in the bouts. We found out on Raw last week that Seth Rollins will defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage Match with a added bonus, the RKO finisher is BANED! I thought the WWE did a good job setting up these match for the PPV. Less is more you don't need a super complex drama storyline for this particular match it writes itself. On SmackDown we found out that Roman Reigns will take on The World's Largest Athlete Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match. I know that alot of people will give two fig newtons about the Big Show/Reigns. The stipulation makes sense to finally put this dreaded feud to an end. It's going to be interesting to see where all these four guys go after the PPV this Sunday. Last week Kane was extremely embarrassed by Seth Rollins and there seem's to be a rumbling that Kane will turn his back on The Authority. The Authority is back on Raw tonight and we'll see how Triple H handles the recent issues between Kane and Seth Rollins. Tonight in good ol The Authority fashion you'll see Randy Orton & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, Kane and Big Show.
2.) John Cena vs. Rusev in a Russian Chain Match
The John Cena's United States Championship Open Challenge has been a delightful addition to the weekly WWE Monday Night Raw programming. I'm not a fan of the goody good shoes John Cena, I was a fan of the heel John Cena and I do have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Having John Cena as the United States Champion has made that particular championship the most relevant it's been since the WCW days. Last week on Raw we saw John Cena vs. Bad News Barrett in a really good back and forth physical match in London. We found out that John Cena will defend his title against the former champion Rusev at Extreme Rules in a Russian Chain Match. Usually chain matches it's your standard chain or bull rope match where you drag your opponent around four turn buckles to pick up victory. I think this is a interesting stipulation with of both these guys tremendous strength and I think this will be the most physical match of the show. Tonight for the open challenge I think we see John Cena vs. Luke Harper or Dolph Ziggler. Rusev got the advantage on John Cena last week. Whoever is standing tall on tonight's show will be the United States Champion at Extreme Rules.
3.) Triple H Announcement
For the first time since WrestleMania 31, WWE COO Triple H makes his return to WWE Programming. If you're not in the know, Triple H is the executive vice president of talent relations for the WWE and is the man behind NXT and the founder of the WWE Performance Center. With the recent of announcement of the popular show "Tough Enough" The Game will make an announcement on the show. Now what will be in that announcement, an announcement on a date or the name of wrestlers that will be the coaches for the show or we'll find out who'll be the contestants for the show. It makes for an interesting segment, but where's the payoff for this segment especially when it's on the go-home show for Extreme Rules. I'm not sure if it's going to happen or not, but might as well go for it. I've been trying to find out who in the blue hell is Bray Wyatt talking about this time. It's a stretch, but I wouldn't be surprise if Bray Wyatt attacks Triple H in this segment.
4.) Extreme Rules Mid-Card Feuds + Raw Matches + Neville RANT
Ok if you I offend in this portion of the article I apologize, but I'm an honest human being. No wrestling fan knows anything about "booking" hate to be that guy or whatever, but it's the truth. It's cool to guess what's going to happen on these shows, but I swear to god if I hear another person complaining about Neville's booking I'm going to lose my mind. Look I listen to the LAW this past weekend and I love their show, but was really irked by their evaluation on the recent trend of Neville on the main roster. Neville is fine, but as the months and years go by to think that any of these NXT Stars are going to be in the main roster main event storylines the moment they debut on the main roster it's unrealisitic. It's official we have the very first Kiss Me Arse Match, it's whatever I guess I mean I think the match with Sheamus and Ziggler will be very good, but the stipulation is head scratching to say the least. Tonight I think you see a change in a stipulation for that particular match. Paige is "OUT" going to film a movie with The Miz. Will Paige make it to Extreme Rules? I think tonight we see Naomi take Paige's spot and she takes on Brie Bella on Raw tonight. Tonight Miz and Mizdow will have their final bout for the right for the particular gimmick. I think for tonight we see Daniel Bryan & Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett and Sheamus.
5.) Predictions
I won't be on the podcast this week, so I decided to make my predictions for the upcoming PPV this Sunday in my hometown for Chicago, Illinois.
1.) Steel Cage Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship *RKO Banned
Seth Rollins retains over Randy Orton due to help from Bray Wyatt
2.) Russian Chain Match for the WWE United States Championship
John Cena retains over Rusev
3.) Kiss Me Arse Match
Sheamus over Dolph Ziggler
4.) Tables Match
Dean Ambrose over Luke Harper
5.) Last Man Standing Match
Roman Reigns over Big Show
6.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella retains over Naomi
7.) WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Daniel Bryan retains over Bad News Barrett
8.) WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd over Lucha Dragons
I hope you enjoy Raw this week. I'll be at Extreme Rule this Sunday from the Allstate Arena. If your attending the show please come and say hello.
You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR
Check out my radio show the PWE Show every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT
Also I'll be on the "Brass Ring Club" at 5:30 pm ET on TheNBShow.com
RAW IS JERICHO!!!!!! Just kidding welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview. I'm Joshua Lopez and I hope you guys had a tremendous weekend. Last week on Raw we found out that Daniel Bryan will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules and we also found out that Randy Orton will take on Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the same particular event. This week Raw invades Europe as WWE's flagship show is in London, England. We're 13 days away from the Extreme Rules PPV which will be live on the WWE Network on Sunday April 26 from Chicago, Illinois. To remind everybody that tonight's Raw is taped, so I'm not looking at the spoilers for tonight's show, but I will give you my predictions as far as what and should happen on tonight's show.
1.) Kalisto & Neville Progression + Divas Battle Royal
Couldn't be happier for Kalisto and Neville! They've been doing a tremendous job since coming up to the main roster. I think as the months progress we as a fanbase need to lower our expectations for these particular NXT Superstars that come up to the main roster. You had your few exceptions like The Shield or The Wyatt Family where they automatically connected to the WWE Universe and were in those major feuds right off the bat. I've had no problem with what they've been doing with Kalisto and Neville so far less is more. I think bringing the Lucha Dragons to main roster has helped the tag team division. For tonight's Raw I think we'll see Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day or The Ascension. Would it be too soon to have the Lucha Dragons go after the tag team championships at Extreme Rules? As far as Neville is concern, look if the WWE thought that Neville was going to be a joke why would he have a two segment match with the WWE Champion Seth Rollins in his second bout since coming up to the main roster? I'm just happy the guy is up on the main roster. Who cares that they changed his name, who cares that he wears a robe, it's the same guy that you saw on NXT turn up a little bit. Do I see Neville competing for the mid-card titles soon? No and I don't think that he should be fightning for those titles yet. Okay he lossed in this second bout, is he buried now? No absolutely not. As far as tonight is concern I think you can mix in Neville into some of the mid-card feuds for this next PPV. For example tonight you can see maybe Neville vs. Luke Harper and then Dean Ambrose comes back and that programs begins or you can have Neville vs. Miz. Miz can be a the great heel guy who knocks down the rookie saying you don't belong here all that jazz and then you can have Neville/Miz and Mizdow cost Miz the match. There's many different ways you can go with Neville, but for me I think it will be a double whammy to have Neville in a match that can also set up a mid-card feud for Extreme Rules. Tonight WWE is having a battle royal to determine the Number One Contender for the Diva's Championship at Extreme Rules. Last week Naomi had a rough outing in her match against The Bella Twins, but this chick can go trust me she can be a great assett to this Divas division and I think that tonight you see Naomi or Paige win the battle royal.
2.) IC Title Picture
The talk of the wrestling world for the last couple months was can the Intercontinental Championship be brought back to prevalence? Being a kid who grew up during the Attitude Era the IC Title wasn't always the vocal point of the show, so I don't get as outraged over a mid-card title like the folks who grew up in the 80's do. I think it's interesting that Daniel Bryan is the Intercontinental Champion and now we know that he will be defending his championship against the former champion Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules. Here's the thing Extreme Rules has always been known for the particular gimmick and stipulation type of matches. Do you see one added to this IC Title match? Sheamus has came back with a blaze of glory. This heel turn has been best for business for not only the WWE, but for Sheamus as well. Sheamus comes out each week and he talks about hating well the vanilla midgets and that he's the real man's man. I think tonight we see Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan. I don't think that the IC Title match will change into another multiple person type of match. I think we find out that Sheamus will face Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules. So for tonight I think we see Bryan and Ziggler vs. Barrett and Sheamus. We'll find out whether there will be a stipulation added to the either Barrett/Bryan or Sheamus/Ziggler matches at Extreme Rules.
3.) John Cena vs. Rusev III
So we know that the rematch is set for Extreme Rules between Rusev and John Cena. You don't have to complicate anything with this storyline it's speaks for itself. Rusev feels that he didn't lose at WrestleMania. John Cena is the fighting american champion. We got the pay per view coming up soon in Chicago which is a very important town for John Cena on many ends from a positive and a negative standpoint. When you try to figure out a stipulation for a match with these two particular superstars it becomes challenging, but i'm going throw out a couple stipulations if they happen cool if not hey at least I gave it the college try. Here's the following stipulations that I feel could be added to the John Cena/Rusev match at Extreme Rules: "I Quit", Last Man Standing, Chicago Street Fight or a Chain Match. What I do know is that this match will be a war and who knows maybe this match will have a color, but at the end of the day I don't think either guy gets negatively effected whether they win or lose this match. Tonight for the John Cena open challenge I think we see John take on actually Bad News Barrett why not. I think what's important tonight is that we see Rusev lay out John Cena and we found out what's the stipulation for that match at Extreme Rules
4.) The Authority vs. Roman Reigns & Ryback! Plus Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
Raw tonight it's going to be interesting to see what the WWE does with Roman Reigns. It's been speculated that Roman may fight the Big Show at Extreme Rules in a Last Man Standing Match. I think it would be good to bring back a tag team Chicago Street Fight with Roman Reigns & Ryback vs. Kane & Big Show. As far as tonight is concern I think we see maybe Ryback vs. Big Show or Kane. I think for the Seth Rollins/Randy Orton program I think that will the Extreme Rules Match you'll see at the PPV. I think tonight on Raw we'll see maybe I'll throw this match out there Orton vs. Cesaro. Then for Seth I think maybe he takes on maybe Ryback or Dolph Ziggler. Is there any possibility that Roman Reigns get sidetracked from Bray Wyatt and you see the beginning of the Bray/Roman Reigns program? I think that would be a good swerve just in case the Authority/Reigns & Ryback match doesn't happen at Extreme Rules.
5.) Extreme Rules 2015 Match Card
WWE is in a good position with the fact that they have a great crowd in London tonight for Raw. When you have these gimmicky type of ppv's these types of crowds help the builds for these particular ppv's. It's important to get Extreme Rules established on Raw tonight with the match card and everything. Here's a proposed lineup for the PPV with the stipulation added to the matches.
1.) The Miz vs. Mizdow
2.) Tables Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
3.) No Holds Barred Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
4.) Strap Match
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler
5.) Chain Match for the United States Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Rusev
6.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige
7.) Chicago Street Fight Match
Kane & Big Show vs. Roman Reigns & Ryback
8.) Extreme Rules Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Randy Orton
I hope you guys enjoyed this week's Raw preview article. Don't look at spoilers it does ruin the experience of watching wrestling shows trust me I know from experience. I hope you guys enjoy the show tonight it should be a lot of fun.
You can follow me on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94
Check out my radio show "The Pro Wrestling Experience" every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com
Well 8 days removed from Wrestlemania and it feels like weeks removed after last night’s Raw. Heck half the roster was missing for WWE Day in Austin. Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose were among many fan favorites that did not show up in Austin. WWE does have a European tour ahead this week that might explain why so many were missing. Those who did show up put on a show in Austin. It featured confirmation that the main event for Extreme Rules will be Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins first title defense as Champion.
So here are some of talking points coming out of Raw in Austin. 1. Miz vs. Mizdow….Really?: Why on earth was this match happening in Austin as the match right before the main event? It turned out to be more of a story development with The Miz getting the win and now likely leaves Mizdow to chase a re-match. This however makes little sense, as this was a match that should be on a special event not something thrown into Raw. WWE did a great job of building this feud and now like the Seahawks seem to have screwed up on the goal line with an easy touchdown there for the taking. I was fine with not having Mizdow win the battle royal but this is just pure insanity. I suppose the Mizdow win is still the big pay off but it really has had a lot of the air come out of the balloon in my view. 2. NXT Call-Ups Remain Strong: There was good follow-up for both Neville and the Lucha Dragons in week two on the main roster. Neville gets a match with the New WWE Champion Seth Rollins. He had a heck of a match with Seth and it really did a lot for his stock despite taking the loss on the night. The Lucha’s were able to pick up a win in tag team action, remained over with the crowd, and perhaps most importantly botch free in victory. Seems there has been at least a short-term plan for both of these call-ups. Neville heading back to the U.K next week is a huge chance to cement him as a new star. It will be interesting to see what they with this opportunity. 3. John Cena Open Challenge Continues: His interview with Chris Jericho after Raw sucked. This new angle of having an open challenge for his newly won U.S Title doesn’t. I like the idea of Cena working with almost anyone potentially on the roster. If the pay off is done right and we get a new star capturing the U.S Belt (Sorry Vince Title) it will be great for that guy and for this title. Down the line, a Sami Zayn or a Finn Balor winning over Cena would be a huge launching pad on to the main roster. This likely doesn’t happen for a while though. Unfortunately, for Rusev this makes his gaining back his U.S title unlikely. I will never like John Cena but this is the most effective use of him and he deserves credit for taking this spot lower on the card to highlight others through this gimmick of the open challenge. Many have pointed out how it mimics Cena’s debut answering Kurt Angle’s challenge. A full circle moment for John Cena that makes him comes off in a positive light. 4. Cole remains off T.V: Rumors had Michael Cole returning with Booker T and JBL thankfully this didn’t happen. Byron Saxton was terrible yet again and I still maintain Cole being out is WWE trying to convince fans by his absence he is good at his job. Regardless of if that is correct or not Cole being off T.V had to happen, given that Brock Lesnar destroyed him a week earlier. Devaluing Lesnar is the last thing you want to do if you’re the WWE at this point. 5. Jericho is no Austin: The debut of Chris Jericho doing a live podcast was what I have come to expect from Jericho. I can’t stand his company butt kissing interviews and his attitude. Steve Austin gave the feeling of representing the average fan. Jericho represents himself and the WWE. His interview with John Cena might have been entertaining if you are a Cena fan. If you were someone looking for something of substance this was not for you. Jericho as much as he pretends to be a rebel is nothing more than a WWE puppet. Austin isn’t that and never will be that which is why fans respect him. Jericho has become a joke and his last run with the company on television in my opinion was by far his worst. I no longer consider myself a Jericholic. Chris isn’t the same guy or he is showing us who he always was through his podcast and to me he has just become a douchbag WWE apologist. We already have lots of those no need to have another. This is a blow for the WWE Network that had a cool draw with the Austin Podcast. Jericho’s version does nothing to make me want to buy the network let alone seek out these cotton candy interviews moving forward. If I am guessing, his next guest will likely be Stephanie and butt kissing will be just awful.
Oh, by the way Randy Orton is facing Seth at Extreme Rules, which we already knew before Raw. This show was a total placeholder and largely a waste of most of your 3 hours.
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
It's our Post Mania podcast looking back on Mania and the Monday Night Raw that people look forward to most. Lots to talk about and figure out coming off a surprisingly entertaining Wrestlemania. Walder and Borbath break it down every which way and sideways.
Thanks for listening and just a reminder we are on the hunt for content producers for the Condo on the Moon website so give us a shout on Twitter if your interested and start a path to potentially joining our team.
Normally we do talking points coming out of Raw but it is already Friday so let’s call it talking points for this week in wrestling. My apologies for not having any content this week it was a bit crazy on the home front. This is part of the reason we are looking for some new blood and content producers for the site. Reach out and tweet @Condoonthemoon if you would like to be part of our team. This all said let’s talk about the fallout from Raw and the week in wrestling. NXT Invades Raw: No, we didn’t have a full-blown invasion but on the night after Raw, it was clearly forefront of the fans minds. They went nuts for the debuts of Neville and the Lucha Dragons. Surprisingly we didn’t see Charlotte Flair appear. There was also just random NXT chants for no reason at all. NXT had a show on Friday that made 200K dollars and packed 5200 people in the San Jose State arena. Despite the late 10pm local start time, it was the talk for all that attended the event when recounting their Wrestlemania weekend. The NXT brand era is clearly here and is off to a huge start. There was talk of monthly special events on the network but those stories were killed and for now, they will stick to the four a year format. I am in favor of that the worst thing WWE could do at this point is over expose NXT. It’s hot so let’s keep it that way. Roman Reigns Can’t Win: It was clear from the Hall of Fame, Wrestlemania and Monday Night Raw that Roman Reigns is for the moment in a no win situation. Fans even after what was a good performance on his part at Mania still was booed out of the building on Raw. WWE definitely had him get the pinfall in the 6-man tag main event. This was the match on Raw where the fans just decided to hi-jack that is starting to become a somewhat annoying tradition of the night after Raw. I respect Roman for all his efforts in a match he ultimately was not going to be the winner at Wrestlemania. He had a good match with Brock before Seth Rollins arrived on the scene. The hate in my view is no longer with much of a basis. If the fans continue down this path, they are simply going to create the next John Cena and it will be there fault. Brock Is Babyface: If it wasn’t made clear at Wrestlemania the fact that Brock is now a Babyface was driven home on Raw. Having him take out the entire announce-team and F-5ing Michael Cole was a not so subtle nod to hardcore fans that have hated commentary for some time. Stephanie suspending Brock gives him his angle to go away and the anticipation for when he next returns will grow. Expect Brock to be the biggest thing to hit the Barclay’s Center come Summerslam. What will be interesting is what role Paul Heyman will have in the time between now and that time. Make no mistake about it Brock is a fan favorite not just in reality but in WWE Storyline as well. Bella’s are Not the Divas THAT NEED a CHANCE: The women’s match at Mania if there was a match that disappointed it was the diva’s tag match. Bella’s just are not good and the fact the way that match was booked to have them carrying it going 2 on 1 against Paige for the majority of the match proved it. Peter Rosenberg and others can slurp and give this girls undeserved praise all they like. Fact is as improved as they maybe it is not enough to be on the level of the NXT Roster or Paige and A.J. The Raw crowd the night after Mania when guns a blazing after the Bella’s chanting YOU…SUCK…..Cena at Nikki and the same for Brie with the name Bryan. There has been some that have been outraged by this, but let’s get totally real about this. Does anyone think these girls would have the chances they have had on their own merit and it has nothing to do with their significant others? If you do clearly you are living in some delusional universe which makes you the perfect fan for the Bella’s who live in their own delusion that they are good wrestlers and performers. They are not and the hate towards Nikki is not based on anything she does as a heel it is more of a hate of who she actually comes off as a person in reality. She is some stupid valley girl that some how fell into wrestling. C.J Parker Quits NXT: Now you would think that on the surface this is not a big story. Which it isn’t but it does call into question something that you have to wonder about going forward. Parker had become a jobber in the NXT Brand and it seemed clear his shot at the main roster was likely never coming. Now his departure on its own means nothing. It does make you wonder if top guys who are stuck in limbo would actually look to walk as well if they are stuck in NXT to long. The money you make in NXT is not exactly the greatest and a team like the Young Bucks passed on the chance to go to NXT in favor of the money they could make outside of WWE. One thing WWE has smartly done is create merchandise for NXT. I just want to take a minute to go off on a side note, good for A.J Lee wearing Bayley’s shirt on the biggest Raw of the year. She made that girl some dollars by doing so. You have to wonder the patience level of the NXT 5 and if they are willing to remain patient. Neville has been the first to break the NXT Ceiling to get to the Main Roster. Will Zayn, Owens, Itami and Balor remain patient? There becomes a real conflict for WWE in now having to keep NXT strong while still having a roster that wants to break on to main roster. That is where the big money is after all. Still as mentioned the 200K the WWE pocketed from what amounts to an NXT house show is not chicken feed. It also makes the main goal of developing talent have to be balanced with now being a brand growing in popularity.
Outside of WWE bubble, there was news from both TNA and ROH. If you are a TNA fan and you read this site, you must hate me. Still I am obligated to report that TNA has found a broadcast home in Canada on the fight network. I will now officially be able to ignore TNA like the one I always have on Friday nights.
In ROH, they lost a couple of talents coming out of Wrestlemania Weekend. Jimmy Jacobs is joining the creative team in WWE and wrestled his last match over Wrestlemania weekend. While Tommosso Chiampa could not come to terms on a contract with ROH and has left the company.
ROH has announced that Okada and Tanahashi as the first to names that will be on the co-promoted NJPW events in Mid-May. ROH also announced they would be returning to Brooklyn for Field of Honor.
However biggest news of all is Adam Cole who has remained silent since his injury to Jay Briscoe posted a brilliant promo on the ROH website. He is still the best talker not in the WWE System. Enjoy him while you can ROH Fans he won’t be there much longer. Have a listen to the magic that is Adam Cole.
