WWE Raw

[sliceoftoast]

Now with the Royal Rumble coming up too, i was reading that The Rock is returning back to WWE. Not sure if this is just for Wrestlemania or not. It would be awesome if he Wins the rumble goes to Wrestlemania and faces Reigns for the Championship.

 

[JoshMKB24]

Now with the Royal Rumble coming up too, i was reading that The Rock is returning back to WWE. Not sure if this is just for Wrestlemania or not. It would be awesome if he Wins the rumble goes to Wrestlemania and faces Reigns for the Championship.

I don't think he will be back. When he was WWE champion 2011-2013 I feel that was like his last hurrah as a regular wrestler. He might have stints here and there, and you can almost guarantee he will be back at every WrestleMania, but I don't think we will see him on a regular basis.

John Cena's injury and shoulder surgery really hurts, as far as the roster goes. I'm not sure what they had planned for him, but whether you boo him or love him haha, wrestling is more fun with Cena around.


I believe this is 1 of the 1st times if not the 1st times the title has been on the line in the rumble. The only other time I can think of is when it was vacant and the winner of the rumble won it, but I don't think its ever been defended through the rumble? I could be wrong though.

IMO the powers that be don't quite trust Reigns as champion. He just now is getting "over" with the fans, even though they tried to do it last year. He also is terrible on the mic. Like I've stated before, he needs to be in a role of silent bruiser............just not talk and wreck things. Thats why I think he would be great in The Authority with Triple H and Steph on the mic and he just sits there silently smirking.

A lot will be laid out with Lesnar coming back Monday. IMO they will have Reigns drop the belt to Lesnar and then at Mania it will be Triple H vs Reigns and then Lesnar vs The Rock in a rematch of SummerSlam 2003. Some have said though that The Rock has it in his contract since he tore an abdominal muscle the last time he had a long stint wrestling that his contracts now state he can't wrestle............I'm not sure I really believe that though. He is done filming season 2 of Ballers and currently is only filming Baywatch, so he would be available every few weeks for a little while to build up the hype of him vs Lesnar. My guess is that Lesnar would win with outside interference as they can't have The Rock lose twice cleanly in a row at WM.

It's going to be difficult because the rumor was Undertaker vs Cena for Taker's last match in his home state............so I don't know what direction they go now. One angle that could be fun is Taker vs Lesnar 1 more time, those 2 are fun to watch so they could sell it. Also then have Reigns vs Triple H for the title and Triple H winning so now is the COO and the champion. Or have Ambrose turn on Reigns in some fashion to make him lose the title and Ambrose joins The Authority




Wow, that is a long post about wrestling..............haha

 

[sliceoftoast]

Yeah that would be epic turn out, Why is Lesner out at the moment?

 

[JoshMKB24]

Yeah that would be epic turn out, Why is Lesner out at the moment?

He has a sweet deal with WWE. He hates the road and is pretty introverted.......so he doesn't like being around a lot of people. His contract is he just has a few appearances a year and just a few PPV events a year. The big PPV are Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Money In The Bank. With all the injuries and WWE ratings dropping though, he has appeared more often in 2015 than he was originally planned, because they apparently adjusted his contract and gave him a ton more money. I don't see that trend changing for 2016 though. Especially now that Cena is on the shelf for 6 months with a shoulder.

 

[phrehdd]

It seems some here lost interest after the "Attitude Era" which had the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. I used to refer to wrestling as Bugs Bunny with live actors where the violence was absurd and loosely threaded with a story line. I liked that era as well as it was a guilty pleasure form of nonsense entertainment.

These days, it always seems matches are "interrupted" by outside interference or a group beats on one wrestler/performer. There are no interesting story lines or at least entertaining when compared to the Attitude Era. Maybe it is time to have a new one as it would be "good for business."

 

[JoshMKB24]

It seems some here lost interest after the "Attitude Era" which had the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. I used to refer to wrestling as Bugs Bunny with live actors where the violence was absurd and loosely threaded with a story line. I liked that era as well as it was a guilty pleasure form of nonsense entertainment.

These days, it always seems matches are "interrupted" by outside interference or a group beats on one wrestler/performer. There are no interesting story lines or at least entertaining when compared to the Attitude Era. Maybe it is time to have a new one as it would be "good for business."

Thats honestly any era......time tested tactic....bad guys gang up on good guys and beat him down, make you dislike the bad guys more and cheer for the good guy!

I agree though the story lines have gotten stale as of late. I think part of it like I mentioned above was the roster is pretty much all hurt right now. The other is the PG era because of how they are a publicly traded company now and its harder for them to take risks. Like the other night when Stephanie McMahon was in the ring screaming at Reigns and the other night too when she kept slapping him. Had that been 1998 and Stone Cold, she would have gotten a stunner haha, but can't do that anymore

Nowhere is lazy story telling more evident than in the "Divas" division......honestly they need to kill that division and just make it the women's division. Rousey is supposedly joining when she retires in a few years and has stated she wants to. I just hope when she gets there its the women's division and not the divas.

 

[phrehdd]

Josh, some good point there. Maybe the "Divas" need someone like a CM Punk or more renegade group that is far more contrary to the management. Lots of variations on old themes. For now, it remains as you pointed out - rather lackluster.

 

[JoshMKB24]

Josh, some good point there. Maybe the "Divas" need someone like a CM Punk or more renegade group that is far more contrary to the management. Lots of variations on old themes. For now, it remains as you pointed out - rather lackluster.

Sasha Banks is actually very good both in ring and on the mic. I think the biggest problem that division has is calling them "divas" IMO kind of degrades the overall product. I'm not some super PC person at all, but I think for an actual division, the name "Divas Division" makes it sound 2nd class out of the gate already. There is definitely talent there, the story telling is just meh. The women's division in NXT is actually much better at story lines, which is why Sasha Banks gets such a big pop when she comes out. The whole super tag teams need to stop too. The women get 1 match and its always like tag events or triple threat matches......get more singles matches where there isn't like a group of others standing outside the ring.

 

[JoshMKB24]

I have to say, I had very low expectations for the Royal Rumble last night. It definitely exceeded my expectations. I feel its set up for WrestleMania pretty well. Triple H winning it actually wasn't that surprising. I think most people figured it would be Triple H vs Reigns at WM. I also think they laid out the groundwork for Brock vs the Wyatt's pretty good.


Also, The New Day seriously has to be 1 of the most entertaining groups of all time. Everything they do is pure gold. I think that Big E will be getting a singles push soon. I was a bit surprised it wasn't him that was entering the Rumble.

 

[sliceoftoast]

the WWE App Spoilt it for me! I picked up my iPad and there it was the dam results on the screen

So do you think it will Lesner and HHH at Wrestlemania? Or will the rock come back and win it then disappear for months at a time

 

[JoshMKB24]

the WWE App Spoilt it for me! I picked up my iPad and there it was the dam results on the screen

So do you think it will Lesner and HHH at Wrestlemania? Or will the rock come back and win it then disappear for months at a time

I think it will be Reigns vs HHH at Mania and Lesnar vs some form of the Wyatt family............I'm guessing that big guy...........Brawn McMuscleMan 🙂

I don't think The Rock will be involved in any real feuds. His return last night, on the mic was pretty hilarious when he called The New Day's unicorn horns Llama penises. He looked pretty stiff in the ring. He got no lift on the rock bottom and that had to be the stiffest People's Elbow I've ever seen. I have seen rumors running since last week that The Rock is going to be appearing a bit more between now and Mania because he has some time before starting to get into production of Furious 8. I was really sad the USOs came out............ugh...........but The Rock & The New Day have some serious potential for fun promos. I also think that would make sense if they're about to start a Big E singles push.
Also today it sounds like Nikki Bella might be done for good. Sounds like she did not get good news on her neck.

I was also expecting Daniel Bryan to return at the rumble or something. He has been cleared by every doctor besides WWE doctors............which seems weird.


I know Triple H loves to be the center of attention and involved in all the big story lines...........but it is surprising to see him back wrestling. He has said on podcasts before its a lot harder now that he is over 40 to recover and stay in wrestling shape. I know they have a thin roster so my guess is, Vince asked Triple H to get back in the ring to bolster the roster and HHH probably bulked at the idea unless he got to be champion. No real facts backing that, just my assumption though.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

Tbh I rarely watch an episode of RAW all the way through. The show being 3hrs is just massive overkill. Sasha Banks is legit tho and she's cute as hell. I still catch all the Brock, Rock, and Taker segments. Hoping Daniel Bryan comes back. Trips winning the rumble was just...yeah. AJ Styles' debut was pretty kick ass too.

I do watch a lot of the older RAWs on the WWE Network tho. Reliving 1998 WWF, ECW, and WCW...holy hell do I miss those times lol Stone Cold, Rock, DDP, RVD, and Taker were my dudes back in the day lol. The WWE Network is awesome and for 10 bucks a month, you honestly can't beat it. All the current ppvs, plus thousands and thousands of old nostalgic wrestling moments and memories.

 

[JoshMKB24]

Tbh I rarely watch an episode of RAW all the way through. The show being 3hrs is just massive overkill. Sasha Banks is legit tho and she's cute as hell. I still catch all the Brock, Rock, and Taker segments. Hoping Daniel Bryan comes back. Trips winning the rumble was just...yeah. AJ Styles' debut was pretty kick ass too.

I do watch a lot of the older RAWs on the WWE Network tho. Reliving 1998 WWF, ECW, and WCW...holy hell do I miss those times lol Stone Cold, Rock, DDP, RVD, and Taker were my dudes back in the day lol. The WWE Network is awesome and for 10 bucks a month, you honestly can't beat it. All the current ppvs, plus thousands and thousands of old nostalgic wrestling moments and memories.

Agreed, I usually watch the opening monologue and then I switch over to something else and usually catch the last like 1.5 hours. 3 hours is too much...........what they need to realize is while a 3 hour PPV is fine..........the weekly 3 hour program is just too much. The reason the 3 hour PPV works is because its a culmination of all the feuds and all generally solid matches. The 3 hours of RAW is honestly like watching preseason NFL football sometimes haha

I kind of disagree on Triple H winning the title. Obviously its worthy of an eye roll when you look at it as him and his wife putting the title on him. However, I think it was a solid move and lets them go a few different directions. Think of it, there was no way they could have Reigns survive the entire Rumble. I also don't think they entirely trust the idea of Reigns as champion tbh. With Triple H as champion it lets them sort of go into a holding pattern and figure out the route they want to go for WM. Now with the triple threat Fast Lane match, I'm assuming either Reigns or Ambrose at this point will finally turn. I'd bet on Reigns since Ambrose is already "over" though.

Look at every big superstar all the way back through the

 

[citizenzen]

Used to watch it when I was in my early 20s. Haven't watched it in 20+ years.

So similar. Though for me the hiatus has been about 30 years. Just good, stupid fun.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

Agreed, I usually watch the opening monologue and then I switch over to something else and usually catch the last like 1.5 hours. 3 hours is too much...........what they need to realize is while a 3 hour PPV is fine..........the weekly 3 hour program is just too much. The reason the 3 hour PPV works is because its a culmination of all the feuds and all generally solid matches. The 3 hours of RAW is honestly like watching preseason NFL football sometimes haha

I kind of disagree on Triple H winning the title. Obviously its worthy of an eye roll when you look at it as him and his wife putting the title on him. However, I think it was a solid move and lets them go a few different directions. Think of it, there was no way they could have Reigns survive the entire Rumble. I also don't think they entirely trust the idea of Reigns as champion tbh. With Triple H as champion it lets them sort of go into a holding pattern and figure out the route they want to go for WM. Now with the triple threat Fast Lane match, I'm assuming either Reigns or Ambrose at this point will finally turn. I'd bet on Reigns since Ambrose is already "over" though.

Look at every big superstar all the way back through the

Trips being champ, especially in 2016, just seems...eh. I mean I get what they're trying to do but still. And I'm to the point where I'd rather they push Ambrose over Reigns. Ambrose has been massively over for a while now and the powers that be have still yet to capitalize on it. I'm still looking forward to WM tho. Got tickets in December. Should be fun

 

[JoshMKB24]

Trips being champ, especially in 2016, just seems...eh. I mean I get what they're trying to do but still. And I'm to the point where I'd rather they push Ambrose over Reigns. Ambrose has been massively over for a while now and the powers that be have still yet to capitalize on it. I'm still looking forward to WM tho. Got tickets in December. Should be fun

Nice! I'm debating if I want to go or not. I have tickets for Kobe Bryan'ts final game ever the following week so I don't know if I can take off more work since I have weddings and stuff as well coming up.

Its very "eh" for HHH to be champion, I 100% agree and don't dispute that at all. I just think its a smart move to act as a place holder while they figure out what direction they want to do rather than leave it on Reigns who keeps hovering between over and not over with the fans. Ambrose is over already so one would think to make Reigns over they'll have Reigns turn heel on Ambrose at some point soon, my guess would be Fast Lane with a rematch at WM

 

[JayIsAwesome]

Nice! I'm debating if I want to go or not. I have tickets for Kobe Bryan'ts final game ever the following week so I don't know if I can take off more work since I have weddings and stuff as well coming up.

Its very "eh" for HHH to be champion, I 100% agree and don't dispute that at all. I just think its a smart move to act as a place holder while they figure out what direction they want to do rather than leave it on Reigns who keeps hovering between over and not over with the fans. Ambrose is over already so one would think to make Reigns over they'll have Reigns turn heel on Ambrose at some point soon, my guess would be Fast Lane with a rematch at WM

Good points. I'd honestly be ok with Ambrose vs H and Reigns vs Taker. And also I did catch the last 30mins of RAW this week. Bryan retiring was absolutely heartbreaking. Wrestler, basketball player, baseball player, football player, ect...doesn't matter. For somebody to be forced to give up their passion due to injury (at 34 no less) is sad.

 

[JoshMKB24]

Good points. I'd honestly be ok with Ambrose vs H and Reigns vs Taker. And also I did catch the last 30mins of RAW this week. Bryan retiring was absolutely heartbreaking. Wrestler, basketball player, baseball player, football player, ect...doesn't matter. For somebody to be forced to give up their passion due to injury (at 34 no less) is sad.

Yeah, I was never a Daniel Bryan fan, but he was definitely good for the WWE. Also, after his interview on Sports Center where he said he hid seizures and other concussion symptoms from doctors............the thought there was a conspiracy to keep him out of WWE I think can be put to bed. I do believe they had his best interest at heart by not letting him continue.

There was an article floating around yesterday that said WWE is concerned that Cena merchandise has been dropping quite a bit. There is some thought that he might go heel soon. The big reason they never make him heel in the past was as everyone knows, because kids love him and merchandise sales. However, his popularity with the kids is waning and his sales are down.............I don't think he will be healthy enough for WM32, but it sounds like we might get the heel turn everyone desperately wants to see.

 

[Kurfer]

I have a hard time understanding how someone who isn't a kid enjoys this. I don't mean to be a prick but anyone who doesn't know this is fake would strike me as mentally dull and probably needs to get some type of disability from the government.

That being said, I do enjoy looking at the women of wrestling. Some of them have absolutely incredible bodies; any woman that spends time in a squat rack looks amazing.

 

[JoshMKB24]

I have a hard time understanding how someone who isn't a kid enjoys this. I don't mean to be a prick but anyone who doesn't know this is fake would strike me as mentally dull and probably needs to get some type of disability from the government.

That being said, I do enjoy looking at the women of wrestling. Some of them have absolutely incredible bodies; any woman that spends time in a squat rack looks amazing.

No one that I know believes its real. One of the things Vince McMahon did waaaaay back was get away from the whole perception of trying to say it's real. People who are in their 50s when they were kids probably believed it was real, however they've always stated since Vince took over that its NOT real and is just for entertainment. I actually think someone who still believes people believe its real is more mentally dull haha. Again, no offense taken and I don't mind answering the question...........but really there is no one who believes its real besides maybe little kids.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Did anybody lose USA network during this week's show?

 

[JoshMKB24]

Did anybody lose USA network during this week's show?

Not I..........sadly I thought the show should have just ended when Ambrose sort of pretended to turn on Reigns..........I really did not need the whole Big Show/Wyatt crap..........I find the Wyatt's to be a horrible story line haha

 

[JayIsAwesome]

I tried watching RAW this week but fell asleep lol. Watched an episode of a 1998 RAW on the WWE Network tho. Stone Cold and Taker kicking ass. DX impersonating the Nation of Domination lol Vince McMahon being an *******...good times lol damn I miss the 90s
[doublepost=1455779346][/doublepost]

Not I..........sadly I thought the show should have just ended when Ambrose sort of pretended to turn on Reigns..........I really did not need the whole Big Show/Wyatt crap..........I find the Wyatt's to be a horrible story line haha

You watch Big Show on Austin's podcast? It was pretty cool. The censor button dude must've been asleep. Show said the F word twice lol #rebel
[doublepost=1455780110][/doublepost]

I have a hard time understanding how someone who isn't a kid enjoys this. I don't mean to be a prick but anyone who doesn't know this is fake would strike me as mentally dull and probably needs to get some type of disability from the government.

That being said, I do enjoy looking at the women of wrestling. Some of them have absolutely incredible bodies; any woman that spends time in a squat rack looks amazing.

I always found it funny how some would say "omg you realize that's not real?" Lol wrestling fans over the age of 13 know that it's not real lol people just watch it for entertainment value just like any other tv show. It's just another way to escape the bs in your life. I'm a huge Breaking Bad fan but I know that Walter White was just a character on my tv...a brilliant character but a character nontheless. Do I watch wrestling like I use to? Tbh, nope. WWE just ain't what it use to be. I can remember a time when wrestling was THE coolest thing in the world. Like you'd go to school on Monday after a ppv, and 90% of the convo would be about what Stone Cold, Rock, and Undertaker did Lol good times

And I def do agree about looking at the chicks. Lol Trish Stratus especially circa 2001, Jesus take the wheel

 

[JoshMKB24]

I tried watching RAW this week but fell asleep lol. Watched an episode of a 1998 RAW on the WWE Network tho. Stone Cold and Taker kicking ass. DX impersonating the Nation of Domination lol Vince McMahon being an *******...good times lol damn I miss the 90s
[doublepost=1455779346][/doublepost]
You watch Big Show on Austin's podcast? It was pretty cool. The censor button dude must've been asleep. Show said the F word twice lol #rebel
[doublepost=1455780110][/doublepost]

I always found it funny how some would say "omg you realize that's not real?" Lol wrestling fans over the age of 13 know that it's not real lol people just watch it for entertainment value just like any other tv show. It's just another way to escape the bs in your life. I'm a huge Breaking Bad fan but I know that Walter White was just a character on my tv...a brilliant character but a character nontheless. Do I watch wrestling like I use to? Tbh, nope. WWE just ain't what it use to be. I can remember a time when wrestling was THE coolest thing in the world. Like you'd go to school on Monday after a ppv, and 90% of the convo would be about what Stone Cold, Rock, and Undertaker did Lol good times

And I def do agree about looking at the chicks. Lol Trish Stratus especially circa 2001, Jesus take the wheel

I did watch it, I honestly didn't know that Big Show had all that go on in his personal life. It was pretty good. As far as the censor, I think on his podcast its ok to swear, because on iTunes his podcast has a warning for mature audiences and I've heard them swear on it before.

I agree 100% on your assessment as well. I didn't know people actually still asked people if they knew its real? Haha. Little kids might still believe its real, but little kids also think Santa & the Easter Bunny are real. Its the exact same thing as some other scripted show except its live. I always compare it to watching a play. It's scripted but it's live. I also don't quite watch it like I used to. I think if RAW was 2 hours I would, but 3 hours is just too long. I don't like it as much as I used to, so 3 hours just can't hold my attention span like an NFL game for 3 hours.

Eva Marie is probably my favorite female wrestler...........she is on the NXT roster so she isn't on the main roster often. Probably one of the best looking females I've seen wrestle, PERIOD!

 

[JoshMKB24]

I think it will be Reigns vs HHH at Mania and Lesnar vs some form of the Wyatt family............I'm guessing that big guy...........Brawn McMuscleMan 🙂

Looks like I was right about Reigns/HHH at WM32. There still are some options out there I suppose for a triple threat match of some sort. I don't think Wyatt's go against Lesnar anymore. I would be surprised anyways.........at 1st because they screwed with him at the rumble I figured they were going with the long story..........but now that they lost to Ryback of all people haha, I don't think you can put them in the ring with Lesnar.

I'm fine with Reigns/HHH but I am hoping that in some way they turn him. My dream scenario is before the match starts they're doing a typical stare down, then HHH flops and lays down for Reigns and Reigns gets the easy win and then they hug it out and Reigns officially joins the Authority. I still stand by my original statement that although HHH likes being the center of attention I think he doesn't want to focus on actually being in the ring at the moment and was just kind of a place holder until they could figure out what to do with the title with all the injuries.

I can't see them having Reigns beat HHH cleanly...........I mean actually I can, haha but I think the outcome that would set them up the best is Reigns turning heel and being just a badass who kills people and HHH does all the talking for him.