5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 1/19/15

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Tonight is the go-home show for the 28th annual Royal Rumble PPV. I remember James telling me that he was at the very first Royal Rumble PPV that's pretty cool. Anyways tonight is a very big show for the WWE. We got legends in the building, Daniel Bryan & Brock Lesnar are back, and 22 other superstars are looking to punch in their names into the Royal Rumble match. As here is my public service announcement, so people understand what this article is about. I'm giving you an insightful preview as to what you will see on tonight's edition of WWE Monday Night Raw and this by no means represents my taste in wrestling or what I would like to see on the show. Here's five things to look forward to on "Raw Reunion".

1.) Raw Reunion 

When I first heard about this special Raw Reunion show and that it was going to be in Dallas, Texas there was only one thing that was running through my mind. The reason why these legends are here tonight is to ring in the announcement of WrestleMania 32 taking place at Jerry World in Arlington, Texas. Here's the updated list of the legends that will be on this show tonight:  Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, X-Pac, Shawn Michaels, Ron Simmons, Jimmy Hart and The New Age Outlaws. Something that can work here with this special legends show why don't you have The Ascension come out and instead of saying "Oh we're better than the Road Warriors" since there advertised for the show, why don't you say "Oh we're better than the New Age Outlaws" call them out to a match and lay them out. It kills two birds with one stone you backed up your claim and you also made a statement to not only the tag team division, but to JBL. It would be nice to see a nWo or D-Generation X reunion tonight or maybe both come out at the same time. I think we'll probably see Ron Simmons do the "DAMN!" to the Rosebuds or The Miz & Damien Mizdow.

2.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Program 

Seth Rollins sure made an statement last week on Raw! Couldn't have happen to a better a guy and  I totally mean that. Do we see John Cena in action tonight? Really digged the in-ring promo that Rollins & Paul Heyman conducted on SmackDown last week it was the perfect showcase of storytelling. It's not a question of "if", but when are we going to see The Authority? I want to remind people something 44 out 52 raw's in the years 2000 and 2001 had a in-ring promo to start of the show it sets off the tone for the show, get over it. I think tonight is important to make Brock Lesnar stand out. Ever since he came back Brock Lesnar has been made to look like a girl just being honest. Whether it's him running away from Cena one week, then getting A&A through tables and getting curb stomped the next week, Lesnar sure doesn't look like a strong WWE World Heavyweight Champion. I think tonight heading into the Royal Rumble PPV. They'll call it a Face-To-Face segment for big feuds like this on go-home show, but during this face-to-face segment Brock Lesnar needs to go off the air laying out both Seth Rollins & John Cena.

3.) Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns ?

With the 2015 Royal Rumble coming this Sunday on the WWE Network. The hottest topic in the WWE right now with the fans are who should win the Royal Rumble Match? Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns? It was great to see Bryan back in the ring last week on SmackDown. Here's an idea to shake things up and also get people talking is if you do this match. I think tonight we can see either a rematch between Kane & Daniel Bryan or Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns will take on Kane & Big Show. If that doesn't happen we can possibly see a Daniel Bryan in-ring promo and instead of Stephanie coming out this time it will be Triple H who will come out to tell Daniel Bryan that he made a mistake coming back and threaten him to feud with The Authority again. Nonetheless it just great to have Bryan back on the television and makes things fresh and all I ask for tonight is if Roman Reigns is doing a backstage interview with the beautiful Renee Young, Please I beg the WWE to let Roman Reigns showcase his natural personality instead of bringing out some random line from Whinney The Poo or The Little Engine That Could.

4.) Royal Rumble Mid-Card 

Is there any chance we see the returns of Ryback, Dolph Ziggler & Erick Rowan tonight? If that happens I would be so happy for all three of these guys. As far as the rest of the mid-card for the Royal Rumble PPV is concern. We found out last week on SmackDown that The Miz & Damien Mizdow invoked their rematch clause and The Usos will defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Miz & Damien Mizdow at the Royal Rumble. I think tonight The Miz will take on Jimmy Uso or we can do that rematch from SmackDown last week The Miz, Damien Mizdow and Alicia Fox vs. The Usos & Naomi. I think tonight would be good to see Rusev take part of a squatch match or he'll probably have a rematch with Dean Ambrose. As far as the WWE Divas Championship feud between Paige, Natalya and Nikki Bella, with any indication from last night's Total Divas we're either seeing Paige vs. Natalya or we'll see Paige & Natalya vs. The Bella Twins. It would be cool to have Bad News Barrett come out before his match and say he has bad news and that the bad news is that Dolph Ziggler won't be in the Royal Rumble Match.

5.) Good Commentary or Bad Commentary?

Tonight is the final flagship show for the WWE before the Royal Rumble PPV. They've been doing a good job of promoting each match that's on every PPV over the last 5 months. Tonight I hope that JBL, Michael Cole & Booker T bring their a-game into tonight's show. I've been known to saying that this commentary team reminds me of FOX news radio or CNN. Tonight is the about promoting the Royal Rumble not promoting JBL's ego.

Let's try to have some fun tonight folks!

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

No Austin For Mania 31....Past Stars Can't Continue To Be The Answer.

Shocking the wrestling media took something said by someone, made some assumptions, and got it wrong. Stone Cold Steve Austin says he is not training for any kind of return to the ring as you may have read on a zillion wrestling websites this one included. This is not some post about our lack of skill in reporting as wrestling journalists. Maybe someday we should write one of those as I often see things that make my skin crawl done by a lot of various sites. This is more about the WWE and their still counting on former stars to be headliners but that well is starting to run dry.

Look around at all the guys the WWE tends to count on and they are getting to old or have other interests that are a bigger priority for them than the WWE. Austin and Shawn Michaels have been the two guys that have not gone back on their wrestling retirements. Michaels has done some guest ref appearances as has Austin but that is a bout it. Michaels has made it clear to anyone that will listen he has zero desire or intention to get back in the ring for a match. Austin has been vaguer about it, in suggesting at times if he was not opposed to it, he could do a match for the right thing. WWE even went as far as planting the seeds for a CM Punk against Austin match.

Punk is not talking to the WWE and is barely talking at all these days. He was on Colt Cabana’s podcast for the first time in along time in the intro. He had little to say on himself, other than to lash out at the person that took his picture at an apple store when purchasing an I-Phone 6.

As far as Austin goes, the only other opponent that has been kicked around is Brock Lesnar. Something that Paul Heyman in two separate appearances on Austin’s podcast seemed to be trying to pitch to the rattlesnake. Austin does not seem sold on the idea but doesn’t dismiss it entirely.

Lesnar of course ended the vaunted streak of the Undertaker. We have seen a much more mortal Undertaker since taking photos with people and ending up on his wife’s instagram. He has not officially decided on if he is retired but based on his life these days he looks like someone who is. At this point, retired or not he is without question a shadow of what he once was. While people clamor for a match with him and Sting it is something that would not be all that good the time it got around to having a match. Taker had great performers like HBK, Triple H and C.M Punk hide the fact he was aging over the years. The Lesnar match exposed things and Taker got concussion early into the match. Still Taker was not the same and time has ultimately taken its toll along with decades in the ring.

Lesnar now the WWE Champion seems like he may want to return to the UFC with his health issues behind him. His contract comes due after this upcoming Wrestlemania. Many feel he might opt for a return to the UFC. Clearly, the door to that avenue for Lesnar is closing faster than a career in wrestling.

The Rock recently teased a match with Triple H at a Wrestlemania in the future with no real determination to which number it will be.

In any case, the point to all of this is that WWE is running out of stars they can count on to help carry the load. The time has come to build new stars and have them as the focus of Wrestlemania; it is past due in many ways. Still with Cowboys Stadium, the rumored home for Wrestlemania 32 it is unlikely the youth movement is going to be able to pull off that show on their own. The fact that aging stars are still considered viable options in 2014 is just insane.

At least everyone not named Hulk Hogan is on board about not wanting to see him wrestle again. Truth is that list should be growing as the years go on. WWE can’t keep turning back the clock and hoping that will help their future. It does not help build stars it just pushes them further down the card.

Believe in Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt and the other stars you have and allow them to take the spots they have earned. At some point you are going to have to do it and better you do it by choice than be forced too because you can’t convince past stars to return for a big payday that likely isn’t as big as it use to be with the transition to the network. Wrestlemania did make a Forbes Magazine list of top sporting events but to keep that going it is going to need new stars to help it reach 40, 50 and beyond.