WWE Monday Night Raw Preview: 24 February, 2014

Worth it?

After letting down the fans (again) with a stale show at the Elimination Chamber, the creative team of WWE will be back in action this Monday night to put together their first Raw after the launch of the Network.

Despite being let down so often the WWE fans will be left with no other option than keeping their expectations high for this one also mainly because of its historical significance.

But from the looks of it, everything is stacked against the WWE in their attempts to pull off something epic since the momentum they had during the start of 2014 is nowhere to be seen. The ending of Elimination Chamber didn’t work out well as planned leaving the writers in a desperate situation to produce some magic.

So let’s take a look at the things that maybe lined up by this desperate team in order to regain some sort of credibility before the big daddy arrives.

A Big Mistake?

A big mistake?

Well Orton winning the Elimination chamber was predicted after witnessing the way he was losing to all his chamber opponents. All that loses turned out to be just a buildup to show that Orton as an ultimate opportunist but we still know that he is the rear of WWE, don’t we?

Fact apart, what this sets up is a match between Batista and Orton at WrestleMania for the WWE World Heavyweight title.

Now let’s break that down a bit, on one side we have Orton who is booed for whatever he does and is yet to show why in the world WWE decided to give him two titles when he is not worthy of holding even one.

One the other side we have Batista who make Alberto Del Rio look like a face. And unfortunately that’s your WrestleMania main event unless a miracle happens.

So this week will be the start of that already stale feud and Orton will be coming to blabber about his win over five men while Batista will be in to make him shut up. Seriously expect nothing more.

Hulkamania going to run wild

Hulkamania is back brother

He maybe old, he may not be able to wrestle, he might’ve wasted some great time in TNA but when it comes to popping the crowd, Hulk Hogan is still a text book for many of the youngsters out there.

And after a layoff of seven years the WWE fans will be finally able to see Hulk Hogan walk into the squared circle of Vince McMahon’s promotion this week. He might not be a big boost in terms of in ring talent but the presence itself will work wonders for the creative team.

The fans will be more than curious to know how will be his interaction with the younger breeds including Daniel Bryan, Shield or Wyatt Family. This is one thing that the creative could dig into as it offers a plethora of options to remind the fans about what they were missing.

Along with this another major question that rings the bell is; will he return as a heel or face. That is a million dollar question since an unexpected return of Hogan as a heel is going to make the internet crash for sure.

The Wyatt-Cena showdown

Revenge time

As they say, there is an equal and opposite reaction for every action and though the first time Wyatt family got off with their heroics, this week it’s going to be revenge time for the Cenation.

The Shield is also not going to be happy following their loss last night which opens door for a rematch. With WWE trying to make the Raw a memorable one, the chance of seeing another clash between Wyatt Family and Shield are sky high.

However, Cena will be a deciding factor if the match actually happens as the 14-time world champion is looking to set the score straight.

The much hyped Bray- Cena feud can also be kick started with this segment making everyone drool about the prospect of seeing Cena inside the ring with Bray Wyatt after the Cesaro match last week.

Shield could also be happy with their win leaving them look good and setting the stage for a tie breaker in the future.

How long are they going to bury Daniel Bryan?

Why? Why ? Why?

Just reality checking, if Daniel Bryan was in any other promotion he would’ve been the wrestlers holding all the titles that is out there in that company. And then there is WWE.

Though he has been running the fans wild for almost a year now, Bryan is yet to get a credible title reign like Cena, Orton or CM Punk. By the looks of it Bryan is clearly on a collision course with the Authority but what the fans really want is to see him knock off Randy Orton from the throne.

A Triple H-Daniel Bryan match at WrestleMania doesn’t sound that bad but there is a big road block name Kane that needs to be cleared before that match could be materialized.

Kane- Bryan match is a big no no even in the deepest sleeps leaving the creative with two options to keep the fans happy through to WrestleMania and beyond.

They could either set up Triple H against Bryan by taking out Kane from the situation or they could fill in Bryan into the WrestleMania main event and make it a triple threat match.

This week’s Raw will tell us more about the direction he is bound so keep an eye on the hottest superstar in the planet.

The Big Returns

Needs to return

Apart from Hulk Hogan, two big names expected to return this week are The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar.

Taker’s return has been delayed in a bizarre manner by the WWE as they will only be left with less than a month to buildup to Taker’s eventual defense of his streak. His opponent still is in the dark also which makes the return certainly an interesting one.

Lesnar on the other hand has lost all the fire that he had after his big return. He has been absent for almost three weeks now and needs to make a big impact once he returns again.

The chances of a Lesnar-Taker match is still on the cards but it would be great headache for the creative team to pull off an angle to ignite the feud.

Another name that is rumored to return is Rob Van Dam. Though he is not as big as Take or Lesnar, Mr. Monday Night Raw sure knows how to pop the crowd.

With such fire power waiting to be ignited, the Raw could turn out to be one of the best shows of the year unless the creative decides to screw up as usual.