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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER
MARCH 4, 2019
PHILADELPHIA, PA. AT WELLS FARGO CENTER
AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. EST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young

Arena and Items Advertised by WWE

The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. opens its doors once again for tonight’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.  The arena hosted two out of the past five Royal Rumbles, 2015 and 2018.  The 2015 edition was met with much negativity.  It featured the return of Daniel Bryan after relinquishing his WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but he was eliminated unceremoniously early in the match which ultimately saw Roman Reigns win.  It could be argued that this point was a major catalyst for the negativity towards Reigns through the years.  Last year saw Shinsuke Nakamura come up with the win.  Ironically, both men were unsuccessful in their respective WrestleMania championship matches.

That was then and this is now, and here is what WWE.com is advertising for tonight as we get ready for Fastlane which is just under a week away.  Matches for the show will likely be announced a little closer to start time on their website and/or Twitter account:

  • Animalistic aggression
  • What is the status of the Raw Women’s Champion?
  • Is a Shield reunion on the horizon?
  • Intercontinental and Extraordinary (Intercontinental is an adjective?)
  • SNL “Weekend Update” hosts Michael Che & Colin Jost to be special guests on Raw

Roman Reigns Announcement 

Before we get into tonight’s show we’d be remiss not to at least briefly discuss Roman Reigns return last week, and his announcement that he was in remission for his leukemia.

The great thing about this announcement is that Roman was more himself, Leati Joseph Anoa’i, something I think we as fans can all agree have been waiting to see for many years while he has been positioned at the top of the card.  Historically, any successful wrestling character has been an extension of the real person.  Back in the day, I believed that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was an extension of the real person.  The Rock was an extension of Dwayne Johnson.  Mankind, at least later on in his WWE career, was an extension of Mick Foley.  There are countless others of whom I can speak.

Despite the poor taste in which WWE handled announcing his return, which I believe was to get that positive reaction more so than popping a rating, we can all agree we are happy for him and his family.  One can just hope that the cancer is under control going forward and he can continue his career unencumbered.  Here’s a YouTube clip from the promo:

Batista is Back

Last week on Raw, we expected to celebrate the 70th birthday of 2-time WWE Hall of Fame Ric Flair.  Triple H & his wife Stephanie McMahon were on hand along with Ric’s Hall of Fame mates Sting, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, and Kurt Angle.  A video package was shown highlighting the many moments of his career, and then he was expected to come out.  Instead he was attacked by a returning Batista, his Evolution stablemate from 2003-2005.  Evolution of course consisted of Batista, Ric, Triple H, and Randy Orton.  For all intents and purposes, Evolution launched the careers of Orton and Batista.  Nonetheless, here’s WWE’s YouTube clip from the attack last week and Ric’s response:

 The seed for this attack was planted on Smackdown 1000 back in October, when Evolution made an appearance.  Batista acknowledged all of Triple H’s accomplishments and pointed out that he never beat him.  This caused a tense moment in the ring of which Ric had to play peacekeeper.  Here’s the clip from that moment:

Tonight, we’ll find out if Triple H responds to Batista, known to all as “The Animal.”

Frank’s Analysis:  It has been speculated here at PWTorch as well as across the wrestling community that Triple H and Batista will go at it at WrestleMania.  There’s no doubt now that we are headed in that direction.  I had no desire to see this with Triple H as a heel and Batista as a babyface.  With the roles reversed, it feels different and makes me want to see it.  Will it be a top-flight match?  The likelihood on that is no, but I can’t imagine it being terrible.  Triple H can go over while Batista rides off into the sunset, and he can take his rightful place in the Hall of Fame whenever WWE decides to put him in.  This was one of the swerves we haven’t seen it a while and it worked.  Batista can play heel and can talk, so I look forward to seeing this play itself out.

The Status of Ronda Rousey

Last week on Raw, Becky Lynch violated her 60-day suspension and attacked Natalya & Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey during their match with the Riott Squad.  Following the match, she called out WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon to demand Becky Lynch be reinstated so they can have their match at WrestleMania.

Instead Stephanie McMahon appeared and told Ronda that would not happen since Becky was arrested, and her WrestleMania opponent is still Charlotte Flair.  Ronda did not accept that answer, talking about what the title means and how she’s not like everyone else.  In the end, she laid down the title in front of Stephanie while insisting Vince make the right decision to reinstate Becky.  Here’s the YouTube clip:

It rang a bit similar to when Vince suspended CM Punk in 2011 following his famous “pipe bomb” promo, after he had earned the right to be the #1 contender for the WWE Championship.  We’ll see if the result is the same.  Here’s a YouTube clip of a conversation between Vince and at-the-time WWE Champ John Cena:

The following night on Smackdown, Charlotte Flair said she would be coming to Raw expecting that Vince give her the Raw Women’s Championship.  Throughout the week, the Twitter wars waged on:

Click Here:

Any questions?

Frank’s Analysis:  WWE needs to be careful how complicated they make this story.  They have gotten away from the core of it, which was Ronda vs. Becky.  It’s not in the YouTube clip, but on the actual show Ronda alludes to the legacy of what the title means and the fact that Stephanie should think about her daughters.  Given their history and how people view this, I’m not sure they should add those layers to the story.  The crowd chanting “triple threat” had to bring an ear-to-ear smile to Vince McMahon.  Let’s face it, since that’s the way they’re ultimately going, WWE has been smart to pull Becky to make fans want her back in to make it a triple threat.  Back to the Ronda promo, WWE would be smart to not script her lines as she clearly has trouble remembering what she has to say.  My wife who’s very observant said so as she clearly fumbled when she was getting into Vince making the right decision.

As far as Charlotte showing up to be handed the title, you can’t imagine that happening (unless Eric Bischoff is around?  Maybe he can hand her the title the way he handed Triple H the World Title in 2002?).  I wonder with Ronda possibly taking leave after WrestleMania if Vince reinstates Becky with the condition that if Becky wins the title, she’s fired similar to how he threatened to fire John Cena in 2011.

A Possible Shield Reunion

Last week Dean Ambrose took on Drew McIntyre in a rematch from the previous week, with a no-DQ stipulation.    They went about nine minutes, and featured each man whipping each other with a belt.  Elias would come out and attack Dean from behind, as a measure of revenge for Dean giving him Dirty Deeds earlier in the evening.  Ultimately, Drew picked up the win with a Claymore Kick.

Following the match, Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin would come out and gang up on Dean.  Eventually, Seth Rollins’ music hit, and he came out with a chair.  Following that, Roman Reigns’ music played to a huge pop.  They cleared the ring of the men attacking their former “Shield brother.”

Rollins and Reigns made their way make up the ramp while Dean looked on with somewhat of a smile.  We’ll see if this leads to another reunion of the Shield.  It would be their third reunion since the fall of 2017. 

Frank’s Analysis:  There are rumors out there that Dean might not be leaving after all, but nothing is concrete.  His contract is due to expire in April, but he is being advertised for a Raw Live event in May.  It could mean something, or it could mean nothing as it is hard to say what’s true.  There’s also a rumor that at an autograph session, Reigns was asked about Dean leaving and supposedly said “we’re going to work on that.”  It would be foolhardy to discuss a Shield reunion if Dean won’t be around.  What I do find interesting is that WWE announced ahead of time that Dean would not be renewing his contract and has still continued to put him on TV.  Historically there has not been a tendency to do that with people leaving.  They are usually barely used except for house shows.  Time will tell.

Next for Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor

Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor was the guest of Alexa on “A Moment of Bliss.”  After a little flirtation involving Finn’s abs, Lio Rush interrupted.  He demanded Finn give his man Bobby Lashley a rematch and wouldn’t leave until he agreed to do so, even if he himself had to take the IC title.  Finn read that as a challenge and also wanting to prove he was a better man than Lashley.  Lio initially hesitated but agreed to have the match.  When he said he was going to the back to prepare, Alexa told Lio he had no time because the match was “now.”  How she magically knew that is still a mystery, but it is WWE writing.

Finn and Lio went about eight minutes and Balor would retain the IC title.  In storyline, Finn suffered a knee injury in the match, and thus the announcers framed it as a “gutsy win.”  We’ll find out what’s next for Finn and the IC title especially with Fastlane looming.

Frank’s Analysis:  What is up with Alexa playing this flirtatious character?  As a red-blooded man I can’t say I’m totally complaining but it’s not something I look for in a wrestling program.  Nonetheless, the match was decent between Finn and Lio and I would like to see more between these two, but Lio has to be built up as more of a viable competitor instead of being annoying and just being Lashley’s sidekick.  With Fastlane less than a week away, you wonder if they’ll do another Finn vs. Lio match or Finn vs. Lashley.  It’s hard to say week to week as since Lashley lost the IC title, he has not personally demanded a rematch at least on TV.

Michael Che & Colin Jost from SNL to be Special Guests

Yesterday WWE announced on their website & Twitter account that SNL “Weekend Update” stars Michael Che & Colin Jost will be special guests on Raw.

Weekend update has been a skit on SNL, or Saturday Night Live since the show’s inception in 1975.  The “anchors” comment and do parodies on current events.  Many SNL stars have been anchors including Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and countless other legends of the longtime show.  Che and Jost have been the anchors since 2014.  Here’s this past week’s clip:

Frank’s Analysis:  I don’t think I’ve watched ten episodes of SNL in my lifetime, so I can’t help you here.  It’s been a while since WWE has had a guest host, and it’s usually harmless when they do so.  Maybe Alexa Bliss will have them on her show and flirt with them?  SNL is on NBC and thus there is a relationship as the USA Network is under the NBC Universal umbrella.  What’s interesting here is that Vince McMahon is friends with President Donald Trump and his wife Linda is in Trump’s cabinet, and these guys portray anyway that they are anti-Trump.    

Other Possible Items for Tonight

  • According to the Wrestling Observer, it’s possible an angle is set up tonight where Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins will get into a match against Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley.  Also, on the docket is possibly adding Dean Ambrose and Braun Strowman to Reigns & Rollins while Elias joins Corbin, McIntyre, and Lashley.
  • Kurt Angle defeated Jinder Mahal in an unannounced match and later appeared to celebrate Ric Flair’s 70th birthday. Angle has been featured frequently on TV lately and you wonder what may be planned for WrestleMania.
  • Bayley defeated Nia Jax in what Michael Cole called a “monumental” victory.  Your mileage will certainly vary on that but considering Bayley and Sasha Banks will defend the tag titles against Nia & Tamina, look for perhaps Sasha to face Tamina or some furtherance of the angle.
  • The women’s tag title match is the only Raw match announced for Fastlane. Look for some hotshot, microwave angles tonight including what was discussed a little earlier.  You would think Balor would defend the IC title and the Revival would defend their tag titles.  Balor should go one-on-one with Lashley.  Even though they’re in the Dusty Rhodes tournament in NXT, I could almost envision Ricochet & Aleister Black challenging the Revival for the tag titles.

Start Time & Matches Advertised on the Arena Website

The Wells Fargo Center website advertises a start time of 7:30 p.m. local time with doors opening at 6:00.  They show the following matches:

  • Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
  • Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley

They also show Ronda Rousey, Seth Rollins, and “many more live” appearing.

Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani or e-mail me at [email protected].  Questions and discussion are welcome.  Thank you for reading!

 

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