Raw 4/7/14 Where Do We Go From Here?

Not only is Wrestlemania a huge day on the WWE calender but the Raw after Wrestlemania is turning into a very large day as well.  Tonight is an odd combination of what seems like Opening Day in a sport like baseball as well as New Years Day.  There is a lot to review from last night's event as well as quite a bit to set up being that Extreme Rules is right around the corner.  The two biggest things are obviously Daniel Bryan winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Brock Lesnar beating the streak.

Obviously Daniel Bryan deserves to kick off the show celebrating his WWE World Heavyweight Championship win.  Obviously it will be interrupted.  Randy Orton is still due a rematch and I'm sure that will be set up tonight on Raw.

One tradition that the WWE may go with is a few rematches the night after Wrestlemania.  If this direction is continued then it would be beneficial for The Usos to face off against the Real Americans.  This would be another big win for The Usos as well as continue the split between the Real Americans.  Obviously with Cesaro winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal he will be pushed as a singles superstar not as a part of a tag team.

There will obviously be some sort of aftermath between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.  I have a major issue with Cena winning at Wrestlemania.  Not because I have anything against Cena but I question where they go from here.  I thought it would be best to continue this feud since there are few options for Cena and after a huge loss where does Bray go from here?  I think both guys will pretty much be lost for the next month or so unless they continue the feud with the Wyatt Family somehow getting the upper hand.

I think one of the biggest missed opportunities leading up to Wrestlemania was the lack of a Intercontinental Championship match.  With some extra space on the card I think Big E should get a match at Extreme Rules.  Tonight is where the seeds need to be planted.  With some interesting competition a small tournament over the next week would be interesting.  If they had Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus and who ever eliminated Big E at Wrestlemania in a 4 man tournament over Raw and Smackdown I think that could be a good place to start.  Overall I think Alberto Del Rio is the best direction to go in but they should have him earn it in the ring.

Obviously The Authority angle is still looming large in the WWE.  Tonight will be no different.  The only thing out of the norm will be Triple H and Stephanie in the middle of the ring making excuses to how Triple H lost last night to Daniel Bryan.  Due to the loss Triple H will need to be taking an extended break from the ring.

The Divas action has picked up quite a bit over the last few months.  Due to this I think the division deserved better than they received last night.  I would book a match tonight showcasing their top talent like AJ, Tamina, Natalya and Emma.  I understand that the Divas from Total Divas are getting an extended push but it seems as though the WWE will not put the belt on one of those Divas just because they are on a reality show.

Last night The Undertaker's streak of 21 straight victories at Wrestlemania ended.  Tonight Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman will gloat about this.  The only issue is this leaves Brock without a worthy opponent.  They will most likely challenge Daniel Bryan but we all know Randy Orton will receive a rematch.  We know we won't see The Undertaker rematch.  We saw Brock vs John Cena two years ago.  Batista will be looking for a new opponent but with both Brock and Batista heels they won't face off.  Because of this I think the Beast should be attacked by a few of the biggest faces in the WWE...The Shield!  This would plant the seeds for a fresh feud between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.

There is other speculation and predictions that can be made about a few other guys.  Since The Undertaker lost there is speculation that he may retire from in ring competition.  There are also rumors that Sting will make his first ever appearance with the WWE.  Needless to say there is no proof to either of these things as WWE has not announced either.  I won't continue any sort of speculation but I would welcome an appearance by one or both guys.

WRESTLEMANIA XXX

The road to Wrestlemania comes to its end today in New Orleans.  Today is the biggest day in Pro Wrestling.  All the storylines have been set and its time to get the guys in the ring to settle their disputes.  I for one am ready.  Since its been about 6 weeks since Elimination Chamber, we've had a long enough build up.  Since there isn't much left to book I'm going to leave my predictions, put who I would book to win and put the matches in the order I would book them.

It all starts with the Wrestlemania XXX pre-show on the WWE Network.  (Quick tangent, this network is without a doubt worth the $9.99 a month.  I've already gotten my moneys worth for the first month plus I would have spent more that $60 to get Wrestlemania in HD.)  Obviously its been announced that it will be the WWE Tag Team Championship match featuring The Usos, The Real Americans, Los Matadors and RybAxel.

Who should win: The Usos should pin a member of RybAxel.
Who will win: The Usos will pin Jack Swagger leading to a break up of the Real Americans.

I am a fan of having your opening bout be a relatvely big matchup.  I loved when they had Edge vs Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship to kick off Wrestlemania 27.  That being said I would book John Cena vs Bray Wyatt to kick off Wrestlemania XXX.

Who should win: Bray Wyatt with a clean victory over John Cena.  Only a little bit of help from the Wyatt Family.
Who will win: John Cena.  Five moves of doom, AAs to both Harper and Rowan then a second AA for Bray.

Next up I'd book The Shield vs Corporate Kane and the Corporate Outlaws.  Yes, I'm using their dumb names because that's what Michael Cole calls them.  As good as all these guys are its still a match that is early on the card.

Who should win: The Shield should dominate this match.
Who will win: Roman Reigns will win the match after having Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose turn on him.

Since I don't see the winner of the Daniel Bryan vs Triple H match going in back to back matches I think it would be best to stick this match towards the early part of the card.  That way there is a break for the winner.

Who should win: Daniel Bryan.  After the match Triple H should give Bryan a beating that leads to him being taken out with the doctors.  Leaving him questionable for the main event.
Who will win: Daniel Bryan.

Next up is the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  There are three remaining spots open in this match.  I might as well make a few predictions that are sure to go wrong.  The three guys that I would have in the match are Rob Van Dam, Adrian Neville and The Ultimate Warrior.

Who should win: Dolph Ziggler.  He's a main event caliber talent, hopefully this will restart his push.
Who will win: Alexander Rusev.

One of the longest running traditions in Wrestlemania history is up next.  The Streak!  When you consider that The Undertaker is looking to go 22-0 in Wrestlemania XXX.  This is impressive not due to the amount of wins but just the fact that he is going to be involved in his 22nd Wrestlemania match.  Very few guys have been able to do that.  For example Hulk Hogan is only going to be involved in his 13th Wrestlemania and I'm including Wrestlemania 21 when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.  The Streak is very important to the WWE that being said Brock Lesnar is not the type of guy who they will have end the streak.  The streak if ever ended will have to be ended by a young superstar along the lines of Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Big E.

Who should win: The Undertaker
Who will win: 22-0

After what is sure to be an epic match there will need to be a buffer period before the main event.  After being at Metlife Stadium a year ago for Wrestlemania 29 I found it difficult to watch 3 consecutive huge matches.  Not to down play the Divas but they were set up to have a match in between two big battles.  I don't like this match, I think the Divas should have gotten a one on one, triple threat or fatal 4-way.  There are too many competitors in this match and it is very difficult for someone to stand out.

Who should win: AJ Lee should pin Tamina.  They could have a plan going into the match.  Everyone will begin to beat up on AJ.  After it turns into an all out brawl Tamina lays down for AJ similar to how Nash did for Hogan.  Then we get Tamina to turn on AJ leading to their eventual feud.
Who will win: Brie Bella.

Finally we have the main event.  Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  As I said earlier I think it would be best to leave Daniel Bryan questionable for the main event.  That being said I would have it announced that Daniel Bryan is still being evaluated by the medical team.  Then introduce Batista and Randy Orton.  Allow those two to begin the match.  The crowd will hate the beginning, boo both men and wait for Daniel Bryan.  The purpose of this would be to get the crowd extremely hot.  Then at some point about 10 minutes into the match have both guys take each other out.  With them laying on the mat have Bryan's music hit.  At this point the crowd will explode.  Allow the triple threat match to happen from there.

Who should win: Daniel Bryan
Who will win: Daniel Bryan.

The show closes with confetti, Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella leading a Yes cheer and the good guys in the locker room coming out to celebrate with the NEEEEWWWW  WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan.  YES! YES! YES!

The Raw before Wrestlemania!

With Wrestlemania only 6 days away there isn't much to do on tonight's Raw except to promote Wrestlemania.

Of course we need the generic promofest for the main event, obviously this will consist of  some combination of HHH, Daniel Bryan, Batista, and Randy Orton.  We need to feel the excitement (or lack there of) for this year's main event, maybe we'll even get a generic contract signing of some sort.  There isn't much left in this feud to book.  Its time for these guys to get in the ring.  That's exactly what Randy Orton and Batista will do tonight and in my opinion, this match doesn't even matter.  The main event surrounds Daniel Bryan, HHH and whoever Daniel Bryan will face at Extreme Rules.

Since there is a fatal four way for the WWE Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania it would be best to put The Usos in a match against RybAxel and The Real Americans against Los Matadors.  That way The Usos (Champs) and The Real Americans (their biggest threats) can win matches and gain momentum going into Wrestlemania.

The IC Championship picture has been quite entertaining in my opinion.  Between Big E, Dolph, Sheamus and Christian I would like to see two or all of them in the ring tonight.  I don't really care how they book it, all these guys have been super entertaining.

Another big match is the Andre The Giant Memorial Over The Top Rope Battle Royal (which is the longest name for a match in WWE history).  To promote this I would schedule a 10 man over the top rope battle royal putting 10 of the competitors against each other only 6 days before Wrestlemania.  This would also be a great time to inform us of one of the surprise entrances.  So far 26 men have been announced.

Finally The Shield has been dominating since turning on Kane.  This needs to continue by having them beat up on some more mid card guys.  Maybe a 6 man tag match against all of 3MB.

Raw 3/24

The show needs to open with Triple H bragging about ending the Yes Movement.  This will get the crowd involved early.  After bragging that if its not quite over yet it will be at Wrestlemania.  At that point Randy Orton’s music hits.  Orton claims that even if Triple H ends Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania he will still walk out as the champion.  Triple H says, what do you mean IF?  Orton states that Triple H is an old man; he might not even be able to keep up with a B+ player anymore.  Triple H says that he proved last week that he is more than capable of handling Daniel Bryan and if old men can’t keep up anymore then he’ll have no problem with his match later on in the night.  Triple H’s music hits and he leaves the ring.  The announce team previews the night and throws it to commercial.

Next we have the Real Americans in tag team action against fellow #1 contenders RybAxel.  This would help transition the Real Americans as more of tweeners.  The Real Americans can win the match, giving Zeb all the more reason to claim they are the true #1 contenders.  RybAxel can continue to do bidding for Kane to keep their spot in the tag team division.

I’d have a backstage segment where Randy Orton seeks Batista.  They talk about their history and their differences.  Orton suggests they work together.  Team up against whoever wins Triple H vs Daniel Bryan then they can finally have the match they deserve.  Batista agrees.  Orton suggests that the teamwork starts tonight in his main event match.

I would have a triple threat involving a few key players in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  It doesn’t really matter which guys.  The purpose is to preview the match.  I would also book a tag team match between Dolph and Sheamus vs Christian and ADR.  These two matches will grow excitement for the battle royal.

The Undertaker-Brock Lesnar feud is going in the right direction.  The only thing that I would make sure to book is something a bit physical.  Brock needs to be able to get the upper hand over the Undertaker at some point before Wrestlemania.

John Cena’s feud with the Wyatt’s needs to continue.  A one on one matchup with Erick Rowan would do the trick.  This match needs to show that Cena will have difficulty as long as it continues to be a 3 on 1.  They shouldn’t destroy Cena.  It would be interesting to have Hulk Hogan make a save for Cena.

Daniel Bryan cannot make an appearance on Raw.  He needs to stay away to sell the injuries. 

Triple H calls on his old friends the New Age Outlaws in the main event against Randy Orton and Batista.  This shows that Triple H is cutting the ties with Orton and Batista and eyeing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.    During the match the music of The Shield hits.  They enter the ring and destroy the New Age Outlaws.  Thinking that there is an identity among former allies of The Authority, Randy Orton and Batista stick around.  The Shield lays out Orton as Batista escapes.  Solidifying the Shield as face characters with no alliance to anyone but themselves.

First Guest Blog

Here we go.  The first guest blog.  If you'd like to write your own send an email to FantasyBooker30@gmail.com  Without further ado...

Fandango wins the Andre The Giant Battle Royal and earns IC title shot later in the night.
Daniel Bryan beats Triple H
The Shield beats Kane and the New Age Outlaws
Bray Wyatt beats John Cena
Fandango wins the IC title from Big E
The Real Americans beat The Usos for the tag titles.
AJ beats Nattie and Nikki Bella to retain the Divas title.
Undertaker keeps the streak alive against Brock Lesnar
Daniel Bryan wins the triple threat and is NEEEWWWW WWE World Heavyweight Champion!

Raw 3/17/14

There isn't much of a direction that can be set for tonight's Raw.  The main focus should be and will be the Main Event for Wrestlemania XXX.  One thing that I would announce tonight is a stipulation for a potential triple threat.  If it were to be a triple threat then it will be an elimination match.  The stipulation for this match would be the first man eliminated would be ineligible to compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules.  If Orton is the first man eliminated he loses the rights to his rematch clause.  This would make Orton and Batista think about teaming up against Daniel Bryan and continue to stack the odds against him.  Leaving the impression if he somehow gets past Triple H at Wrestlemania then he will practically have to win a handicap match in the main event.

The Shield defied their orders on Friday Night Smackdown.  That leaves a few questions to be answered this coming Raw.  I would continue to book a distention among The Shield.  I would have Ambrose tell the others it was a mistake, while Reigns say they did the right thing and of course Rollins is stuck in the middle.

The New Age Outlaws are still owed a Tag Team Championship rematch against The Usos but I don't think that this is the time to do it.  I think its best to continue the injury angle and let some other teams establish themselves.  It would also be nice to see the Rhodes brothers compete together in hopes of reclaiming the Tag Team Championships.

The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal seems like a cool idea as long as A. there are major superstars involved and B. there is a desire for superstars to be involved.  That being said I would have some sort of qualifying matchup.  It doesn't really matter who is in the match as long as the winner is guaranteed a spot in the Battle Royal.  It would create the impression that this is a major event on the show and just as important as having a singles match.

The Undertaker spoke last week on Raw now its Brock Lesnar's turn or Paul Heyman's turn.  I think its best to have Paul Heyman speak then have Brock Lesnar destroy someone.  Which leads me to a future idea that I will write about in depth this coming week.

Guest Bloggers

I was thinking of a new idea for the last week or so.  With Wrestlemania 30 rapidly approaching I think it could be fun to come up with a new concept for this blog.  I'd like a few guest bloggers to put together their own Wrestlemania 30 card.  So far there are only 3 matches announced so there is plenty of space for the rest of the show.

All submissions can be sent to FantasyBooker30@gmail.com

Please put include your twitter handle or name with all submissions.  Also any other promo information you'd like to include like your own personal blog.