The Post-Mania Raw General Thread: What Do We Expect?

[Dave]

We all know that WrestleMania has come and gone. And whether you liked it or not, we all have to move on. The first step on that journey is the post WrestleMania Raw that airs tonight. In the past, we have seen these editions of Raw being some of the best in the entire year. With so much to cover after Mania, and so much to begin building towards, Raw should be a very good watch tonight.

But I'm wondering what you think we should be expecting.

A lot of people are speculating that this could be the end of The Authority, and that would be a welcome bonus. But more than likely, this is just the beginning of it all. Vince McMahon was successful in defending his stake in the company through The Undertaker and this means that Taker will, undoubtedly, make it 25 WrestleMania matches next year. Could the WWE even go as far as to announce the main event of next year's show tonight? I fully expect Taker to be on Raw tonight, so it could happen. And the WWE is known for trying to get the building blocks in place quickly. If Taker's match is announced tonight, that alone would be worth watching.

As far as Roman Reigns goes, surely tonight is the night that we see some evolution in his character. The fight with Triple H and The Authority should be over now. Keep Triple H and Stephanie McMahon as far away from Reigns as possible and start giving him interesting opponents. Either way, Reigns needs to do something quick and tonight should be the night he lays out his plan for his Championship reign.

Similarly, I fully expect to see Shane McMahon on Raw tonight. I don't get the feeling that this battle for power over Raw is done, especially with Roman Reigns as the Champion and The Authority seemingly losing that slice of power. For my money, Shane shows up and there is a twist left in the tale.

Cena should make his return to Raw tonight, thank the Lord. But a big deal was made by JBL that he shouldn't have been on Mania last night. I fully expect that to be the road that the WWE goes down in the near future. I don't think he will wrestle until Payback but he will definitely be there tonight, God willing.

But I've ranted enough. What do you want to see from the most exciting Raw of the year? Anything can and will happen.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I wouldn't be shocked at all to see Zack lose the IC title tonight - most likely to Chris Jericho.

As much as everyone is clamouring for Owens v Zayn, that feud doesn't need the IC title to work. Jericho can easily be inserted into that mix, beating Zack Ryder tonight for his 10th IC title reign and with Owens and Zayn being the "contenders" to him and working with him along the way - with.... Shinsuke Nakamura.

It'd be a big mistake to leave him on NXT after his debut did so well, he's the perfect guy to enter a 4 way "feud" for the IC title - teaming with Zayn who gave him such respect against Owen and Jericho while they all want their title shots... It could also lead to that big match in Japan being for something far more valuable, the IC title which I think is why they gave Chris the big win last night.

Shane is unlikely to show up - he has to sell that beating/loss so it's more likely Smackdown is where he shows up, perhaps he did enough to make his dad "proud" and he gives him Smackdown... perhaps Stephanie hates her father now for what she made her brother go through (siblings are odd like that) or perhaps Steph is gonna turn on Trips now he lost to Reigns.

Reigns gets a new opponent tonight for certain, much as I think it'll be the Wyatts, Jericho could also easily step up into that role as a first challenger... he beat AJ for a reason, they're gonna do SOMETHING with him. But it will be interesting to see where Cena fits in - he was quite heelish in his HOF speech, so it could be that they start building Hogan v Warrior style...

I expect Baron Corbin to continue to get a push, although not to the IC title as many are saying. I can see him beating Kalisto this week however - and upsetting Ryback in the process (fitting with Corbin's Tweener gimmick)

Tag wise - time for another debut... I'm thinking Blake and Murphy or The Revival but I wouldn't be at all shocked if Enzo and Cass show up as the next challengers for the Tag Titles.

Every year they debut at least 4 NXT talents in this week, last year Neville was the most notable at first and Owens followed soon after along with Charlotte etc... with the eradication of Divas, I wouldn't be shocked if this years post WM debuts are Corbin, Enzo & Cass and Bayley.

 

[OYDK]

Some sort of change in attitude for Roman Reigns: They've finally gone through with it, Roman Reigns has had the "defining moment" that has been layed out for him since day 1 at last. Reigns got his big Mania build, he won the title at the biggest Mania ever in front of about 90,000 booing fans, and he consequently, whether anyone likes it or not, solidified himself as the top dog in the WWE. Now it's time to take on the unenviable task of getting the guy over... There's nothing to be gained in keeping Roman exactly as he is, absolutely nothing. When people like Austin, Foley, and good-guy JR are speaking out, it's time to listen.

Lord help me if I see a prototypical Reigns promo followed by a HHH interference tonight. I won't watch past it.

Shane O' Mac: Like you said, I don't think this thing with Shane is over. There are far easier ways to get Shane involved in WWE programming than having him go over Taker at Mania, but that match largely helped sell the PPV. We know WWE. Would anybody be surprised if the plan all along was to have Shane somehow sneak in through the back door after valiantly losing an unwinnable match at Mania? All in the name of "change"? Even if this isn't the plan, I still expect Shane to show up and cut a promo at least.

Bullet Club: I might be reaching here, but I still think a huge debut is needed for the post-Mania Raw. Gallows and Anderson are seemingly ready to go and Finn's in town. Although I wouldn't be shocked to see Styles replace Balor if they ever did execute this plan. For some reason everybody seems to forget that Finn isn't the only guy in the WWE with deep ties to the Bullet Club. It would certainly make people forget about AJ's lost last night pretty quickly. Finn won the NXT title which kind of tells me they want to keep him down for a bit longer, but imagine a debuting feud against Styles/Gallows/Anderson?

Zack Ryder: The fact that everyone thinks he'll be losing the title tonight makes ME think that he won't. Still, I don't see a long reign, but I do expect him to sneak away with a win over Owens. Yes, I just typed that.

Returns: I think Cesaro and Orton are both likely to make their returns tonight along with Nikki Bella. I don't see Cena coming back for good but I do think he'll show up tonight. Fucking guy's a cyborg.

 

[RKO920]

I think we definitely see either the Reigns heel turn or the start of it tonight. While I know some want to see the Authority be done i think we see the heel turn come in the form of Roman joining the Authority. He feels disrespected by the fans which is true and he ends up gaining the respect of Triple H so he sides with them. Bit of a stretch but hey its fantasy booking.

I think we see the debut of Bayley tonight. The triple threat took out the 2 top contenders and Charlotte will come out bragging about how she has beaten everyone and there is no one left and then along comes Bayley to make her main roster debut.

Enzo and Big Cass debut also, possibly something with the Dudleyz since the New Day will probably still be dealing with the League of Nations.

We get returns from Cesaro and Cena. Yes Cena came back last night but I think he's going to try to do more and then this is how a title feud with Reigns comes about. The Authority tries to shut him down he proves he's ok and they say fine tag with Roman and he turns on Cena to cost the match.

While I'd love to see Finn Balor and the Bullet Balor Club debut I don't think we'll see it maybe like one of the previous posts said the Club debuts with AJ Styles.

 

[Sean Valjean]

Bayley is almost assuredly debuting tonight, probably in a confrontation with Charlotte. That alone will make this Raw worth watching. Wacky inflatable waving tube men or GTFO.

Reigns and the Usos are going to be booed out of the building. Wrestlemania was not a good night to be a Rock relative. Maybe they should edit Roman's titantron video to only show the clip of him spearing Stephanie on a continuous loop. That was GLORIOUS, and easily the best part of that lackluster main event.

Speaking of which, please keep Stephanie off Raw tonight if only to sell that spear. She's also welcomed to stay off TV permanently. I have a sinking feeling that Triple H will be on the warpath tonight. He lost the title and his wife got murdered. I can't help but feel he's going to half-kill Roman to set up their Extreme Rules rematch, and it will be to a parade of cheers because this company refuses to learn from their mistakes. That is, unless they turn Roman heel tonight. Nah, probably not.

The Sami/KO feud should begin in earnest tonight. I hope to see KO appear purely to confirm that he isn't dead/paralyzed after that sick fall he took on that ladder. I'm also 85% confident that KO uses his rematch clause to take the IC belt back from Ryder tonight because that's just how WWE books Zack Ryder.

No idea what's in store for Ambrose. He got beat in an underwhelming match where he didn't get a chance to show off the toughness he'd spent weeks talking up. He doesn't even look that great in defeat, so I have no clue how he saves face here. The Wyatts are in a similar post-Mania purgatory, albeit even worse off.

The stupid LON win better have been to set up a confrontation with a debuting Enzo & Cass, who, like Bayley, are definitely hitting the main roster tonight. Hopefully Carmella comes with them.

Corbin and Balor are big what if's tonight, the latter more so. Both could very well show up, though. Maybe we can get a Corbin promo where he tells us nerds to eat a dick, because look at him now. That could be great.

Excited to see Cena back, and hopefully we get a Cesaro return as well.

Though I have no idea how, I hope Shane or someone gets rid of the Authority tonight. That's a BIG stretch, but it really needs to happen soon as the Authority are long past their expiration date.

 

[Elchicano15]

I hope we'll get an energetic crowd. It was hard to tell last night in that huge stadium, plus I had a few beers in me.

I'm definitely expecting to see main roster debuts of Samoa Joe and Bayley. I hope I still get to see Shane O Mac around. Maybe Taker will confront VKM assuring him that "He's not his bitch"

As a few of yous pointed out I'd love to see a change in Reigns character. I think if he tries to show an aggressive side, he'll unintentionally win the fans over LOL. HOpefully Ryder can hold on to the belt until at least payback. .

 

[BringThePain834]

You know what's sad about this RAW? The fact that they are going to use it to try and 'give something back' to the fans like us. I'm more than sure that they know that a lot of people (not including myself) hated WrestleMania, and quite possibly the best reason to have hated it was because of the shitty booking. In other words, they'll do enough to get a few pops tonight and then it will be status quo until SummerSlam.

And that's not even the worst part about it. The worst part about it is that they just really don't care. I'm convinced of it and so are they.

 

[MERPER]

At this point I am done expecting anything good or "cool" with WWE.

If it happens, great. But my expectations have been lowered to a point where I expect nothing of quality.

Wrestlemania was the culmination of a full year of really bad stuff from WWE. Terrible booking, a major lack of creativity. Ridiculous storylines that make no sense.

I am going into RAW tonight and every week after expecting to be bored out of my mind and hoping they do just 1 thing worth my time.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I think we see Vince "Fire" Steph and Trips for losing to Reigns tonight and Vince will insert a new authority figure to keep Reigns life a living hell.

 

[Blade]

Finn's not getting called up. It's been said time and time again that the NXT folks want to keep him down there as the face of the brand until a worthy successor comes along. Especially with Sami gone, they need Balor more than ever.

Would they let Nakamura be the face of NXT? I'm not so sure, not with his mediocre English. Either way, no Finn tonight, and no Balor club.

However, I do think we'll get some Bayley and Samoa Joe. Corbin is going to beat a babyface champion for the title, likely Ryder, since he's the internet darling. Shane will make another power grab. Triple H will show up to sledgehammer Reigns' face into pulp. New Day come out more over than ever, justifying their loss last night.

No Rocky. But perhaps some Cena.

 

[Dave]

Finn's not getting called up. It's been said time and time again that the NXT folks want to keep him down there as the face of the brand until a worthy successor comes along. Especially with Sami gone, they need Balor more than ever.

Would they let Nakamura be the face of NXT? I'm not so sure, not with his mediocre English. Either way, no Finn tonight, and no Balor club.

However, I do think we'll get some Bayley and Samoa Joe. Corbin is going to beat a babyface champion for the title, likely Ryder, since he's the internet darling. Shane will make another power grab. Triple H will show up to sledgehammer Reigns' face into pulp. New Day come out more over than ever, justifying their loss last night.

No Rocky. But perhaps some Cena.

It's a shame but you are absolutely correct. As much as I feel that the WWE are just waiting to pull the trigger on the Balor Club, it wont be tonight. If Balor had lost to Joe in Dallas, then it might have been another story. But I don't see them allowing the NXT Champion to appear on Raw after they did it with Kevin Owens; it would just be too much of the same. And right now, Balow is by far the biggest name on the roster in NXT. He's going nowhere and there is absolutely no rush either.

 

[LoveReignsO'erMe]

The two things I need the most are:

Cesaro returning.

A title change. Good money is on the IC belt changing hands again. Would be interesting to see the Women's title change hands though.

Other things that would be nice:

A clear, and reinvigorated path for the Wyatts. I'm not sure why Bray isn't getting more of a main event push. With all the injuries, he should be one of the first contenders for post-HHH Reigns (either him or Owens).

Some cool NXT debuts (Bayley, Samoa Joe, Corbin perhaps).

10-15 minutes of a New Day segment.

 

[The Man Of 1004 Holds]

I still expect to see Shane tonight, they never really explained what he had over Vince so maybe that gets revealed tonight.

I think we may get HHH v Reigns to use up HHH rematch before the next PPV and expect someone to get involved (shane,bullet club etc)

I can see ryder losing the title to Y2J to build up to Y2J v AJ 5, this time with a belt and a gimmick match they are 2-2 now. but i'd quite like zack to have a run with it.

Owens may be mad at Steph for putting him in a ladder match to begin with but i can see that leading to reigns v owens in the near future

Corbin will have a spot, possibly the social outcasts try to recruit him and he destroys them to get the lone wolf gimmick across.

After the womens finish i cant see Sasha being done with Charlotte so they will build to a match at the next PPV and this is where Bayley will debut instead of tonight. (Edit - They could have Sasha win tonight and then have Bayley debut)

Fully expect Enzo and Cass to debut and go straight into the new day/LON feud.

And as a long shot - Taker v Cena is set for Mania 33. Maybe taker comes out hints at retirement and Cena comes down to challenge

 

[Sean Valjean]

I still expect to see Shane tonight, they never really explained what he had over Vince so maybe that gets revealed tonight.

I'm still waiting to find out why the Nexus helped Kane bury Undertaker alive. Or who/what caused the Million Dollar Mania sign to fall atop of Vince. Or why Bray Wyatt targeted Roman Reigns' daughter.

What I'm saying is that I have very little faith that Creative will payoff that particular part of the story. They're notorious for just forgetting crucial, yet fine details in their angles and hoping we forget about them too. I'd be SHOCKED if the lockbox thing (or whatever it was) gets addressed at all.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Everyone can't be called up. Corbin, Balor, Joe, Enzo and Cass, Bayley, and Nakamura? That's a lot of dudes/lady on top of a debuting Gallows and Anderson plus possible returns of Rollins, Cesaro, and John Cena? That's a few too many my friends.

NXT has a big tour of Japan coming up, so that would suggest all Japanese stars are locks to debut later. I'm not just talking those of Japanese decent, Nakamura and Balor will stay in NXT while Gallows and Anderson will likely debut there. When the Japanese tour is done and the Network subscriptions are sold, then we'll see them.

I know a lot of people are anticipating WWE's version of Bullet Club, but perhaps it's time to hold off? I could be wrong, Balor retaining at Dallas isn't a smoking gun that he's staying in NXT, as champions have debuted in WWE while still holding NXT belts (Owens, Rollins, Banks, others?).

Corbin won the Andre trophy, so undoubtedly we see him. It would be odd if he grabbed the trophy on Raw then just stayed on NXT. I'd say Bayley is almost a lock, as generally they debut one female talent. Eva Marie and Emma were just called back up though, so they may wait to debut Bayley. I hope they don't, as good Lord above that would be exciting. It's worth noting that there are a few too many faces right now in the women's division.

We see Corbin for sure, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Samoa Joe get called up either. I'd say WWE's version of Bullet Club is likely a summer thing. Bayley I'd say is more likely than the club, though they may wait given Eva and Emma, and the fact that Lynch/Banks/Charlotte seems far from over.

 

[nwocongo]

I'm still waiting to find out why the Nexus helped Kane bury Undertaker alive. Or who/what caused the Million Dollar Mania sign to fall atop of Vince. Or why Bray Wyatt targeted Roman Reigns' daughter.

What I'm saying is that I have very little faith that Creative will payoff that particular part of the story. They're notorious for just forgetting crucial, yet fine details in their angles and hoping we forget about them too. I'd be SHOCKED if the lockbox thing (or whatever it was) gets addressed at all.

I want to know why Dean Ambrose kept finding the same barb wire wrapped baseball bat under the ring despite Mick Foley gifting it to him weeks ago. Where was his shitty red wagon of destruction that he gathered on Raw last week? Did he bring it out while the ring crew was setting up and hide his weapons under the ring again? If so why? This is all so confusing!

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

First of all, I think that the Roman vs Triple H feud will continue. HHH us due to a rematch, so they will definately have some sort of stipulation match.

I expect Samoa Joe to make a debut, since he didn't become the NXT champion.

Maybe there will be a retirement speech for Sting. 1 week ago he said that he still wants a "dream match" and 1 week later he announces his retirement? Something's not right here..

I want to see some evolution for Vince and the Authority. Some shake ups. I'm sure Vince was moved by what Shane did in the HIAC, he just can't be a jackass heel about that. Also HHH lost. Something has to happen tonight that will change the landscape for the Authority..

Maybe we can get a real brawl between Brock and Ambrose and not what we got last night. Also I expect a Wyatt Family attack on Brock.

Is Cena ready to return or was last night an one-off? Let's see.

To sum up what I want to see tonight is some sort of restart button. Shake up the landscape. Throw everything you have.

 

[Navi]

Well there are a lot of rumours being floated out there. I just hope to see an interesting show. Would be great if Cesaro came back, even though I don't know what he's coming back too. It's already been advertised he's replacing Neville on the European tour so he's ready. Other than that maybe a couple of call ups. Bayley don't know about, she still has a rematch clause with Asuka but she would be a breath of fresh air.

Corbin won the battle royal last night, so might see him. Balor no, he's still the NXT champ, but maybe Samoa Joe. the one thing I do expect to see is Owens going after Ryder for winning the title, he's never happy about those things. But he should be feuding with Zayn, who's reaction last night was off the charts.

Hopefully after a Mania that was filled with hi's and low's we'll see a good RAW. Oh and hoping Shane makes an appearance just so we all know he isn't dead. LOL

 

[Azane]

I want to know why Dean Ambrose kept finding the same barb wire wrapped baseball bat under the ring despite Mick Foley gifting it to him weeks ago. Where was his shitty red wagon of destruction that he gathered on Raw last week? Did he bring it out while the ring crew was setting up and hide his weapons under the ring again? If so why? This is all so confusing!

When Brock Lesnar came out first, we were wondering why, since tradition is that the challenger comes out first, Which would be Dean, and it felt obvious, Dean was going to show up with his Wagon of Toys and get the better pop and reaction from Lesnar/Heyman if he wheeled it out.

Of course, no payoff, we just got hours worth of RAW hype turned into a chairs match. But it's a good example of WWE not thinking for 2 minutes on how to get an easy little pop, and tons of "little" things are what kept me interested in WWE in the past, they were one of the best at telling stories because of "little" things, now they just skip over the details.

Like how they never zoomed in on the Bootio's nutritional facts, something they definitely worked on for hours, but had to be found on a fan picture, not on the actual product.

It's really got me down, because tons of little details keep being missed, ignored, skipped, just so we can focus on Michael Cole reiterating the same thing he's said 11+ times in the night, rather than entertaining us NOW.


KO chasing Ryder, and some random NXT star popping up, because KO is somehow the NXT Gatekeeper still.

Shane McMahon's Stretchering being oversold ALL night, every 5 minutes "#ThankYouShane" or something repeated 100+ Times hoping it trends over "#CancelWWENetwork" and "#ManiaSucked"

Sasha fights for a rematch with Charlotte, Charlotte vs Becky a bunch of times, while Sasha finds ways to mess with Ric, all of it leading to the match where Ric is barred from ringside and Charlotte gets a clean win.

Corbin shows up to brag, and Big Show challenges him so he can get a main roster match over, something like that.

Roman Reigns comes out to muted Audio, then when Cole tries to talk, the boos coming over his headset are defeaning. HHH Comes out to muted audio, until Michael Cole tries to talk, and the cheers are defeaning over his headset. Stephanie oversells and brings up that she was pregnant and miscarried after Roman's Spear, some overdramatic crap like that (Remember, USA will not allow Woman violence on their network, 0 tolerance, so the Spear to Steph can't really be sold unless they want to compromise their relationship with USA, which they might to try to get BOOOOOOOO over).

I don't expect to see Undertaker in any shape or form, and I don't expect them to EVER explain WHY Taker was so willing to fight Shane. He's probably embarrassed that they spent 2 months building a 0 payoff match.

League Pops out and talks about how they deserve a Title Shot, after they won their title match that was changed to non title after the match ended (Cause WWE likes to change stuff on WWE.com and not tell anyone, so they can build fake suspense).


I really expect a 3 stages of Hell Match for Roman and Triple H, or an I Quit Match where Triple H Puts the Authority on the Line vs Roman's Career + Title.

 

[rbv13]

Since I am a member of the IWC I expect to see what I want to see.

- Reigns addresses the WWE Universe. He begins with his typical “face” shtick. After a few moments of unavoidable negativity reaction from the crowd he snaps. He goes ballistic on the mic and rips into the Smarks. Cena is out to shut him up. Cena coaxes Reigns into a match in the main event.

- Zack Ryder is riding high following his incredible WM Moment. He promises to be a fighting champion and since this is a night where anything can happen he issues an open challenge. Samoa Joe arrives from NXT and kicks his ass. New IC Champ Samoa Joe

- Corbin joins the RAW/SD! Roster following his ATGMBR victory. He begins his first feud, in which he goes over decisively, against Kane.

- Not entirely sure about the set up but LON find out that they are SAWFT.

- Sasha continues her feud with Charlotte, who is carrying both titles. I’m holding off on Becky as to not over book things but I will mark like a disgusting thirty-six year old pervert if she shows.

- Main Event Time. Cena vs. Reigns. The Wyatt Family makes an appearance to kick Cena’s ass. A bit of revenge from last night. H enters and says he likes this attitude in Reigns and after seeing what he is capable of the offer to join the Authority is still on the table. Reigns accepts. Out comes Rollins to ruin the party…….

 

[hatehabsforever]

I want to see the debut of Bobby Roode on RAW tonight. No need for him to go through NXT, just bring him straight to the main roster. I would like to see him affiliated in some way with Chris Jericho to assist him in his ongoing feud with AJ Styles. Which would result in AJ having to find someone to help him even out the numbers in the upcoming weeks.....

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

The only things I'll predict are that the main event for Payback will be set; Randy Orton will be the big return; and Payback will also feature Charlotte v Sasha as they haven't had a one-on-one yet but Charlotte has now beaten Becky twice on ppv

 

[BringThePain834]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/694...styles-im-gonna-bury-everybody-i-work-against

I know it probably won't happen, but this makes me want to see a Jericho/Lesnar feud.

 

[roipdh123]

As of now my PayBack card will look like this:
Pre-Show: Natalya wins a Womens Battle Royal by last eliminating Becky Lynch to become the No.1 Contender for the WWE Women's Championship.
Pre-Show: Cody Rhodes & Tyler Breeze & Primo and Epico def. The Usos & Zack Ryder & Dolph Ziggler in an Eight Man Tag Team Match
1. Baron Corbin def. Kalisto (C) to win the WWE United States Championship.
2. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn fought to a Double Count Out.
3. The Wyatt Family def. The League Of Nations in a Six Man Tag Team Match.
4. Cesaro def. The Miz (C) to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
5. Apollo Crews def. RyBack
6. The New Day (C) def. The Dudley Boys & Enzo Amore and Big Cass in a Triple Tag Team Match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.
7. Sasha Banks def. Charlotte (C) via a Disqualification to retain the WWE Women's Championship.
8. Dean Ambrose def. Chris Jericho.
9. Roman Reigns (C) def. AJ Styles to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.