Monday, August 17, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 8/17/15



How's it going everybody? Welcome to this week's Raw preview article. It's the go-home show to the annual SummerSlam event. Tonight's Raw takes place from the home of "The Beast" Brock Lesnar, Minneapolis, Minnesota. For the first time since the Raw after WWE Battleground, both the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar will be in the same ring in the same arena. Last week we went from three matches to now eight matches on the SummerSlam card. I'll give you five things I'm paying attention to when it comes go-home show for SummerSlam and then after that I'll be giving my predictions for the PPV. Let's do this.

1.) John Cena/Seth Rollins Title vs. Title/ Face to Face 



Rollins has been doing a tremendous job building up this storyline with the absence of John Cena. Rollins as a heel champion gets better week by week which I think will play into Rollins favor once he loses the WWE Championship. Rollins had two WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches on the past two Raw's and he defeated Neville and thanks to Orton he survived Sheamus attempt at cashing in the Money in the Bank Briefcase. On Tough Enough last week Cena said that despite Triple H's expertise at odds making, he says that, he's ready to go and he'll accept Rollins challenge for SummerSlam. Cena was hosting the Today show if i'm not mistaken and I have this feeling Cena will be on Raw in Minneapolis tonight or we'll have a actual LIVE Via Satellite segment? Usually before big PPV's you have a good idea as to who will win based off of who stands over set rival on the Raw before PPV. If the Satellite segment does happen I can see Cena winning, if Cena comes to Raw and goes after Rollins and tries to seek some revenge then I see Rollins winning. Tonight is a big night for Rollins. Rollins has done the comedy shitck to bring in heat into his promos, but tonight is important for Rollins to take this match seriously and tell the people why you are the future and that your just not going to be every other guy on the roster who has a championship and then the moment you fight John Cena you lose the title. With a nice curveball would be interesting if Cena fought on Raw and he loses the United States Championship to either Cesaro or Owens. It kills two birds with one stone. You get out of this whacky scenairo with either Rollins or Cena having both the WWE and US Championship and putting the US Title on Cesaro or Owens will add major heat and interest into the Cesaro & Kevin Owens match at SummerSlam. 


2.) Family vs. Family 



You can tell that your in a microwave society when people say that Ambrose & Reigns vs. Wyatt Family at SummerSlam is a Raw or SmackDown main event match when directly 15 months ago before The Shield broke up people were perplexed that we didn't get a actual Wyatt Family & Shield feud. I get it Rollins is not in the mix and neither is Rowan, but you're going to tell me right now that this match won't steal the show on Sunday? With the bevy of Roman Reigns haters that are still out there the guy continues to put on stellar PPV matches and doesn't have the Cena esque characteristic that everybody brings up when it comes to Reigns. The Big Dog has the bad ass persona and he's just him and then of course you have Ambrose. What I like about this storyline is  not only the fact we'll be getting a massive war in Brooklyn, but at the same time during these backstage segments with Reigns & Ambrose you sense a little bit of tension with both former Shield members. Luke Harper has had alot of time to shine inside the ring with both guys since Harper rejoin the family at Battleground. We know the history of The Wyatts and Reigns & Ambrose, but what happens if Reigns & Ambrose losses again. Ambrose has been in a major slump this year and when will he reach his boiling point and snap. Reigns still trying avenge Wyatt getting in his head would a lose to his arch rival bring out a different side to Reigns? Tonight on Raw I think we'll see Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt. Hopefully they announce tonight that this match at SummerSlam will be a Brooklyn Street Fight. 


3.) The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar 



Both The Beast and The Deadman will be back on Raw which means ALL HELL IS GOING TO BREAK LOOSE. We know we're going to get another epic promo from Paul Heyman, but the question I have is. Is this match going to be just a regular wrestling match after that brawl we saw a few weeks ago? I expect to see all the WWE Superstars and Security guys out there in case we do have a brawl, but this storyline NEEDS TO CLOSE OUT THE SHOW TONIGHT. I'm already hooked for this match I'm just going to sit back and see what they have for us tonight. 


4.) Sheamus vs. Randy Orton? NXT? 



This match is happening at SummerSlam right? I think we'll probably see both Sheamus & Randy Orton on Miz TV tonight. NXT Takeover is this Saturday and usually before these massive specials we get some type of NXT pressence on Raw. Let me pose this question to the good people reading this piece. Who from NXT would you like to see on tonight's edition of Raw? 


5.) Raw Matches 

- Neville vs. Stardust

- Randy Orton vs. Rusev 

- The New Day vs. Lucha Dragons 

- Team PCB vs. Team Bad 

-  John Cena & Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens

- Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt 

- Ryback vs. King Barrett 



SummerSlam Predictions

- The New Day def. Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores and Prime Time Players to win the WWE Tag Team Championship 

- Team Bella def. Team PCB and Team BAD 

- Randy Orton def. Sheamus 

- Cesaro def. Kevin Owens by Countout 

- Neville & Stephen Amell def. Stardust & King Barrett 

- Ryback def. The Miz & Big Show to retain the IC Championship 

- Wyatt Family def. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose 

- Seth Rollins def. John Cena to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship 

- The Undertaker def. Brock Lesnar 


I hope you guys enjoyed this piece, Raw and SummerSlam.

Make sure to check out my SummerSlam preview show this Wednesday from 11am-3pm ET on ChicagoLandSportsRadio.com 

Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR 

Monday, August 10, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 8/10/15



Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview. Tonight's show takes place from Seattle, Washington expect a rowdy crowd. We're 13 days away from the 28th annual SummerSlam PPV from Brooklyn, New York. I thought last week's show was pretty solid. Of course we got a amazing Paul Heyman promo, but last week was great when it came to in-ring action. Hopefully we'll get some announcements of matches tonight. Here's what you can expect on tonight's show from Seattle, Washington.

1.) Stephen Amell comes to Raw 



I've been very busy for the past 6 months and I've heard about the show Arrow and yea even though it's a show from CW! I always heard good things about the show Arrow and the stars of the show Stephen Amell. Amell has admitt to be a big wrestling fan and has attended numerous WWE shows over the years. It was a rumor that the WWE was interested in having Amell in a match with WWE Superstar Stardust. It looks like it could be possibility now as Amell will be a special guest for tonight's Raw. To some people it may not be a big deal, but it's cool seeing a guy like Stardust get a spotlight on tonight's show. In Michael Cole's interview with Stardust on WWE.com Stardust continues to play games and he's looking forward to his interaction with the Arrow. I don't know if the guys will get physical with each other, but if they do don't be surprise to see Amell gives Stardust a dropkick. Also this could lead to Amell being in the corner of Neville as Stardust takes on Neville at SummerSlam.

2.) Will John Cena's Respond? 



Seth Rollins killed it on Raw last week and to those people who say that Rollins isn't worthy of being a main eventer or a World Champion you're just ignorant. Rollins promo on breaking Cena's nose was excellent and also bringing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Open Challenge to Raw was a nice touch. Actually that's not a bad idea to do that again tonight and maybe someone from NXT takes the challenge or maybe Cesaro. We're two weeks away from SummerSlam and while it seems like 100% confirmed that Rollins would take on Cena at SummerSlam, but can we atleast make that announcement tonight? John Cena will be a special guest on Tough Enough tomorrow and he's already at the performance center they should have a pre-recorded promo from Cena to accept the challenge.

3.) Brock Lesnar & The Undertaker Program 


For those still questioning the logic behind this program watch this promo. I know that Brock & Taker will not be on this show tonight and that's fine because I think the guys in the mid-card, the divas and the other feuds have made these Raw's have been enjoyable. Would like to see Heyman on the show tonight I think his promo can help a show with no Cena, Taker or Lesnar in the building. It's also time for either Heyman bring up that Taker has never defeated The Beast or Undertaker cut on his epic promo vignette's.

4.) Will Rusev fight at SummerSlam? 



We've seen countless brawls with Lana and Summer Rae and Lana has cost Rusev a bevy amount of matches over the last three weeks. Something has to give here and one of the major things I'm personally paying attention to for Raw tonight is this program because is Rusev fighting at SummerSlam? Are we getting Lana vs. Summer Rae? I think for tonight we'll see the return of the showoff Dolph Ziggler.

5.) Raw Matches 



1.) Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro~ WWE World Heavyweight Championship Open Challenge 

2.) Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day~ Number One Contender's Match 

3.) Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper 

4.) PCB vs. Team BAD 

5.) King Barrett vs. Mark Henry 

6.) The Miz vs. Neville

7.) Randy Orton vs. Big Show 

8.) Paige vs. Nikki Bella 

9.) Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

I hope you guys enjoy Raw tonight. Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR.

Check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience on Chicagolandsportsradio.com every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT. I will be talking to former WWF, WCW, and TNA writer Ed Ferrara.

Monday, August 3, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 8/3/15



Welcome to this week's Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. My name is Joshua Lopez and I'm the host of the Pro Wrestling Experience and I do TV Show Reports for Between The Ropes. Obviously it hasn't been the best time to be a wrestling fan over the past two months and surprisngly it has nothing to do with the product it has to do with the recent passings of Roddy Piper and Dusty Rhodes. Whether I'm writing a piece or doing a radio show my goal is to make someone's day better as a fan of wrestling and at the same time promote the good and history of the business instead of tearing it down. With that tonight's Raw is from the home of where Suplex City began. That's right the WWE is back in San Jose, California at the SAP Center (which is a great arena with good seats and AIR CONDITIONING) and watch out Michael Cole as Brock Lesnar will be back to the program. We're three weeks away from the 28th annual SummerSlam PPV and I will talk about what happen on last week's WWE Programming and what new matches can be made for SummerSlam in fact I will actually lay out a demo card for your liking and also I'll give you my thoughts on the passing of Roddy Piper.

Roddy Piper:




I wasn't born in the 1970's or 80's I'm a 90's kid and I really didn't get a full grasp of who Rowdy Roddy Piper was until I was like maybe 10 years old and I was starting full studying of the business. I always saw Piper on video packages and etc and the first time I saw Piper on TV was two occassions. The first one was of course when he got inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and the great Piper's Pit Segment with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 21. The second one was on the Legends of Wrestling Roundtable program that used to be on WWE Classics On Demand. What's their to say that hasn't already been said? Piper is the personification of what a true villan in pro wrestling is supposed to be. Piper was the man and doing my research over the years Piper did alot of amazing things that go under the radar at times especially his stuff in Portland and his feud with Greg Valentine in the NWA in the early 80's.  If there wasn't Piper in 85 there's no WrestleMania and with the rate the territories were going at that time I'm not sure if wrestling would still be here. Piper was a mainstream from the business and had a underrated career outside the ring in the movies and of course when he was in on the TV Show Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I love Piper's Mania matches with Bret Hart, Adonis and Goldust. Piper's run in WCW was really good from the standpoint that he reinvented himself in way when he was feuding with the nWo in the way he was cutting his promos. Obviously being born in this generation of wrestling I always enjoyed Piper's sproadic appearances on WWE programming and there's two moments that I always remember from the Piper we saw in today's wrestling. The first one was the segment with Piper and Cena where Piper was trying to bring out the inner anger in Cena and then second one is Old School Raw in 2014 where he closes off Raw with my personal favorite wrestler CM Punk who Piper was a major influence on Punk. Piper had a charm to him and what's more important that even though he went through alot in the wrestling business he always tried to find a way to be happy and be the best father out there. I send my colodences to the Toombs family and Roddy will be missed. I loved the guy I think to me he will always be the gold standard of what a true heel is and it's unfortunate that he was decided to be taken away from us that young. Love u Piper! Thank you for everything you've done for the business and setting example for what a good man and father is and you will never be forgotten even if your out of Bubblegum high above.

1.) John Cena vs. Seth Rollins at SummerSlam? 




The John Cena/Seth Rollins US Championship Match from last week's Raw was great. Cena broke his nose and continue to fight on for another 6-7 minutes and you have to give it up to a guy like that no matter how you feel about his subjective character. A couple weeks ago I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this program because obviously it's ironic that Cena is going back for the title when the ratings haven't been earth shattering. Rollins has gone through Reigns, Ambrose, Orton, and survived Brock and still is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and for him to go all through that and then just lose like nothing in first encounter with Cena since last year's TLC would be a major spit in a face to everything this guy has done in the past year. With that being said and just going off what i've seen in the past couple of WWE shows is that Rollins getting a win against Cena on a big stage like SummerSlam would be a major rocket booster to a title reign which I already thought it was going really good. Cena could win the title and I wouldn't been surprised or upset because he's realy had a stellar year this year when it comes to matches and his promos have been good, so Cena hasn't had a bad feud this year. With Cena nose being shattern your not going to see Cena in the ring which is unfortunate because I would have love seeing some US Open Challenges before SummerSlam and now it looks like it will be champion vs. champion at SummerSlam. I'm sure Rollins will start the show and brag about Cena nose being broken and that Cena is not entitled to another World Title Match and he's not here, so Rollins is moving on. If Rollins was to wrestle tonight I think he would fight either Roman Reigns or Cesaro. It would be interesting to see if Cena would have a cut pre-recorded promo towards Rollins, but we'll see what happens.

2.) The Beast is Back  



Brock Lesnar is back on tonight's show and I'm really looking forward to that. We've all seen Heyman cut amazing promo's especially the ones before WrestleMania 30. There's always been one stat that I don't know why someone like Heyman would continue to overlook and not bring up. That stat is the fact that The Undertaker has never beated Brock Lesnar. I'm sure Heyman will cut a cool promo tonight and then it would be distrupted by Undertaker in a cool Taker esque video package if Taker is not at Raw tonight that's just a idea we haven't seen that in a while. I would also like to know if this will be a fight or another wrestling match like at Mania 30. This match NEEDS a stipulation to it. The fans in Brooklyn will boo the match out of the building if it's just another wrestling match with 20 suplexes. This is one of the major things I'm paying attention to for tonight's show especially coming off that amazing pull apart a couple weeks ago.

3.) Steve Austin Podcast with Paige + Divas Revolution



Tonight after RAW is the return of the infamous Stone Cold Podcast on the WWE Network with special guest former Divas Champion and Tough Enough Coach the beautiful Paige. I'm really looking forward to this. Obviously for me I know about Paige's upbrining with her legendary Knight family, but I'm also interested in learning more things about her and what type of question Austin would have for her since he has admitted over the past couple weeks on his podcast that he hasn't been watching the product due to his crazy schedule with filming the next Broken Skull Challenge season. Will Austin bring up AJ Lee? What's Austin thoughts on the Diva uprising in the WWE and will Austin ask Paige about her experience on Tough Enough this season. I love Paige, so it will be alot of fun covering this podcast tonight. As far as tonight is concern I think we would see Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch then later on that night we'll see Paige & Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks & Naomi.

4.) SummerSlam 2015 Match Card 

1.) No Holds Barred Match 
The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman

2.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match 
Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena

3.) Fatal Four Way Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship 
Prime Time Players (c) vs. The New Day vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores

4.) Triple Threat Match for the WWE Divas Championship 
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige vs. Sasha Banks

5.) Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

6.) Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

7.) Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship 
Ryback (c) vs. The Miz vs. Big Show

8.) The Wyatt Family vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose


I hope you guys enjoyed this week's Raw preview. It will be nice to see the WWE pay some type of tribute to Piper on tonight's show. It's going to be a good night to honor a legend and enjoy some good wrestling.

You can follow me on Twitter it's @JoshLopezCSR

Check out my radio show this Wednesday the Pro Wrestling Experience from 11am-2pm ET on Chicagolandsportsradio.com

Monday, July 27, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 7/27/15



Welcome to this week's Monday Night Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon. We're on the road to SummerSlam and despite what's going on with Mr. Boella, we're going to take the high road on that topic and give you a clear perspective on what you can see on tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw from Oklahoma City. The Lesnar & Taker program has started on a high note and both stars gave you a great demo as to what you may see on August 23rd. Lot's to get to, so let's see the five things I expect to see on tonight's WWE Raw from the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

1.) The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar + Paul Heyman Promo's 



There was a bit of hesitation from the fans when it came to another round of a Lesnar and Taker program, but from what I saw with the pull apart on last week's Raw, everybody is hooked. Paul Heyman planted the seeds on the background behind this feud. Paul Heyman had another great line where he said that "You can sell your soul to the devil, but your ass belongs to Brock Lesnar." I don't think there's heel or face dynamic in this program cause it remnids me alot of Rock vs. Austin at WrestleMania 17 in the fact that it's a PERSONAL ISSUE and Taker is in Austin's position where he needs to get his revenge on Lesnar and take his yard back. Both guys are not advertised for tonight's Raw which I don't have a problem with. The video above was flimed at the WWE Headquarters at Stamford, Connecticut. So when Lesnar and Taker are not Raw you can expect Paul Heyman to basically continue to sell the match to you the fans. I think it will be live via Satellite, but who knows maybe Heyman shows up in OKC tonight. It would be nice to see Heyman bring up how The Undertaker has plowed through so many legends in the wrestling business, but he's never conquered Brock Lesnar.

2.) John Cena vs. Seth Rollins "Champ vs. Champ" ?



Coming off last week's Raw it seems like Seth Rollins will be defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam against WWE United States Champion John Cena. Rollins was basically rubbing in the fans face in one of his better heel promo's that you guys doubted me and I survived Suplex City and I'm still the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. For some reason Cena came out and pull out his heel tactics whenever he wants to get the WWE Championship back. When you see this on paper you see the behind the scenes coming into this storyline because it's known that ratings haven't been that high over the past couple of months and people may assume that the WWE is blaming Rollins for that, but you can't blame him because I think he's been one of the best heel champions since CM Punk. From this standpoint I think Cena has had one of the best year's of his career and I think he and Rollins can have a great match, but my thing is every since WrestleMania has talked about how the US Championship is the symbol of excellence. Now Cena want's the WWE Title? Yea I guess it's not a bad marketing idea to have a Champion vs. Champion match at SummerSlam, but would you want Rollins title reign to end in a span of a month to John Cena? I think tonight we may see another promo where Cena tries to act like he's above Rollins. As far as matches are concern I think we'll see Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro and John Cena will have another US Open Challenge.

3.) What's next for Kevin Owens? 


If you didn't see last week's SmackDown you missed a good one. Let me say this and I know there's alot of people who think that the WWE is going to bury Kevin Owens because he lost a feud to John Cena. I just don't see it that way. He's not a jobber and yea he'll do mid-card stuff for awhile, but I don't think Owens should be in the main event scene already. Owens is going to be there for a long time, so why would you want him to be in the main event of every show and WrestleMania in his first year on the main roster. On SmackDown the seeds were planted for the Kevin Owens/Cesaro match. Cesaro basically was talking about how he always deliver and Owens made fun of him and then Cesaro reminded everybody how basically Kevin walks out of all of his matches. Owens laid out Cesaro after his match with Seth Rollins. I think this feud is great for both guys and we'll need to see more character development with both guys, I mean we all know that Cesaro and Owens are great wrestlers, but what's their next for their characters? I do think Owens and Cesaro will brawl tonight and it will be official that Owens will take on Cesaro at SummerSlam.

4.) SummerSlam Mid-Card Matches 



I think we'll see the three way match for the Intercontinental Championship with Ryback, Big Show and Miz. I think we'll see one more match with The New Day and Prime Time Players and New Day will continue to interfere in the PTP matches until they get another opportunity at the tag straps. Even then maybe tonight we'll see New Day vs. Lucha Dragons in a Number One Contender's Match. Stardust vs. Neville is happening and I'm loving the comic book stuff they are doing with this storyline. I think we may see the mixed tag team match with Dolph Ziggler & Lana vs. Rusev & Summer Rae. Orton/Sheamus? Maybe? I think tonight could be a good implication on what other matches will be on SummerSlam besides Taker/Lesnar and Cena/Rollins. I mean hell we can see Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. The Wyatt Family in a No DQ Match. Lot's of questions and excited to see what they bring to the table tonight.


5.) Divas Running Wild 



The Divas revolution segments have been dominating WWE programming over the past couple of weeks. I think for tonight it would be nice to see Paige vs. Sasha Banks and then later on the show if they want to do another divas match you can do The Bella Twins vs. Charlotte & Becky Lynch. I think it's also important to establish at least where we going as far as the Divas Championship is concern. I know that Nikki has been banged up for awhile, but we'll need to know if Nikki will be defending her championship at the second biggest show of the year.

Thanks for checking out this week's Raw preview. I hope you enjoyed it. Enjoy Raw

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesdays from 11am-2pm ET on Chicagolandsportsradio.com.

Monday, July 20, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 7/20/15



Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon. Lot's to get to. We're coming off the heels from last night's WWE Battleground and now we're on the road to WWE SummerSlam. Tonight's Raw emanates from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. We're on the road to SummerSlam. A legend is back another is expected to be on the show tonight. In one of the five points in this article I'll give you my FULL review of last night's Battleground event.

1.) WWE Battleground PPV Review 




I enjoyed the R-Truth/King Barrett match. Despite the fact I didn't have that much interest in the feud I thought the match was pretty solid and thank god Barrett won the match. I thought the opener of Randy Orton and Sheamus was good and the crowd in St. Louis was great tonight. I think the Prime Time Players/New Day match was better then their one from Money in the Bank. Don't have a problem with PTP retaining here they continue to grow each week and they deserve a longer title reign sorry New Day fans (I am one too). The Roman Reigns & Bray Wyatt match was one of the best matches on the show and love the ending of the match and not only did Wyatt picked up the victory, but at the same time there's a Wyatt Family reunion with Luke Harper. The Divas three way was okay it was nice seeing Charlotte and Sasha getting that spotlight on a main roster WWE Special on the WWE Network. Thought they made the right decision letting Charlotte submit a Bella Twin. The John Cena and Kevin Owens match was great what else is new and no I don't think Kevin Owens is negatively effected by tapping out he's a HEEL AND HE'S SUPPOSED TO LOSE! The main event was I thought it was going to be and then Undertaker came out and I marked out I have no problem with Brock and Taker at SummerSlam. Overall I thought Battleground was one of the best PPV's of the year and I can't wait for SummerSlam.

2.) What's next for John Cena and Kevin Owens? 




John Cena and Kevin Owens had another stellar match last night and now everybody is losing their minds because they think it's all over for Kevin Owens. I have to disagree with that stand point. There was no way that Kevin Owens was buried. Cena obviously is up 2-1 in this series and I doubt that this feud is over. I think for Raw tonight Cena will have another US Open Challenge. I think this time Dean Ambrose will accept the challenge time or maybe Stardust that's my guess in case they actually do the open challenge tonight. I'm sure Cena will have a talking segment, but tonight is about planting the seeds for SummerSlam this year. There's many questions as to what we'll see from both Owens and Cena at this year's SummerSlam, but I think tonight we'll get a great talking segment with both guys tonight. Owens is not done. He's not buried. Take a chill pill and enjoy the ride.

3.) Wyatt Reunion 




Bray Wyatt defeated Roman Reigns in a very physical match last night and Luke Harper reunited with his Wyatt Family brother. In theory you would think that Reigns would try to go after Wyatt. I would think maybe we'll see Wyatt and Harper vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam. There was rumors about Sting possibly coming in for SummerSlam this year and fighting Bray Wyatt and if that happens I'm fine with that actually I'll mark out for that. I think Wyatt's performance last night proved why he's in the position he's in the company. Wyatt can lose, but at the same time he's put on amazing performances and people still care about him. I'm really interested in what they do with this feud tonight on Raw. I think we may see Roman Reigns vs. Luke Harper, but besides that I don't think Bray Wyatt will be in a match on Raw tonight, but he will lay out Roman Reigns tonight.

4.) Divas Revolution 




Charlotte made Brie Bella tap out in the divas three way last night at Battleground. Shared a special moment with her father Ric Flair last night in the video above. I have a feeling that Nikki Bella will be defending her Divas Championship at SummerSlam against Charlotte or we can have whole malay and have that triple threat tag team match. I'm not going to be nit picky with this particular storyline because I want to sit back and see where they go with this because it's so subjective and there's so many different directions this storyline can go. Congrats Charlotte and let's see what happens on Raw tonight.


5.) Taker vs. Brock 




Short and sweet. It's pretty simple that Brock will take on Taker at SummerSlam. This about Taker getting not only revenge for his brother, but also avenging the streak. The next four to five weeks of TV will tell a great story about where we're heading to especially not only SummerSlam, but also WrestleMania. I'm sure Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar will have a lot to say tonight and hopefully we'll see Taker tonight.

Hope you enjoyed this week's WWE Raw preview. Hope you enjoyed Battleground

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday on Chicagolandsportsradio.com from 10am-1pm CT

Monday, July 13, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 7/13/15



Welcome to this week's WWE Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. Last week's Raw took placed in the loudest city in the WWE Universe, Chicago, and this week's Raw takes place from one of the quietest crowds in the WWE Universe in Atlanta, Georgia.We're six days away from the WWE Battleground PPV! The Beast Brock Lesnar will be on tonight's show. There's alot to get to and in the fifth point in this piece I will reveal my full match card for the Battleground show.

1.) Team Bella vs. Paige 



I'm starting off with the divas this week because if nobody is going to pay any attention to it? I will. I feel that Nikki Bella has had a stellar Diva's title reign which came at the wrong time. What I mean by that is that Nikki won the Divas Championship from AJ Lee at Survivor Series and has held onto the title to the point AJ left the company and that left a bitter taste in the WWE fans mouth. Next the back and forth character changes between Nikki and her sister Brie. What side of the fence are they on? Are they really inspiring young women with they do in the ring? Or is this a spin off from their presentation on Total Divas when Nikki and Brie change moods in every other episode. I think this feud with Paige is really working with the current storyline on Total Divas with The Bellas supposedly leaving the WWE and the younger Divas on the roster are trying to position themselves into their spots once they leave. We have Team Bella which now includes Alicia Fox. Paige is all on her own and she lost to Brie Bella last week on Raw. Tonight on Raw I think Paige will take on Alicia Fox or she'll take on both Alicia and Brie in a Handicap Match in order to get an opportunity at Nikki's Divas Championship at Battleground. I think tonight the Tough Enough judge and Total Diva's gorgeous challenger will one up Team Bella.

2.) Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns


In this week's Michael Cole WWE.com interview ^^ he sat down with Roman Reigns and talked about the crazy year he's had in the WWE. Roman talked about he in a way conquers everything that comes his way and he talked about how he got to where he is today. In the mean time Cole was indirectly mentioning Bray Wyatt and what happen at Money in the Bank, but Reigns continue to ignore the subject. Cole finally brought up Wyatt and Reigns said that he's a weird cat and he honestly doesn't understand why Wyatt is attacking him and what does "Anyone but You" mean. Reigns continues to say that Wyatt is not in his head, but obviously that's not the case especially with the most recent matches Reigns has been having. I think this something out of the box and once again we got the I can't handle a long feud wrestling fan-base chiming already and saying "Oh I'm tired of this feud" and there's hasn't been one match yet. I think tonight Roman should come out and call out Bray Wyatt to the ring not the smoking backstage area call him out to the ring and they brawl tonight. If that doesn't happen I think we'll see Roman Reigns & Ryback vs. Big Show & Bray Wyatt.

3.) WWE United States Championship Title Scene



The feud with John Cena and Kevin Owens has been alot of fun for not only WWE programming, but also the WWE United States Championship. John Cena and Cesaro have engage in two fantastic bouts in the past two Raw's. I was there for last week's Cena/Cesaro main event match and that's one of the best Raw matches I've ever seen in person. Also after the show where Cena put over remember folks put over Cesaro in a very emotional and motivational speech. I don't know what's going to happen with Cesaro, but it would be cool to see him added to this US Championship Match at Battleground. I think tonight Kevin Owens will fight Cesaro. I think John Cena will have US Open Challenge and once again Owens will interrupt and then Cena will be on commentary during the Owens/Cesaro match. I think for tonight it's important for once again Cena getting the best of Owens sneak attacks or if like I mention earlier if Cesaro's added to this match he needs to lay out both Owens and Cena.

4.) The Beast Invades The Dirty South



The Beast comes to Atlanta for tonight's Raw. What final statement will the former WWE Champion make before Battleground? The match is already known, but you never know with the WWE they can have a Contract Signing in the final segment of the go-home show to add more steam to a big time match like this one. How will Triple H react to Lesnar causing chaos on last week's Raw? How will Rollins convince the WWE Universe that he can beat Brock Lesnar? I think tonight Seth Rollins will fight against Neville or we'll get a rematch between him and Ryback from last week's SmackDown which I thought it was good match. Would be upset if Rollins got the best of Lesnar tonight? Or you finish with Raw with Rollins taking a little tour in Suplex City? Lot's of questions, but I think they need to hit a home run with this feud tonight.

5.) WWE Battleground 2015 Official Match Card



1.) Battleground Kickoff Match
Neville vs. Rusev

2.) WWE Tag Team Championship Match
The Prime Time Players (c) vs. The New Day

3.) Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Ryback (c) vs. The Miz vs. Big Show

4.) Dean Ambrose vs. Kane

5.) No DQ Match
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

6.) WWE United States Championship Match
John Cena (c) vs. Kevin Owens

7.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige

8.) Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

9.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Brock Lesnar

Hope you guys enjoy this week's Raw preview and enjoy Raw and Battleground

Check out my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on ChicagoLand Sports Radio on TuneIn Radio

Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Monday, July 6, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 7/6/15



Welcome to this week's WWE Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon! This piece will be special to me for the fact that tonight's Raw is from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois and I will be there. Tonight's Raw is going to be interesting especially for the fact this weeks Raw takes places from the loudest fanbase in the WWE Universe. We're 13 days away from the Battleground show and tonight we'll get a pretty good picture as to what will REALLY happen at the special on July 19th! Lot's to get to and will also be giving my thoughts about the Beast in the East show in one of the points. Let's get to it!

1.) Beast in The East Thoughts 

I would like to add my thoughts on the Beast in the East special that just happen this past Saturday since I was one of the crazy people who were up and covered the event when it was LIVE! I really digged the setup the event, the sumo hall is a cool venue for a wrestling show, I really enjoyed the commentary from Michael Cole and Byron Saxton and it really shows that JBL needs to get off that announce table for GOOD and then finally I just like how this event was unique to itself! The first match with Chris Jericho and Neville was really fun and no matter what you think of modern day Jericho the matter of the fact is that he's a legend and he continues to prove why at anytime he can be the best in the world. I thought the triple threat Divas Championship Match was solid, but not surprise Nikki won. Brock Lesnar's appearance on the show was everything it was supposed to be. You see him come into the building and the fans react like he's the modern day Godzilla. The Balor/Owens was amazing and we send our regards to our friend James, but it was going to happen sometime soon and congrats to Finn Balor becoming the brand new NXT Champion. While everybody went on a tirade on the main event (how original) I thought it was solid main event. It was like a mid 80's tag team match. Hulk Hogan & The Red Rooster vs. British Bulldog & One Man Gang. Overall it was worth staying up to 7am and I thought this was one of the coolest events of the year.

2.) John Cena vs. Kevin Owens Program

There's no doubt that this Kevin Owens/John Cena feud has been one of the best feuds in 2015. Week after week Cena and Owens try to one up each other and it's great and at Battleground Cena will defend his United States Championship against Kevin Owens. Last week on Raw we got it correct and Cesaro accepted the John Cena US Open Challenge and really brought the fight to the 15 time World Champion and just as Cesaro was going to win Kevin Owens who was on commentary during the match storm into the ring caused the DQ and gave both John Cena and Cesaro Popup Powerbombs. There's two weeks left and there's nothing really complicated that you need to do here to continue furthering this feud. Since Raw is in Chicago I'm pretty sure that Cena will compliment the crowd as he always does. It's going to be interesting to see what type of reaction Kevin Owens gets at the Rosemont Horizon. I've seen Kevin performed in this city for years and it's going to be a great moment to see him at the best in my opinion the best WWE arena in the US! What's next for Cesaro? Will Cesaro forget that Owens screwed him out of the US Championship? Or will Cesaro try to insert himself in this US Title program? Well since Owens lost the NXT Championship at Beast in the East we can't have a US Open Challenge, but I think we'll see Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro tonight. If Cena's having a US Open Challenge I think it would be nice to see him go against Dolph Ziggler

3.) Dusty Rhodes Special on WWE Network 


If you love tonight's Raw or you hate it like every single week, one thing we'll agree on is the fact that the Dusty Rhodes Special on the WWE Network tonight will be awesome. Really looking forward to see what they have in store for us in this special tonight. We already know that WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will come back to Chicago which is pretty cool. I wonder if there's going to be other surprises on the show because it said that WWE Superstars and Legends will pay tribute to Dusty. It's going to emotional and I'm just excited for this event. Will Cody Rhodes come back on tonight's Raw? Who knows, but if he does that would be really cool.

4.) WWE 2K16 Cover Reveal


Click the video above and you'll see a very special WWE Legend who will be the cover boy for this year's WWE 2K16 Video Game!

All I can say is that this cover photo and the trailer is badass and very fitting for a upcoming WWE video game who said they're having the largest roster ever and it's going to be one of the greatest WWE video games ever. Let's see what happens! I doubt the guy who's on the cover would be on the show, but hey you want a cool moment. The Icon comes back in the building where he grabbed the brass ring.

5.) The Beast Invades the Windy City 



THE BEAST IS BACK!!!! All hell is going to break loose! I know that The Authority Triple H & Stephanie McMahon will be back on Raw tonight, but also Paul Heyman will be back on Raw with a angry beast in Brock Lesnar. Fair warning to Seth Rollins. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!! Prepare for the crowd to go nuts when Beast gets unleashed! There's no way that Rollins get the best of Lesnar it's just not happening again.

I hope you guys enjoy this week's Raw preview. You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Enjoy Raw and please check out my radio the show The Pro Wrestling Experience on Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on Chicagolandsportsradio.com on TuneIN Radio. I'll be speaking to former TNA Wrestlers Gunner and Magnus!

Monday, June 29, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 6/29/15



Welcome to this week's WWE Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. This week's Raw takes place from the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.! We're just about three weeks away from the WWE Battleground PPV. Also we're 5 days away from the "Beast in the East" Special on the WWE Network from Tokyo, Japan. Last week on Raw we found out three new matches for the Battlgeround Special Event: Ryback vs. Big Show vs. The Miz for the IC Title, New Day vs. Prime Time Players for the Tag Team Championship and Kevin Owens vs. John Cena for the US Championship. 20 days away from this big event will any more matches will be announced in these in between Raw's? Let's take a look at the five things I expect to see on tonight's Monday Night Raw.

1.) The Family is back together



Last week on Raw we saw the Authority comeback together to lay out "The Beast" Brock Lesnar. Rollins went onto SmackDown to signify that he's what he says he is and he defeated Dean Ambrose. It was announced on Saturday that tonight's main event of Raw will be: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Kane & Seth Rollins. Here's a fun fact for you guys. Since Kane's join the Authority he's been in 48 main events of Raw's, SmackDown's and PPV's. Here's my thing I understand that you need Rollins to focus on someone while Brock will NOT be on tonight's edition of Raw, but why are you bringing back a main event of Raw that happen not only before Payback, but also the Elimination Chamber and Money in the Bank? Joey Mercury severed three broken ribs due to the hands of Brock Lesnar we wish him a speedy recovery. Tonight for Raw I'll like to have Rollins stop harping on the Authority side of this angle. It's time for Rollins to put his focus on Brock Lesnar. We got it the family is back together. Rollins you have three weeks to give the WWE Universe a reason to believe that YOU can BEAT Brock Lesnar!!!! Bring up what happen at the Royal Rumble where YOU broke Lesnar's RIBS, Bring up WrestleMania where you stole the title away from Lesnar. Bring up that your are the architect and you Lesnar is playing your game. I believe that Bray Wyatt will disctrat Roman Reigns or even lay him out before the match starts, so I feel that Dean Ambrose will be left for nothing and Rollins takes out Ambrose for good. There's nothing for Ambrose to do here. Lay him out and write him off television for a month. Will Paul Heyman be on the show tonigth? If so talk about a great start to Raw with a in-ring promo segment with Rollins and Heyman.

2.) IC Three Way for Battleground 



I want you guys to check out this interview ^^. On my radio show I close out every single show with the weekly WWE.com interviews that Michael Cole conduct with the bevy of WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends. Reason being the #LittleThings! Alot of wrestling fans talk about lack of effective character development and not paying attention the "IWC" (Which I'm not part of nor can I stand.) Ever since Triple H turn heel at SummerSlam 2013 I've aired every single Michael Cole interviews since because that's where you get the major character development. Please check out this Big Show because towards the end he explains WHY he's still in the company and in high places. I may be in a island, but I love this feud with Ryback and Big Show. It works perfectly for both guys. Ryback is looking to take Big Show's spot and Show is still trying to show that he still matters and has a purpose in the company. Tonight I think we see one or two things. 1.) Big Show takes on Ryback in a match and 2.) Mark Henry vs. Big Show. If Ryback doesn't fight Big Show tonight maybe he competes against a guy like Bad News Barrett. As far as The Miz is concern, I'm not sure he's down in Orlando, Florida helping out with the Tough Enough show, so I don't get his purpose in this match. I'm guessing they can air a pre-tape with The Miz that can air after a Ryback or Big Show match, but he need a solid reason as to why Miz is in this match. Besides that I'm looking forward to what they do with this program tonight.

3.) John Cena vs. Kevin Owens III 



The battle of foregin languages happen last week on Raw! We found out that John Cena will be defending the United States Championship at Battleground against NXT Champion Kevin Owens. I expect both guys to be on the show tonight. One of the mistakes I felt the WWE made with last week's Raw was that neither guy were in a match. I know you don't want to overdue, but at the same time these open challenges and just in general the John Cena or Kevin Owens singles matches have been one of the best parts of Monday Night Raw in the past three months. There's nothing wrong with having the back and forth promos, but you have a three hour shows. There's no reason why these guys can have at least a 10-15 minute TV Match. Tonight I think John Cena gets the best of Kevin Owens. I think we'll see a John Cena US Open Challenge with Cesaro. And for Owens I think we may see a rematch with him and Dolph Ziggler. It's important tonight if Cena's going to do the Mr. USA thing tonight he gets the best of Owens.

4.) The Beast in the East Special on the WWE Network Preview 


Here's the card we know about now when it comes to the upcoming WWE "Beast In The East" Special on the WWE Network on 4th of July.

-NXT Championship Match~ Kevin Owens (c) vs. Finn Balor

-Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston

-John Cena & Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett & Kane

-Chris Jericho vs. Neville

-WWE Divas Championship Match~ Nikki Bella (c) vs. Naomi vs. Paige

-Lucha Dragons vs. New Day

I'm interested in seeing if the WWE does any or zero promotion for this event on tonight's show and also who else will be on this show? I'm sure we'll some type of promotional video package, but it would be nice to see Kevin Owens or any talk about the Special this Saturday.

5.) The New Day 



That's it enjoy the comedic nature of this amazing trio.

I hope you enjoy tonight's Raw! Try to sit back and not be a Roger Ebert wannabe. Watch the show for what it is and then make your thoughts be apparent. We effective our "expertise" dictate our moods towards a show. I promise you if you sit back and not OVER THINK every single mi-nute points of the show you'll enjoy it.

Make sure to check me out on my radio show the Pro Wrestling Experience every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT! I will be speaking to former TNA Wrestler Gunner.

Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Monday, June 22, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 6/22/15



Welcome to this week's WWE Monday Night Raw preview brought to you by Condo On The Moon. The road to WWE Battleground makes a pit stop in Indianapolis, Indiana for Monday Night Raw at the Bankers Life Field House. Last week in WWE programming we found out that Seth Rollins will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Title against Brock Lesnar at Battleground, Kevin Owens destroy MGK, and Bray Wyatt begins the mind games with Roman Reigns. We're just about 4 weeks away from the third annual Battleground PPV in St. Louis, Missiouri. Here's five things you can expect to see on tonight's edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.

1.) Is Seth Rollins title reign coming to an end?  



The future of the WWE Seth Rollins, current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, has had a big chip on his shoulder since the disbanding of The Shield. Rollins was "Plan B" for The Authority and now Rollins is on his own. In a promo segment with The Authority last week on Raw, Triple H stated that its time to put the pressure on Rollins and at the upcoming Battleground PPV, Rollins will be putting his world title on the line against a raging "Beast" Brock Lesnar who made his return to WWE Programming last week. As it seems like the entire world is against Seth Rollins. How will Rollins carry himself over these next couple of weeks as he prepares for the biggest match of his career? In the video above you'll see a promo from SmackDown where Rollins states that this is the match he wants. There's no doubt Seth Rollins is a confident World Champion and I encourage that, but how can anybody believe that Rollins can dethrone the Beast? Rollins stole the WWE World Title at WrestleMania and has squeezed out victories over the past three months. It seems like the Authority are in good graces with Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar after Stephanie suspended Brock on the Raw after Mania. I think for tonight we'll see the first of a few promo battles between Rollins and Heyman. Rollins will subtly convince the authority to be on his side. If Rollins wrestling tonight I think he has a match with Kane.

2.) Owens vs. Cena III?



I put a question mark next to the title of this point because what would you do with the John Cena and Kevin Owens feud? Owens is on a roll and it doesn't matter what show he's on, Kevin Owens is seemingly un beatable at this point. Owens on Monday destroyed Dolph Ziggler and MGK and declared that he want's a rematch with John Cena and not just any type of rematch, this time he wants the United States Championship on the line. On NXT Owens gets in a massive brawl with Samoa Joe. Owens defeated Cesaro in a good back and forth match on SmackDown. In a couple of weeks Owens will be defending the NXT Championship against Finn Balor on the July 4th Special on the WWE Network from Tokyo, Japan. For tonight's Raw I think we'll see John Cena return after taking a week of television off. I think Owens and Cena will have another promo segment which will lead to Owens laying out Cena to the point he'll won't be able to compete at Battleground or we'll see the Authority suspend Owens for a month due to his actions to not only John Cena, MGK, but maybe Owens lays out an announcer on Raw tonight.

3.) Raw Matches 

I'm going to put out a list of matches that we'll possibly see in this three hour Raw from Indianapolis.

1.) Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro

2.) Ryback vs. The Miz w/Big Show on Commentary

3.) Darren Young w/Titus O'Neil vs. Kofi Kingston w/The New Day

4.) Dolph Ziggler vs. Bo Dallas

5.) Sheamus & Kane vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose

6.) King Barrett vs. Neville w/R-Truth on Commentary

7.) Alicia Fox vs. Paige

8.) Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton


4.) WWE Battleground Mid-Card Feuds 

I think as the weeks go by it would be good to take a big picture aspect approach in setting up the card for Battleground in four weeks. I think we can see Randy Orton and Sheamus pairing up at Battleground. I wouldn't be surprised if Dean Ambrose and Kane will meet at up at the show. Prime Time Players defend their tag team titles against The New Day. Finally in a three way match Ryback defends the IC Championship against Miz and Big Show.


5.) Roman Reigns & Bray Wyatt Feud 



I'll keep this short and sweet because I want this story to play out because it's this feud has the potential to be something we haven't seen in a longtime or ever. I love this pairing of Reigns and Wyatt because we can see major character developments with both characters over the next couple of weeks. I think for tonight we'll continue to play mind games with Reigns and continue to bring up Roman's past and his family. Reigns will be upset and I just can't wait to see what they do with Roman and Bray on Raw tonight.

Hope you guys enjoy this week's Raw preview article.

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR and I'll follow you back just let me know that you seen this piece.

Make sure to check out my wrestling radio show "Pro Wrestling Experience" live every Wednesdays from 10am-1pm CT on "ChicagoLand Sports Radio" on the TuneIn Radio App and simulcast on WLGK Logik Radio on Saturdays at 5pm ET.

Monday, June 15, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 6/15/15



Hope you guys and girls had a good weekend. Welcome to this weeks Raw preview article brought to you by Condo On The Moon. We're just coming off the heels of the Money in the Bank PPV. In this piece I'll give you my thoughts on the PPV and also five things you can expect to see on tonight's Monday Night Raw from Cleveland, Ohio. Let's do this.

Money in the Bank Review: 

For the most part I thought the Columbus crowd exceeded my expectations especially with being a guy that covers just about every single WWE show the Columbus crowd tends to be one of the worst in the WWE Universe. I thought that Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler had a great outing on commentary, but JBL has to go to. He drags down every single Raw, SmackDown, PPV and etc. I thought the WWE did a phenomenal job paying tribute to the late great Dusty Rhodes with the video package and the ten bell slatue. I'm interested in seeing if they do the same thing tonight for Raw, or they'll just go on with the tribute special that will be on the WWE Network immediately after Raw. 

Maybe to a fault I look at the positive and big picture aspects of professional wrestling too much. I just never wanted to be "THAT GUY" who acts like he knows everything about the business and just being the wrestling verison of Roger Ebert. I thought the Money in the Bank Ladder was good, I was really surprised that Sheamus captured the briefcase and you know what? I don't have a problem with this. It came out of nowhere and that's what you usually expect in these MITB Matches, so just because my guy didn't win doesn't mean the match sucks. We as fans play that card way too much. I thought the Divas Championship match was good both Nikki and Paige really beat the snot out of each other. Shenangians insued in the finish, but I knew Nikki was going to retain no matter what. I thought the Ryback/Big Show match was disappointing, but it is what it is. I thought the Cena/Owens match was awesome. There's not much that needs to be said about that because the match and the storyline speaks for itself. Congrats to the Prime Time Players becoming the new Tag Team Champions more on that in our Raw preview. The main event was awesome. Overall I really enjoy the show despite JBL, but if I had to grade the show it would've been a B+ or A-. 

1.) John Cena vs. Kevin Owens Fallout 

The series is tied at 1-1 and this feud has been far more entertaining then the NBA Finals in my opinion, but hey NBA isn't a work right? ;)! I don't think Owens is "buried" lets put a end to that arguement. He's not going to become a Wyatt, a Ryback, a Rusev, etc. Say what you want about John Cena and I'm not part of Cenation, but you have to respect the guy. Owens powerbombs Cena on the ring apron after the match last night, so here's the question. How long will Cena be out? Will this feud brew over Battleground or will Cena take some time off and then we have the rubber match at SummerSlam? For tonight I can expect to see another promo between both guys unless Cena will not be on the show. By the way if your saying Owens is buried by losing to Cena last night you don't know anything about wrestling. Owens is not going to be like the other guys who were supposely "buried" by Cena because they were heels and the baby face is never supposed to beat the bad guy. 

2.) WWE Divas Title Picture + IC Title Shenangians 


Here's a scenario I have for the Divas Title Picture with WWE Battleground coming up in 5 weeks. It's time. It's time to bring up Charlotte. It all makes sense with Raw being in Cleveland, Ric Flair loves LeBron James, and if you listen to this promo. The Bellas were born this way and Charlotte is genetically superior. Bring up Charlotte you can have Paige and her team against the Bellas at Battleground and Charlotte will take the title from Nikki at SummerSlam. For the IC Title Picture I think we'll see a beginning of a three way program with Miz, Ryback and Big Show. Not sure how I feel about, but there is history between all three guys even before the PPV last night. I can see maybe Miz vs. Ryback or Big Show tonight. Maybe you can even have ShowMiz come back and take on Ryback in a handicap match. 

3.) PTP vs. The New Day 


Congrats to Titus and Darren on becoming the new WWE Tag Team Champions! With Kidd & Cesaro out of the picture with Kidd's injury and the Usos on the shelf. I think we can see a fun three month program between these two tag teams maybe the titles go back and forth, but that's not really a bad thing if done right. I expect for tonight we'll see New Day requesting a rematch for the Tag Team Championship. 

4.) Sheamus + Roman Reigns/Bray Wyatt feud, What's next for Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler and Neville?

This point will be shorter then the most here. I think Sheamus and Randy Orton can continue their feud if they want to especially with Orton trying everything he can to get back in the WWE World Title Picture, I'm intrugied about the Bray Wyatt/Roman Reigns feud I'll keep it to that because I'm not really sure what's going to happen here and that's what's great about this upcoming feud. Wyatt does remind alot of a darker verison of Mankind and Undertaker. Yes I understand he's lost some of his feuds, but the guy is like underlying power of the Authority whenever the Authority needs someone to take the World Title away from Ambrose and Reigns or anybody else here comes Bray Wyatt. For Dolph and Neville that's the interesting question. Not always in favor with just throwing two guys together for the sake of a having great wrestling matches unless the storyline was about "Oh I'm better than you, you call yourself the Showoff, but I'm the new Sensation and I'm here to stay." 

5.) Seth Rollins & Authority Back Together 


This is out of left field and if it happens I won't gloat about it ;), but I have this thing feeling where Rollins and HHH were buddy buddy now and Rollins will celebrate with The Authority on Raw tonight in the main event segment and I think we see either Kane pick Rollins in the air and Triple H drops the thumb down and the Authority destroys Seth Rollins. I also think you can have Rollins out there and Brock comes back and ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Either way I think it's interesting scenarios, but also who knows does Ambrose gets his third shot at the title or does he go away for awhile? 

That's a wrap for this week's Raw preview. I hope you guys enjoy Raw. Let me know what you think about the piece on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR. 

Go Blackhawks!!!!!

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Condo On The Moon Podcast #65: RIP Dusty

A sad week in wrestling as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes dies at the age of 69. We reflect on what this man meant to the wrestling business in it's past and present on the podcast this week. We also talk about the different directions that ROH and TNA seem to be heading in. While WWE has it's second special event in last 30 days as Money in the Bank goes down this Sunday. One of the staple events of the modern WWE calendar is not living up to the high standards of this event in the recent past. Kevin Owens vs John Cena two will it mean Kevin Owens is still undefeated in his run in WWE and 2-0 against John Cena or more of the same that we have come to expect with past John Cena feuds. Dean Ambrose the unlikely challenger for the WWE Title. Maybe more likely the unlikely winner of the title. While Roman Reigns to win the Money in the Bank briefcase seems more of a lock than a Cena win over Kevin Owens against 6 other competitors in the Money in the Bank match that has no chance in hell of winning you would have to suspect. That and are thoughts on a new career for King Barrett. C.M Punk feuding with the Hulkster over hockey and lots more.


We have been having some issues with our normal podomatic feed so please use this link if you listen there to be able to get the podcast on our alternate feed. We hope to have the issues resolved soon. 

Monday, June 8, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 6/8/15



Let the good times roll! That's right welcome to this week's Raw preview article where we take a look at the week of the WWE and the five things we can expect to see on the flagship Raw. This week's Raw emanates from the home of WrestleMania XXX New Orleans, Louisiana. The Smoothie King Center will be the home to the go-home show to this Sunday's WWE Money in the Bank PPV. In this piece I'll give you four things to expect on the show and then for the fifth point I'll give you guys my predictions for this Sunday's PPV! LET'S ROCK!!!!!!!

1.) The Future is the Present



Seth Rollins is in the cross roads of his WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign. Not only does he have numerous of superstars going after his throat, but not the champ says he doesn't need the Authority anymore. In this clip above you see a great segmenet between Rollins and Ambrose from SmackDown. Take a listen to this and both Ambrose and Rollins made tremendous points. The reason I added this clip to the piece is because Ambrose and Rollins should speak for themselves. Ambrose doesn't need Reigns and Rollins doesn't the Authority. Tonight on Raw I can expect to see Roman Reigns vs. Kane due to the actions from last week's SmackDown and Dean Ambrose will take on Sheamus. For Rollins expect a intervention if you will or some type of segment where the Authority pulls off a "Seth Rollins" appreciation night.

2.) Will the Prime Time Players cash in on those Million of Dollars?

Darren Young and Titus O'Neil have had an interesting journey in their 5-6 years with WWE. Both stars came from the FCW Developmental System and the first couple seasons of NXT. Both Darren and Titus have had their run as rivals and as a entertaining tag team starting in 2012. Prime Time Players have always been one of those tag teams where they stellar on the mic and everybody loves this team whether their faces or heels, but since the inception of this team PTP has never won a WWE Tag Team Championship. PTP defeated Lucha Dragons and The Ascension in a number one contender's match on SmackDown. PTP will take on The New Day at Money in the Bank for the WWF Tag Team Championship. I love this tag team. I also love The New Day, so whether PTP wins on Sunday or not, I just wish that this feud will continue and Darren and Titus will get their moment to shine at the end of the day.

3.) Change in the Divas Division? Bark and No Substance 


We've spent about seven months going on diabtribes and crying on social media about "Give Divas A Chance and NXT this and that", but here's a reality check for all of you guys. Doesn't matter who you bring up from NXT the matter of the fact is this. There's no substance in a division that's never been put in a higher degree. Even when you had the girls from the Ruthless Aggression Era having stellar matches and RARE main event match, but here's my thing. Was those divas doing the stuff the divas were doing in NXT? Sorry but to be honest here Trish and Lita are not the only great iconic women's wrestlers from that generation. It's a miscarage of justice to not mention the work of girls like Victoria, Molly Holly, Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Melina, Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres and Alicia Fox. Paige has seemed to take on the role that AJ protray before she retired and here's the thing. Paige says that she's tired of the Bella Twins and there's a time for a change. I can see Paige vs. Brie Bella for Raw tonight and at Money in the Bank Nikki Bella will defend the Divas Championship against Paige.

4.) Kevin Owens vs. John Cena II and Battle of Epic Promos III 


There's not much that needs to be said about this storyline it really speaks to itself. James and Walder talked about how much this Owens/Cena rivalry is really bringing the reality in the Reality Era. Kevin Owens had his first NXT Championship Open Challenge against Zack Ryder on SmackDown. We know that this feud has became personal between Cena and Owens and they'll be going to war at Money in the Bank. Will this match become a No DQ type of match or do we have the same type of match we saw at Elimination Chamber? For tonight I think we can see another NXT or US Open Challenge. Owens vs. Neville for the NXT Championship or John Cena vs. Luke Harper for the United States Championship. You'll know who will win this match by who's standing tall by the end of Raw tonight.

5.) Money in the Bank 2015 Predictions 

1.) WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Ryback (c) beats Big Show

2.) WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Prime Time Players beats The New Day (c)

3.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) beats Paige

4.) Kevin Owens beats John Cena

5.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money in the Bank
Roman Reigns beats Kane, Sheamus, Neville, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton

6.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match
Seth Rollins (c) beats Dean Ambrose


Hope you guys enjoy this week's Raw preview. I hope you guys enjoy Money in the Bank

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Please check out my radio show the "Pro Wrestling Experience" every Wednesday from 10am-1pm CT on "ChicagoLand Sports Radio" on TuneInRadio.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Condo on the Moon Podcast #64

We talk ROH with Ari Berenstein as well as look back on WWE Elimination Chamber.


If you are unable to listen go over to Podomatic and listen or download there.

Monday, June 1, 2015

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 6/1/15



Hello ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to this week's Raw preview article. We're coming off the heels of a entertaining Elimination Chamber special on the WWE Network. I'll give you my thoughts on the Chamber show in a seperate section. This week's Raw comes from the home of the 2007 Royal Rumble and 2011 Vengeance: San Antonio, Texas. We begin the road to the annual Money in the Bank PPV, always fun entertaining times when it comes to Money in the Bank season. We got alot to cover on here, so here's the five things you can expect on the Chamber Fallout edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.

WWE Elimination Chamber Thoughts: 

I want to prefence my comments by first saying that the Corpus Chirsti crowd was absolutely terrible last night and when WWE are considering to add on specials for the Network they need to consider the places and venues you decide to bring these special events to. I enjoyed the Tag Team Chamber match and I thought it was a coming out party for The Ascension and PTP. New Day are great heels and they continue to outhink everybody and is their any business relationship between The New Day and The Authority. I thought the Divas Championship Match was solid, but once again a terrible crowd could give two fig newtons about that match. I thought they made the right decision to have Nikki Bella retain the Divas Championship. I loved the Kevin Owens and John Cena match! Couldn't be happier for Kevin and he got the spotlight he deserved and to say that WWE doesn't give guys from the indy's or ROH a chance is absolute blasphemy. I enjoyed the match between Neville/Bo Dallas even thought they had to follow that Owens/Cena match. I thought the IC Chamber Match was kind of disappointing, but the crowd didn't do them no favors. Would have liked that particular Chamber to have more meaningful spots instead going into sequences just to fill time. I'm happy that Ryback won the IC Championship. Despite common "reputation" that comes with "The Big Guy" I think Ryback is a very underrated performer. Finally the World Heavyweight Championship was what it was. I enjoyed the match don't get wrong it was awesome, but you needed to entice the viewers to get the Network for the month of June and this Reigns and Ambrose thing is too buddy buddy. I thought the Chamber wasn't a A+ show, but it was a good show and I enjoyed it despite another round of terrible commentary and a inept crowd.

2.) WWE Money in the Bank Ladder Match + Raw Matches 

Last night at the Elimination Chamber we found out the following particpants that will be in this year's Money in the Bank Ladder Match. We have Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Neville and Kofi Kingston. If they were going to add more superstars to this match they would've done it tonight. For Raw tonight I think we'll see these three matches. Randy Orton vs. Neville, Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston and Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus.


3.) WWE World Title Picture



Last night at the Chamber, Ambrose defeated Rollins by DQ! Ambrose alongside Roman Reigns stole the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Don't be surprised to see not only Rollins, but the entire Authority to start off Raw and will address Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. I can see The Authority try to get Roman Reigns out of the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Is the beef between Kane and Seth Rollins over with? Lot's of questions, but do you have another Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins match just for another non-finish. The rivalry of non-finishes continues. For a curveball I think Reigns is turning tonight. You have Kane, Rollins and JJ vs. Dean Ambrose in a No DQ Match. Reigns will come out to help Ambrose and bamb spear Ambrose to close off Raw tonight.

4.) Kevin Owens vs. John Cena II 



We know that the rematch is set for the Money in the Bank PPV! Owens is up 1-0! For tonight and for the upcoming Raw's before MITB. I say let Owens go out there and run his mouth towards Cena. I say you can still do the US Open Challenge. I think John Cena will take on The Miz in the US Open Challenge tonight. You can still have Owens lay out Cena if you want, or to bring in doubt you can see Cena get the best of Owens in these brawls. I'm very interested in seeing what they do with this program and what will be John Cena's reaction to losing to Kevin Owens cleanly. Kevin Owens is best for business.

5.) Mid-Card Title Programs heading into Money in the Bank 



I think we'll see a fatal four way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Money in the Bank with: The New Day vs. Prime Time Players vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro. I think we'll see Ryback vs. Bad News Barrett, we may see another triple threat match for the Divas Championship. Could we have a mid-card ladder match at Money in the Bank for a mid-card title? Interesting time to be a fan of the WWE!


I hope you guys enjoy this week's Raw preview. You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Hope you guys enjoy Raw.