Tonight, on the post-post-Mania WWE Raw open discussion thread:
The WWE Universe entered a new and exciting era last Monday night with debuting Superstars, returning icons and new titleholders basking in the afterglow of one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time. As the landscape of WWE undergoes a seismic shift — and The Shield continues to combat The Authority — what lies ahead this week in Birmingham, Ala.? WWE.com offers five ideas to get you pumped for Raw at 8/7 CT on USA Network. Also, don’t miss Raw Pre-Show at 7:30 ET, only on WWE Network. (via WWE.com)
Our five-point preview:
1. This is one of those weeks where the WWE.com preview clearly has no idea what’s going on, so it’s just like “did you watch Raw last week? It’s those things again, but different! GOTTA WAIT AND SEE WHAT’LL HAPPEN!” And somehow that is a “preview.” Can’t wait for the Raw pre-show where Alex Riley’s all, “last week Daniel Bryan, can’t wait Raw!”
2. Things the crowd needs to do this week include (2a) cheer for Bad News Barrett, (2b) cheer for Paige, (2c) remain pro-Wyatt, (2d) cheer for the new Fandango/Layla combination enough that WWE puts them in some kind of story or angle and we can feel okay liking Fandango again. Please print out this list and distribute it to your friends.
3. Word on the Internet is that tonight’s show will be framed around an Ultimate Warrior tribute, which is sure to be the most depressing thing in the world. Ever wanted to cry while watching the Honky Tonk Man lose? Tonight’s your chance.
4. Preview page 4 on WWE.com is “Where does RVD go from here?” Spoiler alert: “The same place he always goes.” I feel like if they put Van Dam in an actual story with even a small amount of character growth or motivation time would jam together and freeze up and suddenly I’d be watching Raw with Winston Churchill.
5. Tonight’s a big night for Cesaro, as we see if crowd’s will still cheer him with Paul Heyman in his corner or if they’ll simply default to booing. Shoot, I should’ve put that on my #hijackthisotherraw printout.
As always, the top 10 comments from tonight’s open discussion thread will be featured in tomorrow’s Best and Worst of WWE Raw report. Reply to your favorites with a +1 to nominate them for consideration. You get bonus points for sharing the column, and yes, we have the technology to track that:
