WWE RAW tonight has the road to Wrestlemania 29 pass through the Steel City of Pittsburgh, PA with the biggest show of the year less than a month away.
Noticeable by their absence last week on RAW, WWE Champion the Rock and John Cena did not appear live on the show but were featured in a well-crafted 'special preview' video. It will be interesting how involved Rocky will be in the weeks before Wrestlemania. Rock will need to remind fans that even though he's a movie star promoting the new G.I. Joe movie, he is still the WWE Champion heading into Wrestlemania. Cena will need remind fans that of his 'redemption' road to MetLife Stadium. This feud needs to get another electricity boost especially after both men not being on TV last week.
Read our full four star review of last week's WWE RAW
Emotions running high after last week when the Undertaker’s tribute to the late Paul Bearer was soured by his WM29 opponent CM Punk. Punk may have come up short in a loss to the Undertaker’s brother Kane, but he got the last laugh when he attacked Kane with an urn and stole the urn posing with it with the Undertaker’s rage-filled glare closing the show. It was the most effective Wrestlemania storyline played out this year and the Punk/Taker match appears to have the most buzz among die-hard wrestling fans going into Wrestlemania 29.
Look for Punk to continue antagonize the Undertaker with a promo this week with a new set of insults to Undertaker’s relationship with Paul Bearer. The Straight Edge Superstar may not be in action, as reports have been circulating that he suffered a minor arm injury during last week’s RAW and WWE officials are keeping him out of the ring to be safe.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Triple Threat Match : Wade Barrett vs. Chris Jericho vs. the Miz
Last week on RAW in a very awkward TV segment that got lambasted online by many, Chris Jericho hosted WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett and the Miz on his HIghlight Reel only to be interrupted by RAW authority figure Brad Maddox. Maddox appeared to be flub his lines during this segment, and it was an upward struggle from there. WWE boss Vince McMahon told RAW commentators Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole to bury the segment and the same dismissive tone followed in the impromptu match between Jericho and Miz.
WWE continues to suffer from flux with their mid-card for Wrestlemania and these three men are victims of that shake up that has prevented some strong matches being added to WM29. It’s odd that Jericho, Barrett, and the Miz are having a Triple Threat Match this week when that sounds like a fair on-paper match to throw on the Wrestlemania card. Look for Y2J and company to erase the bad memories of last week’s ‘Highlight Reel’ with an action-packed match that could have a dust finish to leave the door open for a return engagement.
Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar are playing their cards close to their chest in the Lesnar/HHH rematch for Wrestlemania 29. On RAW last week, Heyman speaking for Lesnar said they will accept his Wrestlemania challenge only if Triple H signs for the match and then accepts the stipulations set forth by Lesnar. It makes the angle more interesting as it seemed lose the violent intensity both men displayed not brawling like they did three weeks ago on RAW. Look for Lesnar to put the pressure on Triple H with something to put the advantage on Lesnar’s side.
Also on RAW look for WWE to follow up on the newest official match made for Wrestlemania 29 featuring Randy Orton, Ryback, and Sheamus vs. the Shield. It would be interesting to see if the Big Show can find some way to get into this match and knock out one of the Shield members or maybe he gets to do that tonight in Pittsburgh.
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