5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 3/16/15

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

Still A BOliever in NXT System Producing Talent?

Is it time to re-evaluate how NXT is doing at producing talent on the next level? No one will question the earlier returns from the NXT system have been fantastic. The Shield and Wyatt’s are big players on the main roster. Daniel Bryan being on mend will mean either the Shield or Wyatt’s will be in the main event of this PPV.

Looking closer at more recent NXT call-ups you see nothing but trouble. Xavier Woods was paired with R-Truth his former tag partner once upon a time in TNA. He was given the music of Brodus Clay and been on a free fall to jobberville ever since. Can’t always hit a homer no worries the sassy little Aussie Emma will make people smile. Not exactly as she started as a fan in the crowd with signs and would be plucked from that by Santino. Her dance the 400 strong at NXT do each time she comes out does nothing for the WWE Universe. A teased romance with Santino and pink cobra later this poor girl is not over as much as the red head that can’t wrestle on Total Divas.

Time to call on the big guns as Paige has been long anticipated to make her way to the main roster. The strong Anti-Diva of NXT has become the weak lucky girl that some how got a fluke win on A.J Lee. Where is she? She is gone to watch the Blackhawks with CM Punk back in Chicago. Not doing much for Paige. Even little used Alicia Fox rubs Paige’s face in the mud verbally and physically despite not winning.

What now well let’s have a party with a man dressed in a bunny suit rumoured to be Zack Ryder and a bunch of other freaks from the back not working matches dressed in crazy costumes. All part of Adam Rose’s Exotic Express that has had two times to make us all rosebuds but instead Rose has been a dud. Sorry to be a lemon but this whole act is not ready for prime time.

What has gone wrong? Bolieve it or not NXT is on a heck of losing streak at debuts. That is right Bo Dallas you better “REALLY BOLIEVE,” because things are not going well up here at the big boys table. How long before Bo Dallas is the lead singer of 3MB singing don’t stop Bolieving?

You wonder how gimmicks like Tyler Breeze and Bailey will do in the big time on the main roster. It seems just because it works at NXT is no indication that it will get over on the main roster.

Sami Zayn and Charlotte Flair might be the two best chances left in NXT at the moment. This is at least in the immediate future.

Well someone from NXT has gotten over on main roster lately actually…..Lana. To bad the one they are trying to get over is, Alexander no more, just call me Rusev. Once the Bulgarian Brute now an illegal immigrant to Russia. Well maybe he is marrying Lana. They two actually do date and believe it or not that is a shoot. The most jumbled and confusing debut I can recall in the WWE in a long time.

Triple H’s baby of NXT is not having a great success rate in the last few months. No doubt he can’t be thrilled about that and it should have an impact on how fast they are to look at any other new stars. You can take that as bad or good news for current members of the NXT roster depending on how you look at it.

It maybe time to re-access how they are debuting these talents cause the care that was taken with The Shield and the Wyatt’s has not been afforded to these recent NXT call-ups.

IWCP Episode 8

Back a little late, but for a little longer as we talk about the news of the week in wrestling. Myself and Chris Walder talk about Mick Foley's comments about WWE, The next NXT Special Event and a lot more. Also we have Steve Muehlhausen from Between the Ropes website to talk about the crossover between MMA and WWE and if we ever get a four horsewomen invasion



Thanks to Steve and make sure to check out his great work along with Brian Fritz over at Between The Ropes. Also make sure to give a like on Facebook. The 10 Count will be back in effect on Sunday and will more people read that than watch the TNA PPV something to wonder about.

A New Era For Wrestling Is Dawning

A new era has begun in the WWE and where it started will trace back to this weekend in New Orleans. You got to see many young talents be given a larger position in the company from Cesaro, The Shield and Wyatt’s all being treated on a different level. We also saw the next wave of NXT being set up to make their way to the main roster. The official debut of Rusev with a squash of Zack Ryder was perhaps the least of these. You saw the NXT Women’s Champion appear and on her first night ended the 295 day reign of A.J Lee. Paige on her first night like Gail Kim did on her debut in WWE becoming the Diva’s/Women's Champion respectively. In addition we saw vignettes for both Bo Dallas and Adam Rose to soon be part of the mix as well.

The crowd the night after Wrestlemania has become the standard of what all crowds the rest of the year will be measured against. They are energized and will make noise no matter what you put in front of them. It is a party like atmosphere that has become some what of Holy Grail for wrestling fans. You watch from home and can’t help but want to be a part of the party.

There is a lot of division on having the Undertaker’s streak end but maybe it is the best way to symbolize we are at the start of new era. You can certainly take issue with who ended the streak but maybe this is a way to start making the transition to Wrestlemania being about current stars and not stars of the past.

Daniel Bryan sits at the top of all this change that is fixing to happen and his success will likely have a big impact on if this changing of the guard is going to happen sooner or later. You can see by subtle little things that this time is different for Daniel Bryan he is truly being given the ball. He will have a lot of support though with so many people on the rise.

What people need to understand though is while the hardcore fans see all this excitement to come the numbers are not there yet. The WWE released the first numbers on the WWE Network which were not terrible but not over the top. An article in the New York Times goes in depth on this but basically WWE announced they have 667,287 people on the WWE Network. They have set a goal to have 1 million subscribers by the end of 2014. The stock for the WWE did not react well to the news after being at record high levels dropped $4.12 to a per share price of $23.90.

The WWE Network has only been launched domestically in the U.S. It is hard to think they can grow that number unless wrestling experiences a major revival that we have not seen in a long time. In addition very little info has been out there about the future of where WWE programming will be on traditional broadcast television. The WWE’s window to deal exclusively with USA Network has come and gone. No word on anything since in terms of other companies getting in the mix to get WWE programming.

Even talk from Vince McMahon that he might someday consider selling his majority stake in the company. As far as the WWE Network goes I would suspect they will attempt to speed up launch of the network internationally in places like here in Canada and U.K if there is any danger of missing that million subscriber’s target. WWE at the announcement of the launch of the Network stated that they would be looking at going international by end of 2014 or spring of 2015 so it would not be a big leap to get it going in the fall.

As far as those T.V deals go and where WWE lands there has been speculation that they could double or even triple their rights fees. This is something that seems crazy when you consider the drop off in viewers from wrestling’s boom till now. Still Raw has become not unlike pro sports in it is something that they will say is appointment television like live sporting events and can’t be missed. After years of trying to stress the WWE is about entertainment they now have pulled a 180 degree turn and trying to consider themselves sports. The various sports leagues have been getting record numbers for rights fees and that is only expected to continue with the NBA’s T.V deal in 2015. Even lesser sports like NASCAR and MLS Soccer have netted pretty attractive numbers recently.

You may find all of this business chat boring or not concerning you but in the end it does. I hate to break it to you but just like in the last number of decades you have had it driven in your head that sports is a business so is the WWE and wrestling in general. With WWE being the most complex of those companies in wrestling business to truly understand. 

So at the end of the day Daniel Bryan and all these young guys will only go as far as the company being profitable and succeeding will take them. I would suspect with T.V deal still in the works the ratings for WWE Raw will be examined and mean the most they have since the Monday Night Wars.

As far as the rest of the wrestling world they need the WWE to be successful in order for them to be to some extent. The days of anyone challenging the WWE in a serious way are long gone. If the WWE creates or draws back older wrestling fans that befit everyone as it trickles down.

The truth is 2014 will be a very important year for wrestling and where it is heading. While the product is getting more exciting in not just the WWE but in other places it all comes down to people buying the product. You can have the best product in the world but you need people to consume it for it to be truly deemed successful.

IWC Podcast Episode 4 The Rocky Road to Wrestlemania

We are back for another week with the normal cast of character myself and Chris Walder. We talk about the build or lack of build to Wrestlemania 30. Some thoughts on that as well as some thoughts on what ROH is doing right that TNA and WWE are not. Also some pretty cool booking ideas that I spitball for Mania and beyond.




Thanks for listening and please spread the word about the IWC podcast and the Condo on the Moon Blog.

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