Coming off of last week’s Extreme Rules was a Monday Night RAW that solidly delivered by mainly bringing back the exciting King of the Ring Tournament and finally infusing Roman Reigns into the main event picture for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Last week also featured the 4th podcast on the WWE Network and the 2nd with Chris Jericho. Last week following the conclusion of Smackdown, Jericho interviewed WWE co-owner Stephanie McMahon
Here are the latest WWE news, rumors and spoilers from the previous week (April 28th-May 4th) and predictions for the upcoming Monday Night RAW:
Disclaimer: The following rumors are a compilation of WWE related news stories and speculation that circulated around the internet from the previous week. Each rumor should be taken as that, just a rumor, and nothing concrete or factual given the nature of WWE and the industry. All plans are always subject to change based on circumstances.
Seth Rollins Not Impressing WWE Management in the Main Event
According to WNSource:
It is said that WWE officials were very upset with the lackluster main event at Extreme Rules. Most of the blame has been put on Rollins because it is thought that Orton carried most of the match. Rollins was supposed to have a long and drawn out title reign but that idea seems to be changing very quickly. It is thought now that the Lesnar/Rollins upcoming angle will be booked as more of a squash match much like Lesnar/Cena.
The WWE originally intended for Roman Reigns to defeat Brock Lesnar in the main event of Wrestlemania 31, but plans were changed at the last minute to go ahead with Rollins’ cash in of the Money in the Bank briefcase and title win. It is still early in Rollins’ title run, but thus far, Rollins and Orton in their post-Wrestlemania follow-up field has been slightly disappointing. Their match at Extreme Rules wasn’t bad, but just overdone — the Authority, mainly Kane, interfered and the entire match seemed too convoluted.
The upcoming triple threat WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Payback with Roman Reigns added should be a much more simpler, clean match.
Stephanie McMahon Reveals Herself to the WWE Universe on Jericho’s Podcast
(WWE/YouTube)
Since Stone Cold hasn’t been doing the last two podcasts mainly from a creative direction, Jericho has minly gone with a more cookie-cutter, simplistic approach to attacking questions on the podcast. While Jericho’s questions were tame, they still provided a great insight to Stephanie McMahon’s overall personality — a lot like the Cena podcast did.
The main points that Jericho and Stephanie hit on in their podcast were:
– Stephanie has to live in her father’s shadow and tries hard everyday to carry on what her father built and (maybe) end up surpassing him one day.
– How the WWE has transformed into a media company, which includes different sponsorship and partnerships — example: Be A Star
– How the WWE tries to take advantage of being a media company, like how UFC’s Ronda Rousey was used for an in-ring segment at Wrestlemania 31
– Stephanie loves portraying a heel on camera and feels comfortable doing it, although it’s different from her real-life personality
– All of the controversy surrounding how she started dating Triple H, how her father was promptly behind it and how it affected their personal lives as well as the backlash from the locker room
– Her relationship with the business overall and being familiar with some of the greats from the past
All in all, Jericho asked questions that were expected, but Stephanie gave honest answers, including the tough questions that pressured her to reveal the details of her and Triple H’s relationship, something that is always in constant scrutiny by the Internet Wrestling Community.
Lana Turning Babyface & Breaking Away From Rusev Soon
(WWE/YouTube)
Over the last two months, the WWE has been teasing at a potential Rusev and Lana split. Lana originally agreed to give John Cena the match for the United States Championship at Wrestlemania. It was also Lana that “played dumb” in the two’s rematch at Extreme Rules as she played to the crowd and inadvertently cost Rusev the match.
The hot rumor as of this moment is that Vince McMahon has seen just how talented and backed Lana has been by the crowd and is looking to use that momentum to turn her babyface by breaking away from Rusev and revealing herself to actually be American. The WWE believes that Lana can be the No. 1 female on the roster — a void that is now open since A.J. Lee’s departure. An idea has been thrown around about changing Lana’s name to her real name of “Catherine Joy Perry,” but “Lana” has been a favorite with the WWE Universe.
Other Rumors
– WWE Diva’s Champion Nikki Bella was reportedly unhappy with the way Booker T was speaking about her last week on commentary. Booker T gave high praise to Naomi and called her “the best Diva on the roster,” which reportedly didn’t sit well with the Bella twin.
– According to Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the WWE still believes Eva Marie can be a top diva with the company. As of this moment, former WWE employee Brian Kendrick has been training Eva in the ring. She has been posting video clips of the training sessions, which can be found on her Instagram page: @natalieevamarie.
RAW Predictions
– If Lana is really teasing a babyface turn, expect it to become more obvious this week on RAW by having her play to the crowd. Last week Rusev made her go to the back when she started to cut a promo, which angered the WWE Universe.
– Kane’s decision making hasn’t necessarily been what’s “best for business.” After going rogue with his Payback decision, expect Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to question the Corporate Demon.
– The Primetime Players officially throw their hat into the WWE Tag Team Championship mix.
– Bray Wyatt returns to action this week on RAW and answers the question of why he targeted Ryback last week on RAW.
– Bad News Barrett comes out and delivers the second best King of the Ring winner’s speech in history – again because he already did so last week on the WWE Network — and proudly declares himself as the real Intercontinental Champion.
– Dean Ambrose continues to show signs of doubt, possibly teasing a future heel turn.
– Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus continue to piss each other off, setting up a match for Payback.
