RAW PRIMER: What to expect tonight based on what happened last week including a Seth knee injury update, Samoa Joe week two, Goldberg responds, Owens, Bayley

RAW PREVIEW
FEBRUARY 6, 2017
PORTLAND, OR. AT MODA CENTER
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTorch contributor

“YOU’RE NOT BRAVE…MEN ARE BRAVE.”

For months now we, the Wrestling Universe, have slowly predicted/been told that we would get another clash between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg at WrestleMania. Last week Lesnar layed out the inevitable final challenge (through his advocate Paul Heyman, of course) after Goldberg punked Brock again at the Royal Rumble. Tonight “THE MAN” responds, and we know that after his recent handlings of “THE BEAST,” he will most likely accept. The question is does Bill possibly go into the show-of-shows with a belt on his shoulder? If he does, then that ground-work needs to be laid TONIGHT.

“ARE YOU OKAY? I HOPE SO.”

The long-awaited debut of Samoa Joe (in some jeans, NICE) finally paid off when he blind-sided Seth Rollins and laid a beating on him that is only a fraction of what the Submission Machine is capable of. Unfortunately, the amazing segment will really only be remembered for reinjuring Seth’s reconstructed knee, and possibly knocking him out of Mania season in lieu of his massive feud with Triple H. Tonight we are expecting an address on Rollins’s condition, but the lines between and reality and kayfabe are certainly going to get blurred so it will be hard to tell what is really happening and what is REALLY HAPPENING, ya know? Meanwhile, Hunter may need a new opponent for Orlando, while Samoa Joe should look to put some more players on the bench. No matter what, we finally get to chant “JOE IS GONNA KILL YOU.”

“TIME IS RUNNING”

Kevin Owens has had quite the lengthy Universal Title run. While the man has certainly won our hearts with his diverse move-set and fantastic mic-skills, it is only a matter of time before his string of good-luck runs out. Now that Roman is distracted by Big-Man McBeefy Man (Braun Strowman), who will challenge next for KO’s red strap? Could it be long-time rival Sami Zayn whom Kevin has been facing at house shows? Will Jericho look to claim a shot at his best friend’s title? Or could another confrontation with the slayer of the beast Bill Goldberg lead to a Fastlane bout? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m planning on soaking in as much Kevin Owens as World Champ (Universal, I know, SHUT UP SMARKS) as I can because Raw tonight may be the beginning of the end.

“ GOD SAVE THE QUEEN”

After defeating Bayley at the Royal Rumble, Charlotte has kept her impressive PPV winning streak alive. Last week, however, she ate another pin to the Hugger in a six-person tag match pitting the Queen with new tag champs Gallows & Anderson versus Bayley, Cesaro, and Sheamus. While match-ups like this are a nice change of pace and helps give two storylines further advancement, it would be great if Charlotte and Bayley can do a better job of pushing this feud past its limits. In the meantime, let’s keep Bayley strong by having her win a match tonight on Raw, shall we? As far as the tag team division is concerned, The Club still owe the former champs a rematch, but they shouldn’t worry about that too much seeing how Sheamus and The Swiss-Man are moments away from tearing each other apart again. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for a dominant Gallows & Anderson title run.

“AND IF YOU’RE JUST TUNING IN!”

-United States Champion took a clean loss to Sami Zayn in a non-title match last week in Texas. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.

-Sasha Banks just can’t seem to beat Nia Jax and it is driving her to really dislike Bayley. The sooner Sasha goes full on NXT Boss mode, the better. Nia on the other hand will still be trying to work her way into the title scene, but Bayely is still in her way… FOR NOW.

-Enzo & Big Cass have defeated Rusev & Jinder Mahal. I feel like Déjà vu’ is setting in because I’m not sure why this is still happening or how many times we can see this match, but for the love of GOD distance these four from each other.

-BLAH BLAH BLAH SOMETHING ABOUT EMMA BLAH.

-King Neville may have finally gotten what he deserved, but now he has the target on his back. With Rich Swann still owed a rematch and guys such as Cedric Alexander and Jack Gallagher hot on his tail, the Cruiserweight Division is looking interesting. Here’s to hoping they give this the proper time in Portland tonight.

-The Roman Empire is seeing red. Roman is at that point where he’s starting to realize what he will have to become in order to get what he wants. He’s been outsmarted, cheated, beaten, eliminated, embarrassed, and now he’s MAD AS HELL AND NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE. I am in no way a big supporter of the Big Dawg, but I’m ready to watch him go head-to-head with the best Raw performer since the brand split… and that is Braun Strowman.

A lot going on, but worthy of your time. Will you be watching?

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE: RAW PRIMER: What to expect tonight based on what happened last night at the Royal Rumble including Seth, Triple H, Reigns, Braun, Cesaro & Sheamus, Jericho