Sunday, July 22, 2012

A Look Ahead to the 1000th Episode of RAW

Hey, did you guys now that episode of 1000 of RAW is tomorrow night? You think the WWE would do a better job of promoting it. How will they expect people to know the show starts at 8, or that all the big stars from the past will be on? Or that the WWE Title will be defended? What is the WWE thinking?

All sarcasm aside, tomorrow is the first time in a very long time that I can say I am looking forward to watching RAW. More than likely, it will be one of the few times I look forward to writing about these three hour RAWs. The WWE will pull out all the stops tomorrow night. They know they will have a large viewing audience, bigger than normal. That means the WWE has a big opportunity ahead of them. Not only to give the fans a treat with the stars of the past, but also to keep new viewers around by showcasing the stars of today. I would like to see some actual wrestling on the show. Give your current stars an opportunity to show what they got.

No matter how bad the WWE has been at times, being able to stay around for a 1000 episodes is commendable. I can't give you a list of some of my favorite RAW moments because there are just so many of them. Shawn Michaels Farewell Address is up there. Any of the Vince McMahon/Steve Austin interactions were always fun. The night ECW joined the Invasion was probably one of the few bright spots of that entire angle. Chris Jericho's debut was great as well. As you can tell, there are an abundance of great memories. It would be way too tough to narrow it down to a list of my ten favorite ones.

Tomorrow will be a good show. There will be some predictable things, but I would expect a few surprises as well. The rumor is that tomorrow will be the kick off to the WWE's big summer angle. The last two years we had the Nexus Invasion and the Summer of C.M. Punk. I don't know what the WWE has planned for this summer. Nothing immediately sticks out in my mind. But I will take my best guess at it at the end here.

The following is my mini-preview of tomorrow night's RAW, with some things I expect, and some off the wall predictions.

1. Brock Lesnar Will Accept HHH's SummerSlam Challenge, then F-5 Shawn Michaels
This one is pretty basic. We know that we are getting Lesnar/HHH at SummerSlam. I would expect Lesnar to crash the DX Reunion to answer the challenge. But the WWE has a lot of work to get the audience reinvested in this angle. It has barely been mentioned on TV the last two weeks. Some fans might not even remember why these two are arguing in the first place. There's no way this match is a regular wrestling match. Expect a No DQ, or Street Fight match. I would say Hell In A Cell but since the WWE has a PPV based on that in October, that won't happen.

2. Christian Will Lose the Intercontinental Title to Damien Sandow
We know Christian will defend the IC Title against someone on RAW, we just don't know who yet as far as I know. If the WWE wants to get over new talent, this would be the perfect opportunity to showcase Sandow to a live audience. I like Sandow's gimmick and the WWE is quite high on him apparently, so let Sandow shine in front of a live audience.

3. Daniel Bryan and A.J. Will NOT Get Married
Come on, when has a WWE wedding ever gone off as planned? I don't expect Teddy Long to have a heart attack. I don't expect someone to drug A.J. and marry her at a drive up wedding chapel. I don't exactly know what will happen. If I had to take a wild guess, I would say someone comes out and tries to woo A.J. There has been talk about wanting Dean Ambrosse to debut against Bryan. I could see him interrupting the wedding service if that's the case. I will say that the WWE usually does weddings right as I find most of them rather entertaining. I'm looking forward to this.

4. Heath Slater Will Get Beat Up, By A Lot of Legends
Remember when Rob Conway was taken out by a bunch of legends? I would expect the same thing to happen here. I've enjoyed Slater the last couple weeks. He does his job well. I would expect it to end with a Bret Hart sharpshooter.

5. The New RAW GM Will Be Ric Flair
Yes, I know that the WWE was just in a big lawsuit with TNA over trying to pry talent away from them. The WWE agreed not to hire any of their talents, but do you really expect the WWE to obey non-contractual agreements? Flair wants back in the WWE, and this is probably the best way for him to get back in there. Flair would play a good authority figure. He shouldn't be wrestling anymore at this stage of his career. The WWE wants to make a big splash with their GM choice and just not have it be Vickie Guerrero or Teddy Long. Even if it isn't Flair, I would expect a name out of nowhere to be the new GM.

6. The Rock Will Challenge The Winner of C.M. Punk/John Cena to a Match at SummerSlam
The Rock has promised to make an announcement about the WWE Title. He can't make an announcement about Wrestlemania already. SummerSlam is the second biggest PPV of the year for the WWE, and having Rock on it would be a great way to up the buyrate even more. I would personally rather see Rock take on C.M. Punk than John Cena. A Rock/Punk feud would be a great way to get fans back for the summer. Plus, I really think that Punk will gain at least a 50/50 split of the crowd when the two are on screen together.

7. The Undertaker Will Return and Challenge Sheamus at SummerSlam
He hasn't been advertised as much as other legends but the Undertaker is expected to be on RAW this week, but his involvement is being kept heavily under wraps. Taker won't return to be a part of some random segment. Anything that Undertaker will be involved in will lead to something down the line. Taker is apparently healthier than he has been in recent years and is looking to return to action before Wrestlemania. He doesn't need to wrestle at all on any TV tapings. He can just be around for the build to the match. Again, just a guess on my part. Trying to think outside the box.

8. Steve Austin Will Announce His Intentions to Wrestle at Wrestlemania 29
Austin has been rumored to be wanting one more match for a long time. If the WWE Title will be centered around The Rock at Wrestlemania, I can see Austin returning for a match against C.M. Punk. Austin/Punk has been a dream match for WWE fans for years. If not at this year's Wrestlemania, then maybe 30.

9. C.M. Punk/John Cena Will Not End Clean
Come on. With so many stars and legends around do you really expect this thing to finish clean. I expect a solid 20-25 minutes of wrestling from these two, which is what they are capable of. But with a big summer angle planned, I would expect it to somehow involve the end of this match. And what is it you might ask...

10. The Rock and Brock Lesnar Join Forces With Vince McMahon to Take Over the WWE
Will this happen? I highly doubt it. But I'm all about taking wild guesses. The Rock helps C.M. Punk win his match, then him and Lesnar take out both combatants. HHH attempts to make the save but cannot. Vince raises Rock and Brock's hands and stands over the current WWE to end the show. Maybe there is a third person involved to occupy Cena at SummerSlam. It would be shocking and unexpected, and definitely a way to keep viewers tuned in next week.

Well there ya have it. Thoughts? Predictions? Throw em my way!

Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka

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