5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw

It's the go-home show to the 6th annual WWE TLC PPV, and tonight it's the 13th annual Slammy Awards Show. WWE looks to move the needle heading towards 2015 and some of these young and upcoming talents are trying to make a name for themselves as WrestleMania season is coming ahead. Now, if you have been living under the rock, Condo on the Moon has been the most accurate coverage of professional wrestling. If you looked at last week's WWE Monday Night Raw Preview? I Josh Lopez basically gave you a virtual outlook on what was going to happen on last week's Raw and basically everything I said in that article happen. Tonight may be a different story, but I think I got a good jist of what's going to happen tonight. I've rewatched Raw twice this week plus SmackDown, so I did alot of research. Usually with these type of awards show you usually don't see heavy amounts of wrestling which also usually doesn't happen at go-home shows for PPV'S. Here's five things to look forward to for tonights Monday Night Raw.

1.) Seth Green Hosts The 2014 Slammy Awards 

I know there's alot of people who don't care for Seth Green, I actually didn't have a problem with him the last time he hosted Raw. We'll probably see some backstage segments with Seth and possibly a in-ring promo segment. As far as the Slammys it's self, I would like to predict some of the winners for the following categories in this year's Slammy Awards. Now mind you this is not my personal prefence this is just using my knowledge of the WWE.

Match of the Year: Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batistia~ WrestleMania 30

Superstar of the Year: Brock Lesnar

WWE Diva of the Year: AJ Lee

LOL Moment of the Year: Damien Mizdow

Extreme Moment of the Year: Seth Rollins Curb Stomp

Suprise Return of the Year: Hulk Hogan

"This is Awesome" Moment of the Year: Occupy Raw

The OMG Shocking Moment of the Year: Brock Lesnar ends The Streak~ WrestleMania 30

2.) Mid-Card Title Matches for WWE TLC 

Coming into this week's Raw we know that at TLC, The Miz & Mizdow will defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against The Usos and Luke Harper will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a Ladder Match. Tonight we'll probably see the announcements of AJ Lee getting her title rematch against Nikki Bella with a added stipulation that if AJ Lee loses, she will leave the WWE. I think we'll probably get the announcement for Rusev vs. Swagger for the United States Championship. I think we may see Swagger taking on Cesaro to make a personal statement to Rusev, while Rusev and Lana will cut a promo from the stage. I think we'll see AJ Lee vs. Brie Bella tonight with Nikki Bella on commentary. I want to hear a promo between both Nikki and AJ. If this is really AJ's last WWE appearance I want it to mean something even if Nikki doesn't talk let AJ talk gives us a reason to care about this match. Give us a reason to care about Nikki Bella as a "Heel" Divas Champion.

3.) Bray Wyatt/Dean Ambrose Program 

I think we'll see Bray Wyatt cut a backstage promo or be in a match with R-Truth or Sin Cara.  I think we'll see Dean Ambrose take on someone like Curtis Axel or Rusev. I want more from this feud, because this match is the match care about when the subject WWE TLC 2014 comes up. I want to hear more from Dean, the unpredictable cat vs. the master minipulator. Give me a in-ring promo segment  tonight. I'm 50/50 on who i'm rooting for in this match. I think the obvious pick would be Dean Ambrose, but where they do Dean and Bray go after TLC?

4.) Team Authority vs. Team Cena Fallout 

Coming out of the Team Authority vs. Team Cena match from Survivor Series, it was pretty obvious that the members from both teams would be in seperate matches. Ryback will be taking on Kane in a Chairs Match, Erick Rowan "Big Red" will be taking on the Big Show in a Stairs Match whatever that is. I'm happy for all four of these guys in these matches. You want to know why? Because they're following standard procedures when it comes to heel vs. babyfaces storylines. Both Kane and Big Show have been playing their heel roles perfectly because they're acting like a heel, people you don't like them they don't care. I think Ryback can gain alot from this match with Kane, he's a season veteran hell Kane is a legend in my eyes and for Ryback to pickup his first singles PPV victory over a legend like Kane can only get Ryback on the right track. As for Rowan is concern he's in the same situation I mean everybody thought that Rowan was the weak link of the Wyatt Family now people care for him, out of the 100 heel turns we've seen from Big Show I'm enjoying this one because he's just being a giant heel and a freaking crybaby every single show. Bro I don't know what a Stairs Match is, but hell man there's WAY more hardcore gimmicky matches than we have from last years' TLC PPV. I'm all for it. I think tonight we'll see Erick Rowan & Ryback vs. Kane & Big Show.

5.) John Cena vs. Seth Rollins 

They need to hit the ball out of the ball park with this match because for me that opening in-ring promo between John Cena and Seth Rollins was not only force, but boring. Why is this match happening? We got the added stipulation that if Cena loses he'll no longer be the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, what I think can make things interesting is that if Cena adds a stipulation where if he loses The Authority gets their power back. I think we may see Paul Heyman, Cena and Rollins in a in-ring promo because Brock Lesnar you know the WWE Champion will be back after WWE TLC, so we'll hear from the advocate of the no-visual WWE World Heavyweight Champion "The Beast" Brock Lesnar. I think we'll see a tag team match because that's the new main event each week, I think we'll see John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins & Luke Harper in the main event.

That's what I got for tonight's Raw I hope you enjoyed this piece I give you the reasons as to why the WWE do the things they do. When it comes to go-home shows I just look to see if they address every match that will be on the PPV, so usually on these shows I'm not that crtical because the WWE already knows since the inception of the Network they've done a good job of telling everybody what the matches will be at the "Special Event" whether you like the feuds or not is subjective, but tonight just gonna sit back and try to enjoy the show as a fan and so should you and who knows maybe we'll get some suprise presenters for tonight's WWE Slammy Awards.

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

CM Punk signs with UFC

Well, if you asked me 10 days ago would Punk be in the UFC? I would tell you that your nuts, but coming out of last night's "UFC 181" PPV, CM Punk officially sign a multi-fight contract with the UFC and expects to start fighting in 2015. Obviously CM Punk has been the talk of the entire world over the last two weeks and as to the big elephant in the room, Can CM Punk fight? Is this worth it? Well in this piece I will give you my thoughts on this signing and what can we expect from CM Punk in 2015?

As one of CM Punk's biggest fans I'm happy to see that Punk is doing what makes him happy. You can see it in his eyes in this video above with Joe Rogan, Punk speaks about having the fire he has insides when someones says that he can't accomplish anything. If you ever known CM Punk, he's always been the person to percivere through roadblocks no matter how big that particular roadblock is. Punk said he expect to fight in the middleweight division and fight around 170-185 weight class. Many professional wrestlers and MMA fighters reacted to this mega decision.

Big respect to @CMPunk! Do whatever you want to do champ and give the critics something to talk about.
— Bobby Lashley (@fightbobby) December 7, 2014

Just as Lesnar brought many wrestling fans to @ufc to see him lose, Punk will being newer & younger fans to @ufc out of curiosity/ to win.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 7, 2014

WHA?!?!?! @CMPunk!!?!!!!?!! #cantwait
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) December 7, 2014

As far as the WWE is concern, I'm getting a big shuckle out of how this effect the company in anyway. In todays society it's all about coming up with ways to degrade the WWE and they're the worst company in the world. Say what you want about the WWE, but they don't care because UFC is not their competition. With Brock Lesnar possibly heading to the UFC after WrestleMania 31, man UFC seems to get off the desperate wagon because now they can get their special PPV buys that they haven't been getting in the last couple of years and makes MMA relevant again. CM Punk was already a big name in the mainstream media over the last three years and does this make this signing a publicity stunt from both Punk and UFC. I don't believe that's true, but people are going to pose that question just due to the nature of CM Punk professional background.



This wouldn't be the first time that CM Punk has been involved with the UFC. Punk has been an active attender of many UFC fights over the years and CM Punk has become popular with the MMA fanbase with his annual interviews with Ariel Helwani from MMAfighting.com. Helwani had his concerns about this decision, but as you see in the video above CM Punk he wants to do this and this is a full circle kind of moment for him because he's had previous MMA style of training with the Gracie's and doing Kempo in Chicago while he was training to become a professional wrestler. In this video above Helwani does bring up alot of topics that alot of hardcore MMA fans have, Can he fight? Are you trying to outdo Brock Lesnar? Are you part of a certain camp? Why didn't Punk get his MMA start in another fighting company? When will his first fight happen? Punk has gone on to say in his press conference that he knows that he's going to have his critics, but he said he's been motivated to step into the octogan for a long while now and now it's about training and continuing to prove people wrong. I would think personally his fight would be in Chicago, UFC has been bringing their "UFC on FOX" Show to the United Center over the last three years. Who knows maybe the UFC brings a PPV for the first time since UFC 90 and that's where he makes his debut.


As we look towards the future as 2015 approaches it's good time to be a MMA fan. I'm personally happy for CM Punk and hope he makes the best out of this opportunity and he proves his doubters wrong. Hard work pays off for people that bust their ass and don't let other's opinions drag them down. Do I think he will be successful in MMA? I'm not sure, but I do think that he's going to give it his all and that's all I can ask for as a fan of Phil "CM Punk" Brooks. Do the WWE have to make a move after this decision? No because UFC is not their competition and people can't accept that fact, but their not their competition. So Punk has move on to the next phase in his professional life and we'll see what happens. Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Condo On Moon Podcast #40: Final Battle Preview & State of WWE

Condo On The Moon Podcast continues down the road to Final Battle this Sunday with a full preview of the card. In addition we talk with ROH wrestler Adam Page as he takes on Roderick Strong in a one on one battle. The show is headlined by Adam Cole taking on champion Jay Briscoe for the Ring of Honor Title in a fight with out honor. In addition to our guest and full preview of Final Battle we look into the state of the WWE. Specifically reacting to the Vince McMahon podcast with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Vince talked about a variety of topics including C.M Punk who was back on Colt Cabana's podcast. It was not as eventful as his first appearance that has still been the talk of wrestling world. What isn't being talked about is the WWE product of late that has been really poor over the last few weeks and the debut of Sting in WWE has been lost in the process. What is the future for Wrestlemania given the state of things in WWE moving forward? We discuss it all and examine the complex individual that is Vince McMahon. It is a jam packed podcast from start to finish
.


I want to thank ROH for their help in bringing us some great guests in this build to Final Battle. It is always great working with Ring of Honor where they still are in the wrestling business. So are we at Condo on the Moon and encourage you to check out Ring of Honor this Sunday. It is a great wrestling product that is growing through 2014.

If you are unable to listen to the podcast on the site or wish to listen via I-Tunes head over and listen at Podomatic. 

Keep up to date with us on Twitter @Condoonthmoon

The WWE Wrestlers Union Will It Ever Happen?

One of spin-offs out of the C.M Punk interview and Vince McMahon interview is this idea of a union in pro wrestling. It may seem like a new topic but it really is a topic that dates back to the 80’s and Jessie Ventura. In the 80’s Ventura attempted to start a union but Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan killed it. Therefore, this isn’t really a new topic. It has just been brought to light again based on all Punk had to say in terms of the business of the WWE and health and medical issues for talent like Punk.

WWE has coined this term of independent contractor for their wrestling talents. How really independent are they though let’s face it they really are not independent. It also is a way to be without the responsibility for caring for their wrestlers medical expenses. They control what talent is able to do and not do which also flies in the face of being independent contractors. Any performer that leaves the company is not a free agent so to speak unless they sacrifice money owed to them.

No one of rational thinking can deny the need for a union in pro wrestling as the talent is in bad need of it. Not even in terms of financial concerns but more to what the core of why unions were formed in the first place. To protect the job security and health of these employees that creates the revenue that drives this company. The WWE doesn’t have a product without their talent.

The sad reality is the same rational thinking people hold out little hope of this ever happening. It becomes to hard to get these group of individuals that are competing for real estate and cash within the WWE to come together and be united for the cause. The pay differences make it very difficult to imagine it happening. It would take the top stars and the top star in John Cena being a part of any such attempt. What exactly would be the motivation for a Cena to do so? He is disliked by a large portion of the audience for being a corporate puppet. It seems hard to imagine this happening in any degree.

If there was some public out cry from outside interests to create such a union in the company. That seems highly unlikely when you consider that wrestlers were literally dropping dead at an alarming rate in the 90’s. This came with little public out cry in society as a whole. Even the circus that became the tragic situation involving Chris Benoit taking his own life and his family did not really have a significant impact on wrestling. It did bring to light the idea of concussions being a serious issue in pro wrestling in the aftermath.  In light of the C.M Punk interview, you question really how much progress was made in that regard. Is it more of a case of a public relations move that really a lack any real teeth to it. Much like Punk suggested about the WWE’s wellness policy as relates to drug use and steroids.

WWE lives in a magical bubble that they are not held to same standards as professional sports. Vince McMahon reminded us all in case we forgot he doesn’t even consider the product he produces as pro wrestling it is one of the other terms he coined sports entertainment. It is treated in a different light and sadly, as much as fans love it the society we live in does not treat pro wrestling with the respect it has earned.

Despite WWE’s efforts to become this corporate empire wrestling still is not judged in the light that even the UFC is by society. You only need to look at the T.V deal in which the WWE claimed they were hoping to double or even triple their rights fees falling far short of that. Keep in mind the NBA recently signed a 25 billion dollar T.V deal. Even lesser sports like MLS soccer and NASCAR have signed much more significant T.V deals. Add in how TNA had to go on a network that many had never heard of until signing with them with a deal for far less than they had with Spike-TV. Destination America was to say the least it is not the most ideal destination for them. Wrestling is unfortunately not treated the same as over live event programming that is in high demand in the television industry right now.

Advertising is also something that has always been a challenge to get the same type of advertisers that you can see in pro sports and even in comparison to UFC.

This is all evidence that wrestling operates in its own strange world in which Vince McMahon for more or less holds a monopoly on the wrestling business. It is not say companies like TNA, ROH, and NJPW are not ways for wrestlers to earn a decent living.  WWE is just on a different level in terms of money you can earn and exposure you are given that can not be matched.
It is unfortunate this is the harsh reality of things in terms of wrestling. I don’t consider myself someone who is a pro union person but I recognize the glaring need for one in this unique world that is pro wrestling. I value the performers that take real risks for my entertainment and enjoyment. I am at the end of the day a supporter of them and want what is for lack of a better term what is best for the boys (and girls) that bring the product to life.

For people that truly love wrestling there has been many things to reflect on in light of the podcasts that have dominated the wrestling news in recent days. It makes you consider all aspects of wrestling moving forward into for its future.

WWE once had a faction called The Union but will the real thing ever exist in WWE? It seems highly unlikely even though the need for one is evident.

Steve Austin Gets A Hell Of An Interview Out Of Vince McMahon

Perhaps the thing that is most disturbing for wrestling fans is the 3-hour show they watched prior to the Vince McMahon interview with Steve Austin: Vince thought it was good. If he truly believes that boy is this company in serious trouble at this point. The hour and fifteen minutes after Raw trumped anything on this show. It was billed as a no holds bar interview with Austin and McMahon and it lived up to the hype.

He would not only address Punk situation but went into subjects like Randy Savage not being in the Hall of Fame and Jim Ross being let go from the company. There was not a lot of substance to what was said but the fact they were even subjects was fascinating in its own right.

I have always found Vince McMahon to be a fascinating individual and it is rare we get him in a situation such as this. He clearly doesn’t think the same as your average person and that may seem fairly obvious but it is still worth mentioning. If you love or hate Vince McMahon, what you have to admit is he has always had guts and been willing to take chances. Even though, he tried to paint the WWE Network in a positive light, it hasn’t been the success it was suppose to be. Dana White of the UFC has made some comments about what Vince has done has being somewhat reckless and it devalued the WWE product. I think he is right and there likely isn’t a way to go back now with the relationships WWE has burned with cable providers by taking their core product in pay-per-views to the Network. The WWE events have been devalued, to be of a lesser value and likely can’t be turned back. UFC with their fight pass targeted only their hardcore audience and have events that are for mostly foreign markets to expand their brand globally. They still remain on pay-per-view and are not having their top stars appear on Fight Pass. WWE has all its stars on their network, having given up on pay per view before it has died as a business. Perhaps WWE has made this move to soon and is suffering in the short term. There have been many valid criticisms of the network and it seems WWE just continues to make mistake after mistake with it. 

McMahon’s apology to Punk was clearly unexpected but his explanation to why Punk was fired in effect on his wedding day seems highly unlikely to be the case. When you consider the history of Vince McMahon, it doesn’t pass the sniff test of availability. What he did, in what he said about the Punk matter, is left the door open and put the pressure on why Punk is no longer in the WWE back on him or at least that was the attempt. While I do believe, Punk and McMahon have a strange sort of love and hate relationship I do not think Punk has any sort of relationship with Triple H and Stephanie. Which will always be the problem if anyone thinks these sides would ever come together again. McMahon really never addressed any of Punk’s grievances saying he would not air the “dirty laundry” in public. More to the point, the allegations Punk made can’t really be addressed in public without the WWE looking very bad. What you have is two very brilliant individuals trying to compete for the minds of two groups of people. Two gorups of people, that are C.M Punk fans and the larger extent fans of WWE overall. Punk will always win with his fans who are people that share his opinion of the WWE and its lack of direction. They are the people that want change and feel Punk was the type of guy that understands what they want. WWE fans are far more willing to be convinced that Punk is just a bitter disgruntled ex-employee. Vince did a good job of trying to paint Punk as that and make Vince look like the good guy willing to do business in the future.

Vince seemed determined to convince folks that he listens to is audience and is not out of touch. In all seriousness, he failed in convincing most of that fact in this interview. When asked what was wrong with his roster he tried to characterize them as unwilling to take risks and to afraid to fail. That this generation of wrestlers was not as motivated to grab the brass ring a favorite analogy of Vince’s that we have heard before. He says John Cena was the last to achieve this. This was an indirect shot at C.M Punk to suggest that Punk never had that desire to be the very best was absolutely silly especially in the light of what we now know Punk was fighting through during his time in the company. It makes you understand why Vince is so tied to the idea that John Cena is the be all and end all to this company having success.

He did mention hope for guys like the three members of The Shield and Bray Wyatt as guys possibly able to reach for those brass rings in the future. C.M Punk claimed in his famous promo to have grabbed many of Vince’s as he called them imaginary brass rings. To suggest he was not motivated to be the best wrestler in this company would be wrong. The thing is to Vince McMahon as he stated early on in his interview he is not in pro wrestling that is what his father did. Even if you class C.M Punk under the form of sports entertainment, he still for many is one of the best at that. His promos were on another level and he was always focused on the path of his character to get to the next big challenge in front of him.

Vince McMahon in his evaluation of Cesaro kind of showed that he is not exactly the guy with all the answers and that he might not really understand what his audience wants as much as he thinks. He claims Cesaro is not a good enough talker, hasn’t built that connection with the audience. Maybe the fact he was Swiss or too European was an issue. This comes from the guy that took wrestling to a global stage.

Here is one thing about the WWE that has always been true to some extent, it is very much booked to appeal to only one nation and that is the United States of America. At times, they have thrown people in Canada and the U.K a bone with various superstars but they book with a United States focus. They clearly don’t see what Non-Americans see when they look at Rusev. Who is a patriotic guy but unfortunately happens to be for the wrong country in the eyes of America. He is booked like a baby face more than he is a heel. WWE claims to be this global brand, but has screwed Canada with a lesser version of their Network and Vince after making an apology to people in U.K once again claimed that the Network could in fact launch in U.K by start of 2015. Reality is most have turned to alternate methods to get the network by this point in both countries for simple fact they have not been treated well by the company and in effect are second class fans based on the actions of the company.

Randy Savage for the better part of 15 years has been kept out of the WWE Hall of Fame. Vince stated that he will in fact be inducted at some point if not this year than likely soon. No explanation as to why it has never happened until now. The WWE Hall of Fame has become a version of the Vince McMahon kiss my ass club and only when pressured to do so will the company attempt to bring outsiders into it. C.M Punk is likely never going into any WWE Hall of Fame unless he decides to come fix things with Vince McMahon. He will be the Randy Savage for this generation but the difference will be we will no why he isn’t being put in the Hall of Fame. There is no board or voting for the WWE Hall of Fame. You can argue that the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame is more valid. Vince would never acknowledge that though as he claims to not listen to critics.

How can you listen to fans and not to critics? Can fans not be critics as well, in what they do? In addition, the people who end up covering this business our for the most part some of the most hardcore fans of the business and product that we have.

In the end both the Punk and McMahon, interviews were very interesting. It comes down to who comes off as more credible at the end of the day at that is really C.M Punk. Vince is still fascinating and interesting but at his core is a promoter and is just by nature prone to exaggerate or out and out lie. Every Wrestlemania is the biggest one ever. Every big event is some can’t miss one of a kind attraction. At the end of all of this while, there have been lots of surprises and bombshells over the last few weeks nothing has really changed my opinion on the core issues. I always felt Punk was justified in leaving and he only strengthened that belief in what he had to say. I have always believed Vince McMahon is losing touch with his audience and that was clearly on display in this interview.

Punk and Vince are likely never to get back together as McMahon leaves open to possibility. Punk is different from all of the other people that McMahon listed it off he has reconciled with. He is at his core a very disciplined individual with a moral set of values that he believes in strongly. He also seems not to be worried about scoring some kind of payday. McMahon has the one carrot that C.M Punk never got of a true Wrestlemania main event but even at this point, I think Punk wants no part of that.

What has also been made clear is the behind the scenes world of wrestling and we are not talking the crap on Total Divas has been far more compelling than the actual product.

Ball Is In WWE's Court On Punk Situation

The ball is clearly in the WWE’s court in terms of the C.M Punk comments made on the Art of Wrestling Podcast. WWE really finds the company in a position having advertised Vince McMahon in a no holds barred interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin on the network.

It really leaves the WWE in a difficult spot and a real no win situation. If they address the Punk situation, they are opening a Pandora’s Box that they want no part of that could damage the company in many ways. Most of all the issues Punk expressed on the medical issues in his time with the company. 

However if they fail to address the situation it will be seen as ducking the topic and adds validity to all of Punk’s claims. Therefore, the WWE has painted itself into a corner with this one to a great extent.

The most likely out come is the topic will be addressed and Vince McMahon will make a very corporate and generic statement. This seems the most likely outcome as the WWE was quick to release a very corporate statement in response to a Yahoo Sports article on the subject.

Punk is scheduled to appear on the Art of Wrestling again to be made to the public on Thursday. It is scheduled to be fan questions for Punk but you have to assume if the WWE comments on this story tonight, Punk will have some kind of reaction to it.

Some have already been sucked into this story by being talked about in the interview and have made responses to it. Ryback made some comments via twitter and suggested Punk’s claims of a confrontation between the two were false. He also made a bold claim that the truth would eventually come out and even alluded to slander on the part of Punk about himself. Call me crazy but given the steroid allegations Punk made I don’t see Ryback wanting to get in a legal battle in which his use or non-use of steroids would be in question. The WWE themselves would want no part of Ryback being involved in such a matter and it would be career suicide to some degree if Ryback got involved in litigation on this matter.

Chris Jericho defended himself saying that while he did want to have Punk on his pod cast Talk is Jericho all of those requests were prior to Punk leaving the company. He claims that Punk declined to appear and even they had a date booked in the December prior to him leaving that Punk backed out of according to Jericho. He says he did text Punk since leaving the company but never once brought up why Punk left the WWE or made any requests as relates to his podcast. He claims that he still considers Punk a friend even though they have not spoken since he left the company and is glad he was able to get stuff of his chest about him leaving the company.

Road Dogg as we mentioned on the podcast we at Condo on the Moon did on this C.M Punk topic engaged with fans about the Punk interview. A few other WWE Superstars made mention of the interview through social media but nothing of any great significance.

The question of A.J Lee’s future, how she will be dealt with in the fallout of all this is another topic to wonder about. Her desire to remain in the company through all of this really must make for a difficult situation for all. Punk’s firing on their wedding day has to have had a negative impact on her as well one could only conclude logically. This may have nothing to do with anything but Nikki Bella’s promo on Smackdown was edited and who knows if that had anything to do with Punk situation. A.J‘s line about talent being sexual transmitted in reference to Bella’s was not. It seemed a direct shot at their off-screen relationships with two of the company’s top stars.

All in all with a WWE Network that is struggling and a road to Wrestlemania that seems has uncertain as it was last year the WWE really didn’t need all of this to deal with.

What remains the biggest question is if this story will remain inside the wrestling bubble or if others outside of it will notice it. Punk may have no desire to push the story on his end but he does have that option and it could make the WWE look very bad if chose to do so.

It is far more likely Punk just looks to move on with other projects and leave his wrestling career and life in the past for the time being. He has signed on to write comics for Marvel and has the ability to work on or do any projects he desires. This seemed much more like an act of closure for Punk and something he wanted to offer to his true fans.

Punk opened a story on Pro Wrestling Tee’s on Monday and traffic for the site seemed to be in high volume. The other issue for the WWE will be how there audience reacts to all of this. Who have been chanting Punk’s name off and on for the entire year since he left. WWE has been accused of taking signs from fans involving Punk and doing their best to control their audiences without complete success at times.

Safe to say Punk Chants will make a return and he is likely not to make one perhaps ever in the WWE. This is becoming a messy divorce like situation with WWE the ones with everything to lose and Punk with very little to lose in the matter.

Fans that tune into the Stone Cold Podcast tonight expecting a grand response to this matter from Vince McMahon likely will be disappointed. It certainly will create a new interest for it though that likely wasn’t as strong as it is now.

It is pretty clear the WWE’s behind the scenes story has become far more interesting than the product they are producing in the ring of late. The issue is they have no real way that I can see to turn this behind the scenes story into a success on screen at this point.

Punk clearly changed public perception among wrestling fans on his departure from the company now that he has told his side of the story. The WWE seems fairly handcuffed and limited in how they can respond to this matter. Yet if they bury their heads in the sand and hope it goes away that is likely not going to work either.

It is your move Vince McMahon.

For what to expect from Raw. Check out Josh Lopez's preview of Monday Night Raw. For all the latest on WWE and Wrestling in general follow us on @condoonthemoon to stay update on the latest from us.

WWE Monday Night Raw Preview

Tonight is going to be one of the most interesting nights in sports entertainment since the night after the Montreal Screwjob. With former WWE Superstar CM Punk coming out and speaking about his depature from the WWE, there's alot of interested in the live "Stone Cold" Steve Austin podcast with Vince McMahon. WWE didn't follow up the debut of Sting on last week's Raw, and with WWE TLC coming up in two weeks, What new matches will be announced for the annual gimmick PPV? Here's five things that I think people should look out for tonights show.

1.) The next step for John Cena and Seth Rollins 

Coming off last week's Raw, I think it's pretty obvious that Cena will be taking on Seth Rollins at TLC. Brock Lesnar is advertised for the 2014 Slammy Awards next week which is the go-home show for WWE TLC. I don't think that Lesnar will be competing at TLC, so where does John Cena and Seth Rollins go? I heard some people throw out this idea where Dolph Ziggler takes on Seth Rollins with Rollins Money in the Bank breifcase on the line. I think that would be a cool match especially for this type of PPV, but I don't see that happening. With tonight's show we may see something where it's John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback vs. Seth Rollins, Kane and Luke Harper in the main event or John Cena will take on J&J Security in a handicap match. Now are these matches that I want to see, I don't know, but being a pretty good observer of WWE programming I wouldn't be surprised if either of these matches happen. Cena vs. Rollins is the logical step with the Royal Rumble coming up. Despite Rollins taking a loss to Cena, I think to make a "statement" to Brock Lesnar, Cena defeats the top heel in the company at WWE TLC.

2.) The Anonymous Raw General Manager

Like you guys, I used to DESPISE the Anonymous Raw General Manager in 2010-2011. Now these days as I got more in tuned with the product and wrestling in general, I've come to appreciate the Anonymous Raw General Manager. I'll tell you why? Well, maybe the main reason why the Anonymous Raw General Manager doesn't bother me anymore is because it's gives people "HEAT" aka Michael Cole. Every time we here "May I have your attention please?" people cringe and boo and you don't really see alot of people these days on the WWE Roster get the type of "Real Heat" like Cole does when he reads those emails "And I Quote!" I'm just going to get a good laugh out of it because yea it may not be the best on thing on the show, but anything to get the crowd to boo the worst announce team in the history of wrestling is a pretty good day for yours truly. I can of hope that maybe since he's going to be there in Tulsa, Oklahoma, would WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin make a LIVE appearance on Raw and mess the computer and Michael Cole up? I think that would be fantastic.

3.) Ambrose/Wyatt Program 

I'll tell you what guys, I think more than anything on this show tonigth, I'm looking forward to see what they do with Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose the most. Bro (Vince Russo), I think what they've been doing with Wyatt/Ambrose is great because this feud is turning into war and it was supposed to be like that since the beginning of this feud. Will we get a in-ring Wyatt promo I think so, but Wyatt will have to bring up something different in his promo instead of continuing to bring up Ambrose's daddy issues. Wyatt has been getting the better of Ambrose since this feud has started. I think Ambrose will be in a match with Cesaro or Mark Henry and than after the match he will stack Tables, Ladders and Chairs on either man. Wyatt will come up and try to attack Dean again, but this time Ambrose gets some revenge as Wyatt escpaes and runs up the ramp. I think it would be nice to see Bray Wyatt compete in the match, but who do you have him go against? With two weeks away to TLC I think WWE needs to bring their A game tonight when it comes to this feud.

4.) A New Day Is Here 

I was really happy to see Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E debut their "New Day" gimmick on SmackDown this past Friday Night. I'm happy for them because they're trying something different and at the same time entertain the WWE audience. Yes the music and pomps and circumstances of this gimmick will reminds you of Flash Funks, The Oddities, The Tons of Funks of the world, but I think we got something here with this new gimmick and it will sure add some vareity in this stagnant WWE Tag Team division. Give it a chance people, maybe it will grown on you, maybe it won't if you're a natural cynical person. A New Day is Here and as far as tonight is concern, I think we maybe seeing a run-in between with The New Day and The Dust Brothers. I wonder if they do come out with all Red thought for Monday Night Raw as opposed to SmackDown where they came out with the powder blue. Either way this a fun gimmick there's too many heels on this roster as it is, let's have some fun and enjoy a new stable on WWE television.

5.) WWE TLC's Mid-Card 

Here's the thing, if you haven't seen my previous column where I predicted the entire match card for WWE TLC, I advise you to check it out it's really cool and I think you may like it. I think tonight with the Raw Anonymouys General Manager we'll get some matches announced for TLC. With the feud between AJ Lee/Nikki Bella I WANT TO SEE A IN-RING BACK AND FORTH PROMO BETWEEN THESE TWO LADIES. Give me a reason to care about this match, I enjoyed what little of a promo Nikki had on SmackDown and I enjoyed the attempt of CM Punk AJ displayed on last week's Raw. Let them talk gives us a reason as to why this match matters. I think we'll Big Show vs. Erick Rowan tonight on Raw, but ultimately this will lead to their upcoming match at TLC. I think we'll already have the announced Ryback/Kane match, I will like to see if they announce Rusev vs Swagger at TLC, also possibly Ziggler/Harper for the IC Title would be nice and that's that for now. I think what's going to make WWE TLC a success is the mid-card for this show.

*With the live "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Podcast with Mr. McMahon, I don't think he should ask Vince about CM Punk. Don't bring more attention to somebody that continues to bring the company down in a negative light. I think it would be more important for Austin to grill McMahon about the direction of the company, maybe ask a couple of school questions like "Who came up with the idea to have Austin job to Lesnar on Raw in 2002?" stuff like that. This will be in my opinion the biggest interview in the WWE this year. DON'T MISS OUT AND WHAT CAN BE SOMETHING VERY VERY SPECIAL.

I hope you guys enjoy Raw tonight, try not to be like a Roger Ebert/Dave Meltzer wannabe and be so nit picky and try to enjoy the show as fan. That's the advise I give to people before watching Raw. I hope you guys enjoyed this preview. Let me know what you think about this article? And what would you guys like to see happen on Raw tonight?

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR