Monday Night Raw 1/1/2018 - Happy Birthday Lock Jaw and Happy new year!

[A.J.K]

Well it's the new year, same old shit. Also the JJ and Rollins express continues.

Asuka vs Alexa Bliss

http://stillrealtous.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/asuka-alexa-bliss-696x398.jpg

http://images.indianexpress.com/2017/12/wwe-raw-7592.jpg

Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns - IC title rematch , if roman is DQ'ed he loses the belt.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wzV09tMWF_Q/maxresdefault.jpg

Bork Laser Returns.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WKXfpSA5jKFIevr_h5PMfNM2cTc=/0x0:960x540/920x613/filters:focal(404x113:556x265):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58151313/20170605_Raw_Brock__8255165682cb7ed4d54c1b24579edba5.0.jpg

More Woken Matt laughing

https://411mania.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Matt-Hardy-Woken-Raw-120417-645x370.jpg?w=1400

[owenbrown]

LOLROMANROIDSWINS

[Volare]

Hahahahahahahaha...hohohohohohohohoho....

[Shisen Kopf]

http://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/9829849/1118full-karen-%27heavy-flo%27-griffin.jpg

[owenbrown]

DAMN iNATOR hacking TPWW accounts now :nono: poor Shisen

[Shisen Kopf]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4e8O-CoE2V8/maxresdefault.jpg

[Volare]

Replace the FBI with Fashon Police.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tune in for what will be the best RAW of 2018 so far. Guaranteed. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAWTonight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RAWTonight</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/947881832959365121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[ClockShot]

Good evening boys and girls.

Happy new year to ya.

[ClockShot]

Hey, Alexa Bliss. She hasn't been forgotten about after all.

[KIRA]

Has RP arranged the acquisition of Alexa Bliss's ashes? She doesnt have much time left

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at crowd booing Cena being in the Rumble.

Cena still being a free agent makes both GMs look really dumb.

[KIRA]

Those sound like groans coming from the crowd

[ClockShot]

30 women?

Gonna have to dip into some NXT/free agent pools for that work.

[Droford]

30 women huh..

Cue up the surprises

[ClockShot]

Sounds like Cesaro's speech is getting better after getting those teeth knocked out.

[Emperor Smeat]

Still a bit hilarious Jordan's first gold as a singles competitor is the RAW tag titles.

[ClockShot]

FUCK 'EM UP, CESARO!

[KIRA]

Jason Jordan the Anakin Skywalker of WWE

[KIRA]

:lol:Still a bit hilarious Jordan's first gold as a singles competitor is the RAW tag titles.

[ClockShot]

This Rollins/Jordan tag team is going to hurt my head and eyes for quite a while until they lose the belts.

[Emperor Smeat]

Either WWE was expecting drastically different reactions or legit wanted Jordan to look like a big dumbass.

Nothing about that segment helped him at all.

[Triple A]

Trying to watch Raw again for the first time in a few weeks... why is there a long ass meaningless Sheamus or Cesaro match opening the show every freaking week 😭😭😭😭😭

[Droford]

I already miss no commercials first hour from last week. Trump needs to buy raw again

[ClockShot]

Quit dicking around Cesaro and end this.

[ClockShot]

You know the crowd's bored when they're chanting "Rusev Day".

[ClockShot]

:rant::fu:

[Droford]

Lol boos

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is Booker getting on everyone's nerves?</p>&mdash; Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) <a href="https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/948002332259762176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[KIRA]

UGH

[KIRA]

Roman is a cheating dick

[KIRA]

I have a feeling it will always be 2017 for Bray Wyatt

[ClockShot]

If anyone is looking for alternative entertainment, the Georgia/Oklahoma game is crazy right now.

[KIRA]

Bray can redeem himself (at least in my eyes) if he gets a lantern like Marta from Outlast 2

[Emperor Smeat]

If anyone is looking for alternative entertainment, the Georgia/Oklahoma game is crazy right now.

Yeah, OU suddenly remembering they don't have to always choke in big games is likely hurting RAW right now for numbers.

[ClockShot]

What happened to hot executive Dana Brooke?

She devolved into generic assistant Dana Brooke.

[Emperor Smeat]

Looks like Bray caught the smiling disease from Crews. Wouldn't stop smiling once he saw Crews.

[KIRA]

Why is dana dressed like a coffee fetching secretary

[Droford]

Dana Brooke is now essentially Jillian Hall without the disgusting tumor growing on her face

[KIRA]

Looks like Bray caught the smiling disease from Crews. Wouldn't stop smiling once he saw Crews.

Hes always thinking of Jojo

[Theo Dious]

I'm not usually this guy but GOD DAMN I would love to have Dana Brooke's lips on my cock.

[Droford]

Just noticed the price is right theme on the subway commercial

[ClockShot]

Yay Bray.

Not really, but the right guy won.

[ClockShot]

Dogs/Sooners tied up with 55 seconds to go in the 4th.

[Emperor Smeat]

If WWE would just cut back on the amount of awkward laughing and get rid of the transitions, "Woken" Matt would be a lot better overall.

[KIRA]

Somebody is going having a blast with their Sony editing suite

[KIRA]

Alexa is JELLY

[ClockShot]

Poor Alexa about to get broken in two.

[slik]

WWE ruining Matty Hardy....Asuka time

[KIRA]

Alexa is about to join the invisible choir

[Dark One]

I'll see you all after the riots subside.

[Droford]

Gee..I wonder who wins

[KIRA]

I'll see you all after the riots subside.

try to hit a cop with a brick for me

[Theo Dious]

Asuka is going to fizzle out faster than Tatanka when her cheap ass streak ends.

[Emperor Smeat]

Were they supposed to go to commercial right now?

Really awkward break by Cole making it seem so.

[KIRA]

Y'know I'm happy Asuka is facing a champ whos scared to death of her

[Theo Dious]

Y'know I'm happy Asuka is facing a champ whos scared to death of her

Yeah it's almost like someone remembered how to book a babyface against a heel champion.

[KIRA]

Asuka is going to fizzle out faster than Tatanka when her cheap ass streak ends.

Youre just upset because Asukas gonna feed bliss her own arms

[Theo Dious]

Also with the women's Rumble being 30 participants, if Molly Holly isn't in it I'm going to set fire to something dear to me.

[Theo Dious]

Is Billy Corgan in the front row?

[ClockShot]

Feels like this match should have ended by now.

[ClockShot]

There we go.

[Emperor Smeat]

:y: Asuka won.

Was fully expecting shenanigans to occur during the match.

[Dark One]

Color me surprised they didn't end Asuka's streak on a random Raw in a match with no build-up via straight right hand.

[KIRA]

So you guys good with Asuka being shown to struggle at times?

[ClockShot]

Georgia wins in double overtime.

[ClockShot]

Whoa. Gettin' personal here.

[KIRA]

Roman retaining his title via DQ then attacking Joe with steps

yet hes not a heel

[ClockShot]

BRAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!

[Emperor Smeat]

https://i.imgur.com/cUvVITQ.gif

[Theo Dious]

BRAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN

[Droford]

Yay Braun staves of being 3 weeked

[KIRA]

Damn Joe going in

[KIRA]

Stroman purged sickness from his body with fire

[Droford]

Stroman purged sickness from his body with fire

He gave it to Enzo

[ClockShot]

Poor Heath.

[ClockShot]

Or Rhyno.

[Droford]

I think somebody fucked up

[Droford]

Lol rhyno more over than Braun

[Droford]

Old school Braun match

[ClockShot]

BRAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!

[KIRA]

Oh shit

[Emperor Smeat]

So is Braun going to go through all the tag teams in RAW to build up for the Triple Threat Beast match?

Last week was Bo & Curtis and this week was Slater & Rhyno.

[ClockShot]

You paying attention, Vince?

[Dark One]

So is Braun going to go through all the tag teams in RAW to build up for the Triple Threat Beast match?

Last week was Bo & Curtis and this week was Slater & Rhyno.

Pre-emptive R.I.P. Good Brothers.

[Droford]

So is Braun going to go through all the tag teams in RAW to build up for the Triple Threat Beast match?

Last week was Bo & Curtis and this week was Slater & Rhyno.

Look out good brothers

[Dark One]

Braun Strowman is like the Big Show and Stone Cold Steve Austin had a very meaty baby, and that's just the best.

[Emperor Smeat]

Slater's kids probably wondering if they can have Braun be their new dad now.

[owenbrown]

Braun should be the next Universal champion.... fuck Roman Reigns

[Dark One]

They should go full Attitude Era and just have Raw be three hours of Braun interrupting matches and powerslamming everyone.

[KIRA]

If the Good Brothers are next when they get outta traction they can come back as Chad 2 Badd and (t)Sex Ferguson

[A.J.K]

Wonder if there's going to be another 1st Raw of the year surprise return tonight.

[Dark One]

If the Good Brothers are next when they get outta traction they can come back as Chad 2 Badd and (t)Sex Ferguson

Lake of Reincarnation should bring them permanently to 2018.

[Dark One]

Can't wait for Jason Jordan to be repackaged with a Carlton dancing gimmick.

[KIRA]

This Jason Jordon IS THE BEST I'm just gonna say it

hes such a whiny entitled asshole

[A.J.K]

Can't wait for Jason Jordan to be repackaged with a Carlton dancing gimmick.

For some reason i'm picturing him and Kurt with a Sanford and Son gimmick.

[Droford]

https://i.imgur.com/4nmBg8T.pngWonder if there's going to be another 1st Raw of the year surprise return tonight.

[Dark One]

For some reason i'm picturing him and Kurt with a Sanford and Son gimmick.

Fuck it, WWE should buy out Impact and run that for two hours a week on POP.

[A.J.K]

Fuck it, WWE should buy out Impact and run that for two hours a week on POP.

Couldn't do any worse. :lol:

[Droford]

Omg Alpha Monsters

[KIRA]

Vince aint never gonna let that shit go

his current target audience weren't even sperm when that happened

[Emperor Smeat]

WWE showing the DX invading WCW moment is pretty hilarious considering how butt hurt they got when Bullet Club pulled a similar stunt last year.

[Droford]

Lol

[Theo Dious]

WOW

[A.J.K]

:eek:

[Dark One]

OH SHIT

IT'S HAPPENING.

[Droford]

Reigns should just get counted out

[Dark One]

What a time to be alive.

[KIRA]

Now if we could go swoop up AJ....and put !them all on SDL

[Theo Dious]

Reigns should just get counted out

Double count-out tonight, cage match TBA.

[Droford]

Lets go Joe

Which one..

[slik]

why did Cole brag they are live tonight

[Emperor Smeat]

Ouch at that landing to the outside by Joe.

[Droford]

Fatmanpunch

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe is the best WWE tv match of 2018 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RAW</a></p>&mdash; DavKind (@DavKind76) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavKind76/status/948028458235580417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Droford]

How does Joe ram Roman into the steps not dq but Roman using them would be

[Droford]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe is the best WWE tv match of 2018 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RAW</a></p>&mdash; DavKind (@DavKind76) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavKind76/status/948028458235580417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Early match of the year candidate

[owenbrown]

dammit I want Samoa Joe to win

[Emperor Smeat]

IC match was really good.

[owenbrown]

fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyoooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[owenbrown]

#buried

[Emperor Smeat]

Would have been funny if Reigns got DQed for shoving the ref out of harms way.

Don't see Reigns' IC reign ending in any other way than something really anti-climatic especially if it happens after his eventual Universal title win.

[Anthony Hopkins]

Roman is the best wrestler in WWE

[KIRA]

Roman is the best wrestler in WWE

You go sit in the corner and think about what you said

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Gulak correcting Enzo's worded promo.

Best was the time he spelt "SAWFT" correctly while doing an Enzo promo.

[owenbrown]

Anthony Hopkins needs to be banned for a Wellness Violation

[Droford]

Did gold dust lose weight

[Emperor Smeat]

Ummm don't think Goldust weighs under 205 lbs.

[Droford]

Mixed weight tag match

[Dark One]

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/242/631/382.gif

[Emperor Smeat]

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/242/631/382.gif

Wrestling version:

https://i.imgur.com/Iee1pjw.gif

[Droford]

Women are evolving at the Royal Rumble

[owenbrown]

cowbell? :lol:

[Emperor Smeat]

Another week, another ungrateful WWE crowd who can't appreciate great music by Drifter and his pals.

[Ruien]

Women going over the top rope too. Really cool. Getting excit3d for the women's rumble now. 30 wrestlers too. Heck ya.

[slik]

I would mark if Sable returned and eliminated Bayley tbh

[slik]

Finn technically main-eventing RAW again to start off 2018 right

[Dark One]

What a world we live in.

[Droford]

Angry Miz girl lol

[Emperor Smeat]

USA Network's new show after RAW called "Football Fanatic" seems like its going to be really terrible based on the constant commercials shown tonight.

[slik]

Year of the Beast is going to end up Year of the Dog at WrestleMania

[Emperor Smeat]

Camera work on this brawl is utterly terrible.

[Droford]

Year of the Beast is going to end up Year of the Dog at WrestleMania

Year of the (COCK) Blocker

[Droford]

Lesar sitting up and laughing harkens back to doing that VS taker without Taker's goofy look

[owenbrown]

Year of the Beast is going to end up Year of the Dog at WrestleMania

hush

[slik]

RAW was decent this week (imo)

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Retirement idea #353<br>Duplex City: a block of poorly maintained housing for marks. USA network is the only TV channel that works. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RAW</a></p>&mdash; ShinigamE (@WWEBigE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEBigE/status/948043940816740352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[Tom Guycott]

Sounds like Cesaro's speech is getting better after getting those teeth knocked out.

To be fair, quite a bit of that was the retainer/mouthguard he needed to wear afterwards. I'm guessing he doesn't "have" to wear it anymore, likely hasn't for awhile, and the joke has run its course. So he is "allowed" to promo without it in his mouth.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Anyone else actually kinda bummed about the Women's Royal Rumble? Like, I used to spend all PPV looking forward to the Rumble, and now they're probably going to serve one up right at the start. And it's been a while since they've booked a good Rumble, so now they're going to have to do two.

[Droford]

Ive noticed definitely the last 2 weeks they've given most of the wrestling matches time to breathe a bit, kinda interesting to see if thats a trend or just because of the holidays

[Emperor Smeat]

Anyone else actually kinda bummed about the Women's Royal Rumble? Like, I used to spend all PPV looking forward to the Rumble, and now they're probably going to serve one up right at the start. And it's been a while since they've booked a good Rumble, so now they're going to have to do two.

Really depends on how the card shapes up but can see the Women's Rumble be in the middle of the card. Too historic of a moment to be thrown as just a curtain jerker and last thing WWE needs is to burn out or sour the crowd that early into the show.

Pre-show matches
1-2 matches to open the show
Women's Rumble
1-2 matches as a breather
Men's Rumble to end the show

Then again WWE also rarely does stuff that makes sense so I could see it actually start the show and have an abysmal ending to kill the crowd till the Men's Rumble.

Right now, neither of the bookies favorites or rumored possible winners are that appealing as choices for both Rumble matches.

[#1-norm-fan]

Women going over the top rope too. Really cool. Getting excit3d for the women's rumble now. 30 wrestlers too. Heck ya.

What!? Yes! No half-assing it if you want a revolution, dammit!

A woman is eliminated when she is thrown over the top rope and BOTH FEET TOUCH THE FLOOR or this is all a sham.

[#1-norm-fan]

Anyone else actually kinda bummed about the Women's Royal Rumble? Like, I used to spend all PPV looking forward to the Rumble, and now they're probably going to serve one up right at the start. And it's been a while since they've booked a good Rumble, so now they're going to have to do two.

Meh. Even a bad Rumble is still usually the highlight of the card so I'm fine with it.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Really depends on how the card shapes up but can see the Women's Rumble be in the middle of the card. Too historic of a moment to be thrown as just a curtain jerker and last thing WWE needs is to burn out or sour the crowd that early into the show.

Pre-show matches
1-2 matches to open the show
Women's Rumble
1-2 matches as a breather
Men's Rumble to end the show

Then again WWE also rarely does stuff that makes sense so I could see it actually start the show and have an abysmal ending to kill the crowd till the Men's Rumble.

Right now, neither of the bookies favorites or rumored possible winners are that appealing as choices for both Rumble matches.

I guess they could do it that way. I'd just prefer it if they did it at another point in time over the course of the year, or give them their own concept. Whatever. I'm curious to see how they agent it out, and there will obviously be some outside talent being used, which could be a lot of "fun." I doubt it will be great, but you only get to do the first one one time, so we'll see how it pans out. I actually think the women would get a lot more by simply them building up a Women's Title match to get spotlight while the Rumble is the Rumble.

The Raw choice for the Rumble winner is Roman Reigns, which is a definite possibility, because Vince would not mind trolling the crowd. But they can get a huge pop for whoever eliminates him him last. I imagine they'll want it to be a babyface then. I can see them switching the WWE Title to Owens and turning Shane heel, with either Nakamura or Orton winning the Rumble to challenge him. And I think the pop is going to work better for Shinny Naks, and he's a fresh choice. I think Nakamura is 3 on the bookies picks?

[#1-norm-fan]

Honestly, I think Nakamura has a better shot at winning the rumble than Reigns simply because WWE tries to go for "shock value" when they can and Reigns losing doesn't stop him from going for the title at WrestleMania anyway.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm leaning towards Nak, I just can't see AJ vs. Nakamura at Mania for the title, haha. Reasons why:

* Vince does not want "New Japan!" chants during his WWE Title match at his big show.

* AJ vs. Nakamura is face versus face, and Styles has delivered more -- it's easy to imagine the crowd being "frustrated" by a Nakamura title win under those conditions, even when they shake and blah, blah, blah.

* I personally love AJ on the mic, but he's not exactly the sort of stickman you get to carry a feud.

My gut is telling me that AJ and Nakamura are going to be like ships passing in the night. I was thinking that they might go with Owens winning the belt at the Rumble to set up something with Nakamura, but I'm also thinking Orton could get it at Fastlane or something. They've kind of "linked" Orton and Nakamura a lot on television. I could see Orton winning the belt and then "officially" welcoming Nakamura to the main event scene in WWE by turning on him.

As for what Styles does -- if they go with Owens, I can see Shane turning heel to help him out, which sets up Styles vs. Shane II: This Time It's More Personal. But I can also see Owens & Zayn vs. Styles & Shane if they go with Orton.

[#1-norm-fan]

Since 2006, when there are two world title matches at WrestleMania, the winner of the Royal Rumble has opened the show as much as he has closed it out. Much like winning titles in the 2 title era, winning the rumble isn't treated as a major accomplishment as much as it used to be.

[#1-norm-fan]

I can't see Nakamura winning it either. Just more than Reigns, really.

I can see Owens winning it though.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Since 2006, when there are two world title matches at WrestleMania, the winner of the Royal Rumble has opened the show as much as he has closed it out. Much like winning titles in the 2 title era, winning the rumble isn't treated as a major accomplishment as much as it used to be.

No, you're 100% correct. That's why it's hard to pick a winner from SmackDown, because the title match almost doesn't matter. It could be AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin, truthfully. I think the biggest thing about a SmackDown guy winning it would be that they're likely going to eliminate Reigns last in Philly, which is going to get them a MOLTEN pop. More than winning the actual Rumble itself, the moment will stand out for people. Kind of like when Dolph Ziggler cashed in Money in the Bank.

[#1-norm-fan]

They love the shock value of putting it on the guy going for the secondary "world" title and Owens vs Styles seems like a possible WrestleMania match. Maybe with Owens being like "You can't fire me because I won a contract for a world title match at WrestleMania" like Orton did that one year.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I can't see Nakamura winning it either. Just more than Reigns, really.

I can see Owens winning it though.

Hmm, Owens is a possibility. It seems insane to give it to a heel, but with two Rumbles, I can see them putting the men's one on first to make a big deal out of the women's one, so it being sort of an afterthought and just a long Battle Royal that Owens wins.

[#1-norm-fan]

Why does it seem insane to give it to a heel?

[Mr. Nerfect]

I mean, what I can see about Reigns is Vince just loving the idea of the 2018 Royal Rumble pissing off the Philly crowd in the same way as the 2015 one. Come on, that's totally Vince. Can't you just imagine them getting Rey to come in as #30 again, and for Rusev to be the last guy in there again, especially given how popular he's gotten? Vince will be laughing maniacally in the back -- "Goddammit they hate him!"

[Mr. Nerfect]

Why does it seem insane to give it to a heel?

Because it's missing the golden opportunity of everybody expecting Reigns and for a babyface to oust him last.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Seriously, if you wanted Nakamura to be the sort of babyface they seem to want him to be, this is really your best window, because if he kicks Reigns off the apron, the crowd is going to melt and he can pose in the ring and look fucking cool for once.

[Mr. Nerfect]

But I'm also predicting Ronda Rousey to win the Women's Rumble, and for her to challenge Charlotte. So that would be two SmackDown winners. It might be more logical to kind of go back to Roman Reigns winning the men's one.

[#1-norm-fan]

I mean, what I can see about Reigns is Vince just loving the idea of the 2018 Royal Rumble pissing off the Philly crowd in the same way as the 2015 one. Come on, that's totally Vince. Can't you just imagine them getting Rey to come in as #30 again, and for Rusev to be the last guy in there again, especially given how popular he's gotten? Vince will be laughing maniacally in the back -- "Goddammit they hate him!"

Vince is too back and forth with that though. He appeases the marks half the time and then pisses them off the other half. When he's got an opportunity to not piss them off, he usually goes with what they want though. Like... when Reigns won, there was only one world title and he was dead set on Reigns going to WrestleMania. So it's not that he was doing it to piss off the crowd. It was the only realistic way to get to what he wanted.

With two world titles, he can give them the same false hope he loves to give when there's two world titles. "OH MY GOD! WRESTLEMANIA IS SAVED! REIGNS (or Cena before him) LOST THE RUMBLE AND ISN'T GOING TO MAIN EVENT WRESTLEMANIA!"

Then they go on to main event WrestleMania anyway because there's another world title and so his plans aren't fucked with at all. If there were two world title during the whole Daniel Bryan debacle, Bryan probably would have won the rumble that year too because Vince would have been like "Why the fuck not? Let them have their other title and put Batistia in the WrestleMania main event anyway. I don't give a fuck."

[Mr. Nerfect]

Vince is too back and forth with that though. He appeases the marks half the time and then pisses them off the other half. When he's got an opportunity to not piss them off, he usually goes with what they want though. Like... when Reigns won, there was only one world title and he was dead set on Reigns going to WrestleMania. So it's not that he was doing it to piss off the crowd. It was the only realistic way to get to what he wanted.

With two world titles, he can give them the same false hope he loves to give when there's two world titles. "OH MY GOD! WRESTLEMANIA IS SAVED! REIGNS (or Cena before him) LOST THE RUMBLE AND ISN'T GOING TO MAIN EVENT WRESTLEMANIA!"

Then they go on to main event WrestleMania anyway because there's another world title and so his plans aren't fucked with at all. If there were two world title during the whole Daniel Bryan debacle, Bryan probably would have won the rumble that year too because Vince would have been like "Why the fuck not? Let them have their other title and put Batistia in the WrestleMania main event anyway. I don't give a fuck."

You are absolutely correct with that. I kind of forgot about the one title thing. But also, Vince sometimes goes "gun-ho" with his desires, and as you said, it's spotty. It's just as likely he says "NO! Reigns has come this far, we're going aaaaaallll innnn," as it is "Fuck it, let's swerve these motherfuckers and have one of their heroes beat him."

It depends on what mood he's in on the night as much as anything. He might decide he wants Taker/Cena to be for the WWE Title, so he might just send Taker out there to toss a few bitches over to close the match. It's not beyond the realm of plausibility with Vince.

[#1-norm-fan]

Because it's missing the golden opportunity of everybody expecting Reigns and for a babyface to oust him last.

Meh. They've had a heel eliminate him and win it the past couple years. And Owens will get a pop anyway if he does it and the kids will hate him for it. I don't think it's that crazy.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm leaning towards him popping the crowd, because the heat you're going to get from trolling Philly "isn't worth it." It's better to create hope and a positive stir about your product these few months out. I can see him setting up everything to look like a Reigns win, only for him to just come up short.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Meh. They've had a heel eliminate him and win it the past couple years. And Owens will get a pop anyway if he does it and the kids will hate him for it. I don't think it's that crazy.

I don't mean "crazy" as in absolutely bat-shit out-of-your-mind weird. I just mean that's it actually a really good opportunity to get a guy properly "over." At least to the point where they can build on it if they don't fuck them up the next week (which they might). And I don't much care for Owens, so I'm finding it hard to get enthused. As I said though, I can see him winning the WWE Title.

[#1-norm-fan]

I also think it depends on the story. If the storyline requires Reigns winning the rumble, they'll do it of course. But Owens winning and using his guaranteed title shot as a reason Shane can't fire him seems like something they would do. And then Reigns would just win a #1 contenders match or something.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yeah, we're in agreement there. That's actually a pretty good story for Styles/Owens. Especially if Owens beats the piss out of Shane and makes Styles watch or something.

[Tom Guycott]

So you guys good with Asuka being shown to struggle at times?

The difference between here and with Emma was a) Alexa is the champ, whilst Emma was *just* established to be the bottom of the food chain on the main roster... and that was before the release, and b) they did aaaaaaalllllll that hype and build for Asuka's dangerousness and mystique, and almost killed it with two "competitive" matches against the aforementioned bottom of the food chain after she spent the previous number of months either killing bitches outright in singles, winning in handicap matches, or winning multiple-way matches to retain her streak and strap. It would be like if they brought Goldberg in during the middle of his streak in WCW, acknoledged said streak in WWF, even put over the damn streak in an unprecedented move... and then had him him in his debut match against Road Dogg where he mostly took bumps for about 20 minutes and THEN gets a jackhammer and spear.

Asuka struggling *at times* is okay, just so long as they pick the right times. Bliss is the champ, and while she plays a great chickenshit champ and liking to hide behind Nia and such, it is kinda cool when a heel evolves beyond that, especially when it makes her look legit holding the belt instead of it just being her turn to carry it for awhile. She doesn't like to do the work herself, but she *can* at least hold her own if she has to.

Otherwise, she would just be like Jinder.

I dig it all around. :y:

[Tom Guycott]

If the Good Brothers are next when they get outta traction they can come back as Chad 2 Badd and (t)Sex Ferguson

Lake of Reincarnation should bring them permanently to 2018.

Can't wait for Jason Jordan to be repackaged with a Carlton dancing gimmick.

Nope. Porkchop Jones only.

[Danny Electric]

Never really get a chance to watch Raw, due to the time difference over here and finding it hard to put aside time to watch it.
Just caught up on the show report though and read that Balor teamed up with Gallows and Anderson, was I right in reading that they cut to commercial and didn't show their entrance to the ring.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Man, the Rumble hasn't been interesting in years, and now there's two 30 person ones. And a horrible Universal title match.

Seems like the most interesting thing to watch will be to see if the Philly crowd just shits on it.

[Fignuts]

It's in Philly again?

Why does Philly keep getting Rumbles? Fuck those guys.

Also, really want Nakamura to win, because Styles vs Nakamura is the match.

[Stickman]

The womens Royla rumble is going to be so awkward. The girls are too short to be easily thrown over the top rope so we are going to see a number of women just thrwoing themselves over, and we are going to see a bunch of botched clotheslines that dont knock somebody out so they will try two or three times. Cant believe its he main event.

[Big Vic]

Wait they already did Asuka vs Alexa?

[Destor]

Why does it seem insane to give it to a heel?
Heels dont chase

[#1-norm-fan]

If a face is champion going into WrestleMania, they do.

They can't and don't have a face win the rumble every single year.

[Destor]

I mean thaypretty much have with very few exceptions.


More since the two title deal which allows them to not have the rumble winner main.

[#1-norm-fan]

Yeah. And there's two titles now. And like I said earlier, the rumble winner has actually opened the show as many times as they've closed the show when there's been two titles. So it's not insane to think a heel would win since it's likely just gonna lead to a match in the middle of the card anyway. Both title matches don't have to be the face chasing. They can tell different stories.

[XL]

Never really get a chance to watch Raw, due to the time difference over here and finding it hard to put aside time to watch it.
Just caught up on the show report though and read that Balor teamed up with Gallows and Anderson, was I right in reading that they cut to commercial and didn't show their entrance to the ring.

Not on the version I watched. Gallows and Anderson entered first to their music, then Finn to his.

[Danny Electric]

Not on the version I watched. Gallows and Anderson entered first to their music, then Finn to his.

Just a stupid report I read then.

Kinda annoyed though , it just goes to show how idiotic the WWE booking can be. The Balor Club has been teased on social media and certain backstage vignettes for a while now.
They have had ample opportunities in the past few weeks to build up to this reunion, this is something they could make money off. Vince was moaning about how he didn't think Balor is over enough which is a crock of shit, he's just not big enough for his fetish.
Imagine instead that this reunion was to happen at The Rumble , either in the Rumble match itself (which I guess the Philly crowd would go mad for) or in the main event against Lesnar. Carry on the momentum into Wrestlemania in a 3 v 3 tag match against Reigns, Jordon and Rollins with the tag and Intercontinental belts on the line.

[Stickman]

I know very little about the Balor Club but they could have hyped it much much more than they did. Just seemed like a generic, "here are my partners" kind of segment.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don't think Vince wants the Japanese stuff getting super-over on his program, because it lends credence to what they're doing. If The Balor Club sticks, it'll be a quick play for some t-shirts and then a job to The New Day or a re-booted Wyatt Family at WrestleMania.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yeah. And there's two titles now. And like I said earlier, the rumble winner has actually opened the show as many times as they've closed the show when there's been two titles. So it's not insane to think a heel would win since it's likely just gonna lead to a match in the middle of the card anyway. Both title matches don't have to be the face chasing. They can tell different stories.

It's not insane to think that a heel would win, but it's more that they should win that is garnering criticism. I mean, should the Rumble Winner head into an opening match? You're arguing what the WWE does, but I think Destor and I are coming at it from a logical perspective. Why would you waste such a big star-making moment on a heel that you're hopefully going to beat at WrestleMania? It kind of washes away the whole event.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It's like when they give MITB to guys who have won the belt numerous times in the past. What's the point of it?

[Mr. Nerfect]

So you guys good with Asuka being shown to struggle at times?

Don't care anymore. It was never going to be the same on a shallow Raw or SmackDown as it was in NXT. She was always going to be "just another girl." And then Emma killed her out the gate. You watch her lose the Royal Rumble and then still be billed as "undefeated."

[XL]

Just a stupid report I read then.

Kinda annoyed though , it just goes to show how idiotic the WWE booking can be. The Balor Club has been teased on social media and certain backstage vignettes for a while now.
They have had ample opportunities in the past few weeks to build up to this reunion, this is something they could make money off. Vince was moaning about how he didn't think Balor is over enough which is a crock of shit, he's just not big enough for his fetish.
Imagine instead that this reunion was to happen at The Rumble , either in the Rumble match itself (which I guess the Philly crowd would go mad for) or in the main event against Lesnar. Carry on the momentum into Wrestlemania in a 3 v 3 tag match against Reigns, Jordon and Rollins with the tag and Intercontinental belts on the line.
This does not come as a surprise. So, so many examples of this.

One that comes immediately to mind; Wyatt’s return following his absence after the “mumps” outbreak.

[Danny Electric]

This does not come as a surprise. So, so many examples of this.

One that comes immediately to mind; Wyatt’s return following his absence after the “mumps” outbreak.

I'm surprised they didn't rename his finishing move , to further ignore the Sister Abigail angle.

Also love how he's this 'eater of worlds' but remember even men with powers can get the mumps. Surely it was common sense to give another meaning , storyline based, for his absence.

[#1-norm-fan]

It's not insane to think that a heel would win, but it's more that they should win that is garnering criticism. I mean, should the Rumble Winner head into an opening match? You're arguing what the WWE does, but I think Destor and I are coming at it from a logical perspective. Why would you waste such a big star-making moment on a heel that you're hopefully going to beat at WrestleMania? It kind of washes away the whole event.

No, I know that's what YOU were arguing. I think Destor was just doing his devil's advocate/arguing for fun thing though. Especially after the "faces pretty much do always win with few exceptions" thing. Since '92, a heel has won the rumble about 40% of the time. Also, he thinks Reigns is a heel so Reigns winning would be insane too by his logic.

As far as what you mean, yeah. I pretty much agree. The two titles thing fucks everything up. Ideally there would be one and if that were the case, it would be a different conversation. Although sometimes a heel chasing works. I don't like the idea of constantly just taking the title off of your face champion at the beginning of every year just to make sure there's a heel champion going into WrestleMania. It gets repetitive and if you keep taking the title off the face so that he can constantly chase then the chase starts meaning less and less. You've gotta tell a different story sometimes. Hell, the biggest match in WrestleMania (and possibly wrestling) history featured a heel chasing.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You're not wrong that heels do win and it can be compelling. I think it makes more sense when you've built up a proper face champion too. Ideally, you'd have booked things out so you've got a strong heel that can win and it's not going to serendipitous.

I don't think this is the year for it. I just think with it being Philly and Reigns being the guy from Raw, there's just too much tension in him repeating history and then a babyface knocking him off that perch and basking in Philly's glory. Owens will get cheered, but it'll be...anti-climatic. This year.

[Mr. Nerfect]

We've also had so many two-time winners lately too. Cena in 2013, Batista in 2014, Triple H in 2016, Orton in 2017. Reigns was the last guy to win it for the first time. There's something rewarding about a guy winning it for the first time that I think should go to a babyface this year.

[Evil Vito]

My gut is that Cena wins with he and Reigns being the final two, "getting his win back" over Reigns without having to pin him.

I'd be fascinated by the crowd reaction to that to see if Philly turns on the whole thing or if they side with Cena now that he's clearly on part-timer status and isn't the current golden boy in Reigns. I mean they're gonna sing "John Cena suuuuuucks" when he enters but that might be along the lines of Angle's "You Suck" chant at this point. I think even the smarky crowds are willing to give Cena his due now that he's on the victory lap stage of his career.

[#1-norm-fan]

If Jinder was still champ, I'd definitely say Cena wins with him going on to break the record by beating Jinder at WrestleMania. Now, I don't know.

[#1-norm-fan]

This might sound crazy... but what about Ziggler?

[#1-norm-fan]

If they really wanna go for shock value and don't wanna mess with their Raw title plans, that actually would make a lot of sense. Seems like Styles has feuded with every other heel on the roster and it also seems like they're building Ziggler to... something. Ziggler vs Styles for the title on Smackdown seems like a program I could actually kinda see happening.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I was thinking about that just last night. Not particularly because I want it to or necessarily think that they would, but the WWE Title match doesn't matter, and it's within their wheelhouse to just randomly microwave a guy they want to be more important so they can insert them into random positions next time they need someone in there.

AJ vs. Dolph would also be a great match. Dolph has never had a one-on-one match at WrestleMania, so I can kind of see a Vince in at least one of the infinite number of universes saying "Fuck it! Let's see what he can do!"

[Mr. Nerfect]

It seems odd to suggest that the WWE has plans, but they put the US Title on him just to take it off him for some reason. I don't think it "means" anything, but I wouldn't be shocked if they did randomly go with 2018 Royal Rumble Winner: Dolph Ziggler. Especially if they want to start depending on him more to pump up house shows because Orton is going to be dialing back and Cena won't always be around and they want Styles to eventually move to Raw or whatever. Dolph's like their next main eventy sort of guy, but they've just never watered that garden.

[XL]

I figured the thing with Ziggler was just to give him a good out/talking point after nobody being interested in what he does.

[XL]

Also, Styles to Raw, Balor and/or Joe to SDL.

[Emperor Smeat]

Good/Bad news regarding this week's viewership.

The good being it went up compared to last week despite the stiff competition from NCAA bowl games. The bad being WWE already starting 2018's Road to Mania lower than last year which set a new post-1997 record for lows. Also bad with RAW getting decimated in the rankings for the week.

Monday’s Raw drew an average of 2,865,000 viewers, up from last week’s 2,703,000 viewers ...

This time last year, the January 2, 2017 Raw drew 3,047,000 viewers.

Raw was down to #10, 14 and 15 on cable in the 18-49 demographic for the night, with lots of college football stuff and VH1’s “Love and Hip Hop” ahead of it.

Hourly breakdown:

8PM: 2,969,000
9PM: 2,912,000
10PM: 2,714,000

[Mr. Nerfect]

Are we talking brand switches? They usually use SmackDown as a place for experiments to then get pushed on Raw. Jinder Mahal and Baron Corbin to Raw make the most sense, especially because Roman Reigns is going to need heels after WrestleMania. They also sometimes promote hot acts, so The Usos heading over would not surprise me in the least. Naomi would then likely head over with Jimmy.

Raw --> SmackDown is more about giving guys who aren't getting head room star pushes, or getting underwhelming acts back onto the show where they can experiment with them. It's a lot harder to call. A lot of people see Samoa Joe going over. I actually think Finn Balor is likely at this point, given how cold he is. He might take Gallows & Anderson over with him. You'd also probably trade a woman, so it wouldn't surprise me if either Sasha Banks or Bayley is sent over for a fresh coat of paint. Banks, just seems that little more likely, since they probably don't want all their black girls on one show (you know that is how they think).

I've thought for the longest time that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose might head to SmackDown and get singles pushes alongside each other, but I'm starting to question that now. I think AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Balor might have SmackDown on lock. An AJ Styles/Seth Rollins trade would not surprise me in the least, however. Or, fuck it, just dump Ambrose and Rollins on SmackDown and send AJ and, fuck it, Mojo Rawley over to Raw.

But anyway, my most certain moves are the SmackDown to Raw ones:

* Jinder
* Corbin
* Rawley
* Usos
* Naomi

[Evil Vito]

I was thinking Rollins and Ambrose to SmackDown, but now with Ambrose hurt for a prolonged amount of time I think they'll just stay on Raw and they can milk another brief Shield reunion when Dean comes back before they eventually do a Rollins/Ambrose feud.

For some reason, I'm cautiously optimistic that they keep AJ on SmackDown. I'm not sure why, but I am.

I think Randy Orton might be sent to Raw because he can always be put over as a huge acquisition even though he'll probably continue to take weeks off at a time now and then.

For the blue brand, I have a weird feeling Braun Strowman might be their big trade. Mostly because I think they will want to make him a World Champion sooner rather than later and Reigns will presumably be keeping the Raw strap for a long time after Mania.

[Ruien]

Braun will not be the same on SD. He's so over because he is able to destroy the top talent like Reigns, Rollins and such. Braun will only be as over (heel or face wise) as his opponents are.

[Evil Vito]

I agree. I'm just not sure WWE will fully realize that until they attempt to build a brand around him.

If he goes to SmackDown and crushes AJ, Nakamura, Zayn, and Owens like grapes - I feel like people will turn on him in a hurry.

Granted, they made Zayn look believable against Braun in 2016 and AJ just looked like a million bucks against Brock. But still. At this point, I feel like even a nuclear bomb strike putting down Braun wouldn't be believable for his character.

[Blonde Moment]

It's in Philly again?

Why does Philly keep getting Rumbles? Fuck those guys.

Also, really want Nakamura to win, because Styles vs Nakamura is the match.

Really want that myself but i can't help but feel that Vince is not impressed with Nakamura so even a tag title for him might be a shock

[Mr. Nerfect]

I was thinking Rollins and Ambrose to SmackDown, but now with Ambrose hurt for a prolonged amount of time I think they'll just stay on Raw and they can milk another brief Shield reunion when Dean comes back before they eventually do a Rollins/Ambrose feud.

For some reason, I'm cautiously optimistic that they keep AJ on SmackDown. I'm not sure why, but I am.

I think Randy Orton might be sent to Raw because he can always be put over as a huge acquisition even though he'll probably continue to take weeks off at a time now and then.

For the blue brand, I have a weird feeling Braun Strowman might be their big trade. Mostly because I think they will want to make him a World Champion sooner rather than later and Reigns will presumably be keeping the Raw strap for a long time after Mania.

My thoughts are almost exactly the same. Orton is kind of "go wherever." Wouldn't surprise me if he's a free agent after the shake-up, to be honest.

Ambrose & Rollins getting clear out of Reigns' way made perfect sense, and then a trade for AJ would have worked, but I also see them staying put now. AJ is a guy that I can see them "branding" SmackDown around. It's the place you go to see AJ Styles wrestle. Kind of like how Rey was on SmackDown for ages, or even Angle. It feels like Reigns will be the face of one show (regardless of if he holds the belt or not), and Styles on the other for the "smart fans."

I can actually see Brock changing brands and going after Styles. They acknowledged "unfinished business." Joe or Braun makes sense too, but I feel the same thing with Braun, and I think they call Lars Sullivan up to do the squash thing on SmackDown. I think they're more likely to bring guys over to bump for Braun, and not vice versa. Truthfully, Owens & Zayn's run might be done by then. Reigns is going to need heels, so maybe it makes more sense to move those polished heels to Raw, and have the less polished guys on SmackDown (Corbin, Mojo, etc.) to work with Styles? I also imagine that Jeff will be getting back around then, and might be kept as a singles. AJ and Jeff holding fort on Smackers?

It would make sense to move Finn to wherever AJ is, but is Vince really that keen on it? Whatever happens with this club is probably a good indicator of that, but Balor feels a bit lifeless on Raw. But does that change when he's got Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens to work with, should they align with Samoa Joe? If he goes to SmackDown, does he add anything that Seth Rollins wouldn't?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Kind of changing my mind to Owens & Zayn being the big acquisitions for Raw, with Brock being the main one for SmackDown. That alone changes dynamics quite a bit. The goal is probably to do it in the fewest moves possible. Sasha Banks & Bayley from Raw for the women, and then maybe Becky for the girls. It would really change the feel for the entire shows. If I'm doing tag teams, then it's probably Sheamus & Cesaro for The Usos. Random mid-card switch is Jinder for Elias, who gets a huge push.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think that Ziggler winning the 2018 Royal Rumble makes sense. Help.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Extra twist to it: They call up Zelina Vega, who does the same thing with Ziggler as she did Almas. Like, it's acknowledged that she manages the NXT Champion too. I think they suddenly go big with her, because they want a Hispanic presence on the show, and they ain't gonna push Sin Cara. And they want female characters. And she's got the movie coming out. And I can only imagine how much they love her over there.

Yeah, I'm actually feeling that. I can see Vince just flipping the switch and going in a direction like that. Almas comes up after WrestleMania.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I actually want this to happen too. I think Styles vs. Ziggler would be a great match, and it would be kind of a rewarding moment, whatever you think of Ziggler, to finally see him crack into that "WWE Main Eventer" club after years of hot and cold stuff.

Change his theme music. Make him "darker." Not over the top dark or anything, but maybe give him black hair with white streaks or something. Stop calling him "The Show Off." His whole thing is now "14 Years of Greatness." Put Styles over at WrestleMania, and hopefully the match is good enough that the crowd is giving Ziggler a respect pot, then he kicks Styles between the legs and reaffirms his heel status.