UPDATE
WWE.com has added Batista vs. Daniel Bryan to tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw. This could be a way to work Bryan into the WWE Title match at WrestleMania, or it could be another situation to further the HHH vs. Bryan angle from last week.
ORIGINAL POST
Already scheduled for tonight’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw from Chicago…
* The Shield will attempt to avenge their loss when they take on the Wyatt Family in a 6-Man Rematch from the Elimination Chamber PPV. Will the Wyatt’s continue to be successful as Bray heads towards his imminent match with John Cena at WrestleMania? Will the Shield’s dissention continue? So many dynamics that could happen in this one, plus guaranteed action personified!
* Speaking of John Cena, following the assault of the Wyatt Family on John last week, we’ll have the latest update on the status of Cena’s “leg injury”. If the guy can recover from real injuries in a matter of weeks, I suspect Cena could very well be looking for revenge as early as tonight…
* The Animal Unleashed. Batista made his full heel turn on Smackdown by taunting the fans as he destroyed one of their personal heroes, Dolph Ziggler. Will Batista continue his destruction tonight on Raw, and if so, who will be his next prey???
* With Batista scheduled to challenge Randy Orton for the WWE World Title at WrestleMania, very few believe the match will remain “as is”. With the buzzing of a third man being added (and needed), speculation has began to run rampant on just who may fill that spot. More on that in a moment…
* Last week, Daniel Bryan challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania XXX, a match which Triple H seemingly blew off. WWE.com now teases that Triple H will respond to Bryan’s challenge this week. Will the “YES” man continue to push the buttons of the Authority to force Triple H’s hands???
* Paul Heyman & Brock Lesnar were announced to appear in order to respond to the situation with the Undertaker from last week’s Raw. It was reported earlier today that the Undertaker will now also be at the show. Whether he will appear or not remains to be seen, but it is believed that the Undertaker will be in Chicago.
* There seems to be dissention in the camp of the Real Americans, especially after Jack Swagger potentially cost his cohort Cesaro a win last week on Raw against IC Champion Bi E. Will the Real Americans make amends, or will the two come to blows in time for a WrestleMania showdown?
* The Elephant in the room… With Raw emanating live from Chicago, rumors have been abound for a week, and over the last 24 hours some people have claimed to confirm that CM Punk will indeed make his WWE return to Raw tonight in Chi-Town. Should Punk make his return one would expect a major angle or Pipe Bomb to go down. One would also expect Punk to either find himself added to the WWE Title match at WrestleMania, OR challenge Triple, which would then leave a spot open for Daniel Bryan to enter the WWE Championship Match. All of this is just wishful thinking at the moment because we can’t 100% confirm Punk will be there tonight. It’s more than likely he will return, but should he not appear, you can expect one hell of a WWE Universe “hijack” on the show. You may very well be seeing that regardless of what happens. While Punk’s return would make for a great “middle of the show” appearance, it’ll be interesting to see how far into the show the segment appears as one can only imagine that all segments beforehand will be filled with crowd noise sabotage…
* With WrestleMania around the corner it’s time to start cross-promoting with show biz. “Need For Speed” and “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul is headed to WWE’s flagship show as the special guest star for the evening.
* All of that, and there’s still planning to be done for guys like Sheamus, Cesaro, the Shield, the WWE Tag Team Title scene, and more, as we head to the biggest event of the year.
One thing’s for sure… The road to WrestleMania is now in full effect and ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN between now and April the 6th.
I’ll be back later tonight for my usual WWE Raw Report, I’ll likely have a pre-show and post game show report for you as well… Check back this evening around 7:30pm eastern as we begin to roll with Raw from Chicago!!!
