Brock Is Back So Now What?

Brock Lesnar kicked off Wrestlemania week with a bombshell going on ESPN to announce he is retired from MMA and had re-signed the night before with WWE. He stated that Vince McMahon made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Some interesting things he stated were that he had been training for MMA for the last two months. He claimed his appearance at the Rousey fight in L.A was to be back in the UFC environment.  He also said he has been struggling with this decision for about a year. He had a bad taste in his mouth, in regards to how his career ended in MMA with UFC as a fighter. He went out on a losing streak and was dealing with recovering from diverticulitis. In the end, he felt that returning to the WWE and retiring from MMA was the best choice to make for his family.

Brock still hates to travel and by his comments it appears he has resigned for the same or similar part-time schedule. He also stated that he is the only one that gets to work part-time hours for full-time pay.  Which makes you wonder how wise this was for WWE given their new finically reality with the WWE Network.

While Brock claimed ignorance to angling for this deal with WWE that seems hard to believe. In fact, you can go back far before his latest moves with showing up at UFC to him playing the UFC and WWE against one another. I recall Paul Heyman doing an interview with Ariel Helwani noted MMA journalist that Brock would still watch UFC fights and tell Heyman that he could beat this guy and that guy. The subtle seeds had been planted about Brock having interest in returning. Heyman is back in the WWE based completely on his friendship with Lesnar. He would never say anything without the blessing of Brock in such a public setting. Heyman would never speak about C.M Punk’s issues prior to Punk making his reasons for leaving public. Punk also is close with Heyman and the loyalty Heyman shows has been shown in this situation as well.

While having Brock back will be seen as the big story in reality the fact this will almost guarantee Heyman’s presence on television is an even bigger deal for WWE. He has been an MVP for this company in the last year with his tremendous promos in selling angles and matches tied to Lesnar and others in the last year. He single handedly sold the Lesnar vs. Taker match a year ago. He was the driving force in selling the Lesnar against John Cena match at Summerslam and the re-match between the two.

In the end, Brock can say what he likes. He played this situation perfectly to be paid. He claims to enjoy wrestling in the ring and his just not a fan of travel. This is consistent to why he left originally to try out for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. Still to me, he will always be a mercenary that is out to be paid and is not necessarily a fan of the business. He is when it is convent to be and isn’t when it is not in his best interest to be. Bottom line Brock Lesnar is not a mark for the business he is a mark for himself at whatever he does.

The biggest loser in all of this likely will be Roman Reigns, as he now likely seems to be the odd man out. The chosen one to take the title from Lesnar now likely will not. Most felt that if Lesnar would be under contract prior to Sunday he likely will retain his title. This of course remains to be seen but seems highly likely and ultimately turn Lesnar officially babyface and have him continue his run with the title.

Even worse, a program he could have had, as a heel champion with The Rock likely now becomes The Rock against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 32 in AT&T Stadium. A program with Roman against his more famous cousin would have been a great thing for Reigns getting to another level as an attraction.

WWE can now breathe easy and can do what is BEST FOR BUSINESS if they want too. It isn’t to say they will mind you, as Lesnar in reality doesn’t care if he wins or loses on Sunday as much as he does that the check clears the bank for showing up.

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 3/23/15

How's thing going? Welcome to the final Raw preview before WrestleMania 31! It's been a fun ride getting to do these previews during this crazy road to WrestleMania. Alot of people say that the build towards WrestleMania has been lackluster, but I disagree because, more people are talking about this WrestleMania then they did for the 30th Anniversary of WrestleMania. Whether good or bad or indifferent people are talking and amongst all these "controversies" brings a high level on intrigued not only on tonight's Raw, but also WrestleMania this Sunday. I'll be in San Jose this weekend love meet to some of the fans of the Condo On The Moon website and podcast. Tonight on Raw we have a couple special guest since Raw is at the Staples Center tonight which should bring a interesting crowd instead of the past three go-home shows that were in Washington and Atlanta. Snoop Doog will be making a guest appearance and also ESPN and Grantland founder Bill Simmons will be calling some matches tonight. So with that here's five things to expect on the final Raw before WrestleMania. 

1.) Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar

 

I will be sharing the comments that Brock Lesnar made from last week's Raw. Speaking of last week's Raw, Paul Heyman once again continues to blow us away with his ability to out do himself in his promos. I've been so bored with the whole Roman Reigns bashing or whatever you want to call this backlash towards him. It is what it is the main event is set and unlike other people I'm going to give you a look as to what they can do to make this match interesting. Tonight on Raw there's supposed to be a face-to-face segment between both the champion and the challenger. I'm figuring that this will close the show tonight or at least it should, but I wouldn't be surprised if they want this segment to start off the second or third hour's of the show. Anyways, I guess one of the only problems I've had so far with the presentation of Roman Reigns since he's came back from his injury is that we've not been given a solid reason to have a emotional investment in anything Roman Reigns. What do I mean by that? Well, WWE can say "Oh look at this guy, he has the look, he's from one of the greatest families in the wrestling business" Okay I know that, but how is Roman going to make himself standout from his other family members if he's not allowed to speak for himself. You constantly see people cutting him off when he starts talking then they start putting him over and kissing his ass. I like Roman Reigns don't get me wrong I want him to succeed, but if Roman's going to be the "next guy" you have make the fans care about him and drive away the John Cena stigma that's attached to him. Tonight on Raw It shouldn't be about Reigns talking to Paul, you should see Roman talk to Brock. We'll hear what Heyman has to say that's a given and then if a brawl happens and they want to go with this Reigns can't beat Lesnar campaign, then you have Brock lay him out with a F5! Also a wild card I think if it's possible and if he's there maybe The Rock shows up on Raw, but still even then you can have Reigns sidetracked then Brock lays out The Rock afront of Reigns and that can play off to the "rumored" main event of next year's WrestleMania "Brock Lesnar vs The Rock" Tonight is very important for this feud. You want to gain the heat and anticipation for this PPV and this match alone? You have to get the crowd off their feet and WWE is lucky they have a great crowd afront of them.

2.) Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins

I guess one of the benefits that comes with having "part-timers" associated with major matches on a WrestleMania card is that with Raw you can pay attention to feuds that usuallly wouldn't been given the time its deserved. You have one of the simplest feuds in the WWE right now and it's really interesting that the Orton & Rollins storyline has been dominating the Raw's on the road to WrestleMania. Which is cool for Rollins because he's getting more and more practice to succeed on high pressure situations especially like a main event segment when a major PPV is coming up. Last week Rollins seemed to be "dismissed" by The Authority, but that didn't last long when Rollins and Authority tricked Orton and that plan was haulted by Sting! On SmackDown JJ Security had a group of security men and women to keep Randy Orton out of the building. That didn't work out and Orton has been on a RKO spree over the last couple of weeks. While Rollins continues to run away it does remind you of the feud with Punk and Orton from WrestleMania 27, but on a higher scale due to the fact that both of these guys were associated with each other with The Authority for over 5 months last year. Tonight should be interesting just to see if Orton is going to be in a match or not. Will Rollins wrestle? I think tonight you'll see Orton be put in a handicap match wtih Big Show & Kane. Orton will win and then all the Authority will come in and attack Randy Orton and just as Orton takes all the guys out Rollins comes from behind with the briefcase hits him in the back of the head and then gives Orton a Curb Stomp! You put Orton in a vunderable situation and you also put Rollins over on a major show before Mania. Have to give Rollins and Orton a big round of applause for carrying major segments of Raw over the last couple of weeks.

3.) John Cena vs. Rusev

Not even going to give that fake Russian Lawyer any attention in this piece. There's no reason to have one of your best on-air personalities shooting a movie during the road to WrestleMania it's just dumb and not necessary. For what Rusev and John Cena said to each other I enjoyed. Like I've said before not a John Cena fan, but I have alot of respect for him and he's been more enjoyable to watch over the last couple of weeks and I'm not afraid to say that. His promos have been fantastic and this is a simple feud with a simple opponent and that's not taking a dig at Rusev it's showing that less is more. Rusev has been doing a tremendous job as a heel especially with him talking more and getting heat by himself. I'm going to share the interview that John Cena conducted with Michael Cole and I want you guys to listen closely to what he says. What I like about this feud is that I don't know what happens next for John Cena. There's so many options to go with this feud and if John Cena loses maybe we don't see John Cena for awhile. Tonight I think we see Cena get the best of Rusev and hold up the United States Championship. I hope Lana is on the show she's a major assett to Rusev character development and you don't see that from other managers unless your name is Paul Heyman and that's saying something. 

4.) The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt + Triple H vs Sting 

It was nice seeing Sting on Raw last week and getting to talk to the WWE Universe. I mention last week we need more to this Triple H and Sting feud. I'm happy he's here and he's my favorite non WWE Superstar of all-time. What's coming out of this Triple H/Sting match? Sting says that he's here to take Hunter down, but if he beats him at WrestleMania and Hunter is on Raw the next night did he really do anything? I heard reports about Sting being in Los Angeles for tonight's Raw and I think he should be there. Tonight I think we do see a in-ring segment with Triple H and Sting and Sting will probably challenge Hunter for his "Authority" in the WWE. I think it would be really interesting if Vince came out on the show tonight and say that "I was the guy that brought Sting to the WWE and you've let me down and I told you to fix this and you didn't so I had to do it myself" BOOM!!!!!!! After that I think it would be important to have Hunter one up Sting before their match at Mania. As far as the Taker/Wyatt match goes I've been really impressed with Bray Wyatt no matter what happens in this match I think Wyatt will be elevated! Tonight is the last night to fight off the rumor that the WWE is holding Taker off until the PPV! I think it would be right to decision to hold Taker from appearing in person, but that doesn't mean you can't have Taker conduct a pre-tape video package where he talks about moving on from losing The Streak and he can talks about his feelings toward Bray Wyatt. They could go big on the hocus pocus stuff especially being at the Staples Center. I'm really interested in seeing what they do with Wyatt on the show tonight.

5.) IC Title + Mania Mid-Card feuds plus Raw matches 

I've been loving what they've been doing with the build towards this Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match. The gaunlet match from SmackDown was one of the best matches I've seen this year and it crazy to think they've been spending an average 30-35 minutes of TV time on the IC Title feud. As far as tonight is concern here's the following the matches that you can see on the show tonight. I think we Daniel Bryan vs Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper, and R-Truth vs Stardust and you have Bad News Barrett on the commentary! Tonight you'll probably see AJ Lee vs Brie Bella or you can do this and you can have a Divas Title match between Paige and Nikki Bella and then you have Paige win and after the match you can have The Bella Twins snap and say that they've had enough of diva's like you and being constatnly disrespected by the crowd. After that they can say if you guys beat us we're gone from the WWE for good. We'll probably see more names added to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and then obviously for the Tag Team Championship feud you can see Los Matadores and Cesaro/Tyson Kidd vs The Usos and The New Day. 

Before we head out here I wanted to congratulations to Kevin Nash becoming the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame well deserved. This will probably be my last time on the site before the big show so I wanted to put my predictions for the show.

1.) Dean Ambrose wins the Ladder Match and becomes the new Intercontinental Champion after Sheamus cost Bryan the Ladder Match 

2.) Randy Orton over Seth Rollins 

3.) Cesaro & Kidd retain the Tag Team Championship 

4.) The Miz wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal 

5.) AJ Lee & Paige over The Bella Twins 

6.) Sting over Triple H 

7.) Wyatt over Taker

8.) Rusev retains the United States Championship 

9.) Roman Reings wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

You can follow me on Twitter @VoiceOfTruth94 

Make sure to check out my WrestleMania preview show this Wednesday on ChicagoLandSportsRadio.com from 10am-2pm CT!

Hope you guys enjoy this piece please feel free to share this piece on all social media platforms and I hope you guys enjoy Raw and WrestleMania.

Condo on the Moon Podcast #53

Walder and I try and shake off the Wrestlemania 31 blues. We discuss future of Brock, NXT and a lot more go have a listen:




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

Why It Doesn't Feel Like Wrestlemania Season In WWE

We are literally less than 2 weeks from Wrestlemania and having seen them all in my lifetime and lived through them this Wrestlemania is different and not in a good way. This show has just not had that special feeling that comes with the biggest show of the year. There are lots of reasons why and it begins but doesn’t end with the main event of the show. You have Brock Lesnar who is a guy who at the end of the day is out for a pay day. If Lesnar loses and makes his exit to the UFC he will not care as long as the check clears the bank. He just doesn’t come off as someone that loves the business. Roman Reigns while he clearly has a passion for this he also seems to have a cocky attitude that does not match what he has earned to this point. In an interview he did with Sam Roberts he spoke of himself as a brand not a wrestler. He clearly is already talking like the face of WWE that we have become use to in John Cena. It isn’t about putting on matches that entertain us as much as it is living up to what the company wants him to be.

In conclusion at least in my view Brock and Roman are both hard to root for in my view. They both in their own way are just so beyond the average person that it is hard to relate to them or care about them. Brock is simply a beast that you marvel at but can’t possibly relate too. You can marvel at what he is but you can’t possibly relate to him anymore than you can Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. You respect the greatness but you find yourself looking for someone to knock them down from this mountain of greatness they stand on.

Roman Reigns a guy that is good looking and has a build that few can match other than a Lesnar or a Cena. He is not exactly the easiest guy to root for to beat the beast. Women love him but it has nothing to do with what he can or can’t do as a wrestler. He lacks the experience and comes off as someone that has yet to pay his dues in this business. Roman Reigns hasn’t earned it as much as he was chosen for greatness and to be the next one.

The guy that is the polar opposite of these two is Daniel Bryan. His story that led to last year’s Wrestlemania is a Hollywood movie that would be rejected for lacking realism. It happened though and this man that was short and had a scruffy beard went on a rise the likes we have rarely seen in wrestling. A year later he has missed most of the year due to injury and was stripped of the title never losing it based having it taken away based on those injuries. He now finds himself in a dangerous match for a devalued secondary title a year later. He headlines a match of unwanted and misused toys that WWE has failed to capitalize on and make into stars. Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes Wade Barrett and Luke Harper have all had moments where they could have stepped up to another level and seemed to be pushed back down. Will this end up being a heck of a match despite the horrible title stealing story line leading up to it? Sure it will but at what cost in a ladder match with one guy coming off a serious next injury, another with a concussion history and a fragile champion that has been booked to look like an idiot in this entire angle. The sad thing is you honestly have to question if these guys are being treated like crash test dummies trying to prove some point that they will never prove.

Many expect that ladder match to produce the match of the night. It very well could but my pick prior to this lackluster build to it was and still is Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins. My fear now is that this match will not get the time I expected it to get. In addition this match could be ruined by potential run-ins to help Seth Rollins. Randy seems motivated since his return and this is the first big singles match for Seth Rollins at a Wrestlemania. The combination of those two things should produce a great match. I find it hard to be motivated to be invested in any of these matches on this Mania card but if any this might be the one I was excited for.

What I am not excited for is to see Sting face Triple H in a match with a storyline that is 15 years in the making of the imagination of a writer a month ago. I have no problem with Sting getting a Mania moment even if I personally don’t care. I do have a problem with this ridiculous story of Sting after 15 years coming back for some kind of revenge for the long forgotten WCW. Triple H probably doesn’t have many matches left in his career it is a match here and there at this point. To have one of his matches wasted on this lousy angle to give some past his prime guy in his mid-fifties a moment does nothing for me. I might be in the minority on this one but even the people excited about this match can’t be thrilled with the build to it. In addition the lack of seeing Sting only adds to the list of not seeing Brock or the Undertaker in the builds to their matches all that much. In case of Undertaker he has not appeared at all. No disrespect to Bray Wyatt or Triple H but everyone wants to see Sting and Taker. The thought is saving it for next year might be the plan. It will be a horrible match when and if it happens, but it is what people want. Not one Sting or Triple H fan has ever cared to see them have a match

Cena for the second year in a row is not in the main event at Wrestlemania. Instead he will defend America and try and make people care about the United States Title. The build to Rusev and Cena has taken the expected turn to being just the typical bad guy Russian against the babyface American Hero. Much like Hulk Hogan any actions Cena has taken are automatically justified based on simply being American. In reality Cena bullied his way into this match and Rusev has been victimized by John Cena.

Rusev has been undefeated and never submitted heading into this match. In the build to it Cena has both knocked out and made Rusev tap out taking away some of special nature to this match-up. In addition these two have already had a match at Fastlane. I maintain this match and Rusev winning at Fastlane has only hurt the build to this and made the predictable Cena win at Mania almost a foregone conclusion.

Cena’s Mania opposition last year Bray Wyatt has moved on to the 21-1 Undertaker for his opponent for this year.  Wyatt losing to Cena remains one of the huge mistakes of Wrestlemania 30. Now he enters another match where he is likely to lose to another WWE Icon in the Undertaker. Bray was not made better from sharing a ring with Cena and losing. I fear the same for the WWE’s potential new face of fear.  Bray seems to be in no win situation facing the Undertaker. What gets lost in the end of the streak is the match with Brock and Taker was pretty much a stinker. I fear Bray Wyatt will have a hard time getting a good match out of an aging Taker. Taker has been slowing down for years but it has been masterfully hidden by great talents like HBK, Triple H and C.M Punk. They all worked hard to make Taker look fantastic. Give Bray a ton of credit for basically having to do the build to this match alone but will that be what anyone remembers? Of course not it will be just who wins or loses the match.

I know it is hard to believe but the Tag-Team Titles use to be a big deal at Wrestlemania. Here in 2015 we are having a match destined to be on the pre-show of Wrestlemania. A legit injury to Jimmy Uso makes what was planned as four-way match to now a three-way match. That leaves Tyson Kidd and Cesaro the champs to face the world beaters of Los Matadors and the New Day. If Kidd and Cesaro lose I personally give up on Cesaro and Kidd ever getting anywhere. The loss of the Usos makes this match mean even less than it originally did. It also speaks to how badly things have gone for the Accession not even been included in this match. They could be a late replacement for the Uso’s but on a show where everyone gets fit into make this card and they were not. Perhaps they would have been included in the Andre Battle Royal which is back for another year.

So in this match of unwanted toys that is the Andre The Giant Battle Royal it seems there are only 3 real options to win this match. The people’s pick would be Mizdow and his rival in a slow build to a feud The Miz also could be considered to win this. However the chance a returning Sheamus could return to win this match is likely. After Cesaro winning last year and the aftermath of this from last year makes the winner of this match is far less significant.

In addition we will be giving the Diva’s a chance to not have their match cut as Brie and Nikki team up to face Paige and A.J Lee in a tag-team match. No Diva’s title on the line and it has been ages since we single one on one contest for the Diva’s or Women’s Title at Mania.

There has been no mention of celebrities appearing at Mania just another small thing that has been lacking in this build. What was planned to be a coronation of Roman Reigns to be the next John Cena for a decade has become a story about if Brock will stay or go. Personally the face people are hoping for him to return I don’t quite understand. Realistically Brock is MIA and so is the Championship for as long as he holds it. While it is financially irresponsible to pay what Lesnar will command with out question.  It is just not realistic based on the new model the WWE has created to justify paying Lesnar for a very limited amount of dates. This also speaks to perhaps the lack of care that has been put into this Mania build. The effort level has matched the 9.99 price tag or 11.99 if you happen to be in Canada.

It has been pretty universal in people lack of excitement heading into what is suppose to be the biggest show of the year in pro wrestling. It is a sad reflection of how this last year has impacted on the WWE.  The WWE Network has cast a shadow over this year and changed wrestling in the WWE not for the better. Mania has had trouble moving tickets with tickets still available just weeks prior to the event. It makes the massive challenge of filling AT&T Stadium seem like mission impossible looking forward to next year. A match the level of Hogan vs. Andre is not waiting around the corner for WWE.

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

Condo On Moon Podcast #52: Rocky Road To San Jose

We breakdown a Raw that was memorable for how bad it was. So much bad in this week but from her Flintstones based promo to her delusional self impression Nikki Bella finds a way to stand out in a sea of bad. Nikki has a dream to be the female Rock and we have a dream to have a women's champion that actually has talent. We re-cap another season finale of Total Divas that will make us all a little worse off for doing. In addition not all bad news as we talk about who is returning to ROH and who might be going. While NXT seems to eye ROH talent as they look to stock up and become a legitimate separate brand from WWE. All of this in 90 minutes plus with James Borbath and Chris Walder as your guides down this Wrestlemania highway to hell.



If your unable to listen via the site head over to Podomatic and download or listen there.

Can it get worse on this road to Wrestlemania? Let's put it this way I need a fast forward button or a stop button not some play button at this stage. Will be back next week regardless of if things improve or not.

NXT Report: March 11th 2015

There has been a lot of talk about NXT this week and for once, it is not as much about what is happening in the ring. Bill Demott stepping down as the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center dominated the headlines last week. He has been replaced by Matt Bloom (Jason Albert) in the role. This is likely a positive to have the WWE try to distance the NXT brand from Demott. While almost all of the allegations against Demott pre-date NXT his presence there currently would only serve as hindrance for the brand moving forward.

This is another thing that is being talked about quite a fair bit is what exact the future for NXT will be as it grows. Is it still a developmental system or is it growing into its own unique promotion. Is it now growing into a brand that is some kind of super independent promotion? Obviously having the backing and money of the WWE behind it gives it an advantage over any promotion including TNA and ROH. The NXT show took to the road last weekend in Columbus Ohio and it was promoted on last night’s episode of the show that we would see some of the events from that road trip next week.

Samoa Joe has stated he is in talks with WWE and he would be another huge name born on the independent scene that could be added to the mix in NXT. Joe may need some conditioning not unlike a Kevin Owens, but as far as his work in the ring, he has proven to be at an elite level when motivated to be. Add him to the mix with Finn Balor, Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami and Owens it is top 6 that would make any independent promoter drool.

It all leads to the question of is NXT still a developmental program or it becoming a brand geared to attract the hardcore wrestling audience that has been under whelmed with the current WWE product. Can it be a mix of both at the end of the day?

If we put a label on last night’s show it was leaning more to the developmental side than the creating a brand side.

The night started with Big Cass and Enzo going against the Lucha Dragons for the number one contender spot for the NXT Tag Team Championship. The expected happened with Enzo and Cass winning as the angle between them and Blake and Murphy was already teased. No question Cass and Enzo are over and have been for some time in NXT. I have always stated if this act goes to the next level, I see Colin Cassidy as the big star and Enzo more as a manger than his partner in a tag team. One thing that Big Cass has is his size and to steal one of their catch phrases…You Can’t Teach That!  Enzo is entertaining but more so for his personality and work on the microphone as opposed to anything he does in the ring.

Alexa Bliss returned to action after being sidelined for two months with a broken nose. She took on the third member of that crew Carmella. This match was a step below what we have come to expect from the women in NXT. I still think Bliss has a bright future and like Bayley could get over huge with kids. Unlike Bayley she is looks wise a miniature version of Trish Stratus. If she can learn and develop as Trish did, she can be a big hit on the next level. Lots of work to do though but I really like Alexa and think she has an “it factor” to her that can work well on the next level. That cross between Diva and Women’s Wrestler that ideally fans want.

Alex Riley returned to the ring after over 2 years away from it. It took about 2 minutes to realize why he was placed in commentary and not wrestling. His promo prior to his match with C.J Parker was little over the top but great. In ring, Riley is average at best and just doesn’t hold a candle to the talent even here in NXT. Owens came out and promised to end Alex Riley’s wrestling career and move on to ending the rise of Finn Balor. After watching Riley this week, Kevin Owens would be doing us a favor he delivered on his promise about Riley. Kevin will be able to get a good match out of Riley despite his lack of skills in the ring. Kevin is just that talented that he can. In addition the build verbally and storyline wise has been outstanding.

Hideo Itami and Tyler Breeze seem to be paired together based on having nothing else for either. It has been a good re-establishing of Tyler Breeze and with his new selfie stick; it adds a new layer to the gimmick. Hideo Itami on the other hand while clearly talented also seems clearly lost in some ways. I will say this that his selling is amazing. Problem might be he is selling too much and we have not got to see the offensive capabilities of this man.  The have teased is use of the GTS which fans at NXT now are determined to see. If he ever hit the main roster with that move not sure if that would be received with welcoming arms as it will be at NXT. While he did invent the move, even C.M Punk admits that, the move is forever tied to Punk for WWE fans. Itami lost the match to Breeze and that seemed the right outcome for me. Tyler Breeze while not the big name that Itami was as Kenta prior to the WWE, He is much more comfortable in the WWE setting and NXT environment

This was one of those rare NXT shows that I would say there wasn‘t anything that you need to go out of your way to see. Not that it was a bad show or anything close to the 3-hour snooze feast that was Raw. It just wasn‘t up to the standards that NXT is known for as being very high and over performing that leaves us wanting more.  .