SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE RAW PREVIEW
JANUARY 16, 2017
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. AT VERIZON ARENA
REPORT BY JOEY GALICIA (@RamJam89), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
“THE CONQUERED BEGINS HIS PATH TO REDEMPTION”
For the first time since his defeat at the hands of Goldberg, Brock Lesnar will appear on Raw. Accompanying him will be his long-time manager and friend Paul Heyman, who claimed over a month ago that Brock was angrier then he’s ever been. I have high hopes for this segment tonight. The last time he was this upset he murdered Michael Cole (RIP MAGGLE) and attacked a cameraman just because he could. However, I could also foresee the typical hop-around shtick that has been overused so I will keep my excitement level at a minimum until then. Either way, Brock is in the Rumble, and we’ll be seeing him a lot more on the road to RASSLE-MANIA.
“CANADIAN DESTROYERS”
While Raw has had it’s fair share of disappointing moments since the brand-split, it cannot be denied that Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens are one of the more exciting parts. Their chemistry just continues to glisten, and the way they riff off one another is the pure definition of sports entertainment. So even though they’re supposed to be the bad guys, last week watching them triumph in a 2-on-1 handicap match against Roman Reigns was delightful. Not only that, but the match was put together in a way that made all three look good afterwards. Kudos to them for that. (Plus Jericho gets to wear the United States title for the first time DRINK IT IN MANNNNNNNNNN) As with most title changes their will probably be a rematch which I would hope happens sooner rather than later, because with only two more shows until the Rumble it’s time for them to focus on the Universal Strap, and find a fresh face to take the U.S. off of Y2J.
“THREE BIRDS…ONE MONSTER.”
With Bayley’s #1 contendership confirmed, the Hugger still has to make it two more weeks without being picked apart by the Queen, or crushed by Nia Jax. The animosity in the Raw Women’s Division matches the hostility in the SD Division, but in a completely different way. Nia and Charlotte may be working together now, but we know that Nia only cares about herself. On the other side of things, Bayley and Sasha’s relationship seems to be stronger than ever, which will make it all the harder to bare when the two eventually want to kill each other. Curious to see the type of bout Sasha and Nia can put together, but can almost guarantee we’ll see some type of Samoan Drop counter into a Banks Statement. (YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST)
“WINTER IS COMING”
On last week’s 205 Neville challenged Rich Swann for the belt in San Antonio. I praised the show in my live report (which you can read HERE – DO IT) for allowing the division time to properly build a title-match as opposed to being a late addition to the card. Swann has been fun to watch as champ, and he certainly garners more crowd support than TJP as a babyface. Unfortunately, Neville is still beloved by even the casual fans because of his exciting move-set and his charming BRITISH smile but don’t be confused, HE IS THE BAD GUY. Constant attacks, a vicious streak to his matches, and taking away the Red-Arrow (AWW MAN) has heightened Adrian as the big-baddie of the purple brand. Also Daivair and Gallgher are ready to implode and Cedric and Alicia just broke up because DRAMA. Here’s to hoping that Raw properly adds on to these feuds in an effort to keep the division moving forward.
“GAME ON”
No matter your opinion on Triple H, if you are a hardcore fan of wrestling you have to kneel before the man. He is slowly bringing back the competitive nature to the pro wrestling genre, and you need look no further than the CWC or this weekend’s UK tournament. (SIGN WOLFING). With that said, the King of Kings cost Seth Rollins the Universal Title, and the Architect has been calling him out for weeks. According to Twitter, Hunter will be very near Raw tonight. For a while this match seemed like a dream… but this dream is coming to life.
“THERE’S TIME TO FIX THIS”
-Cesaro and Sheamus are a hard act to figure out. During their tag bouts they mesh very well together as a team which makes sense since their epic best of seven series SEEMED to draw them closer together. But even after they became champions, they still can’t get along. Sometimes it’s good fun, other times it’s not. It doesn’t help that Cesaro took a loss to Karl Anderson while Sheamus defeated Luke Gallows. Stronger together stronger forever? I hope, because with The Club forever on a path to claim the gold that they deserved so long ago, Shemusaro needs to bring their A-game.
-I’m starting to believe that Emma was just a terrible hallucination that we all had and she doesn’t actually exist. Let me check the WWE Network to see if there is evidence of her existence.
-There are still things happening between Rusev and The Realest Guys in the Room. Honestly, it just feels like a time-warp that we are trapped in. All these dudes deserve better because this storyline is SAWFT.
-Put Titus in New Day, or have New Day feud with Primo & Epico. Do something.
-How is Sami Zayn recovering? Would you say that he deserves some credit for going toe-to-toe with the behemoth Braun Strowman? Would you say he deserves enough credit to possibly be the challenger for the United States Championship? Makes sense to me. AND SPEAKING OF BEHEMOTHS.
-“BRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.” Normally I close off on recapping the scattered programs that Raw is so good at scattering, but a lot of interesting things have been happening with Braun. He looked like a killer at Survivor Series, he produced fun matches with Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins, he disrupted a Raw Main Event and laid waste to both Rollins and Roman Reigns, he then confronted Roman Reigns and the Beast Slayer Goldberg (which didn’t hurt his momentum because it took two of them to take him down), and last week he seemed VERY interested in the Undertaker. Supposedly that match has been taken off the table, but the two will probably see each other in the Royal Rumble. This guy is exciting, and besides KO and Jericho, has been my favorite part of the red-brand each week.
Closer and closer to Rumble we get and there is enough happening tonight that for the first time I’m really looking forward to tuning in. Are you?
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE: RAW PRIMER 1/9: What to expect tonight based on what happened last week including Michaels, Undertaker, Reigns vs. Owens & Jericho, more
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