Raw Five-Point Preview: January 6, 2014
When the WWE Universe last convened for Monday Night Raw, Daniel Bryan was skulking off as — apparently — a new convert to The Wyatt Family, Brock Lesnar had laid waste to Mark Henry and Randy Orton received his latest challenge to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. As 2014 begins and The Road to WrestleMania draws near, how will these explosive situations play out? Oh, and to top it off, it’s Old School Raw tonight, too. Here’s what WWE.com expects for the first Raw of the New Year.
Old school
Old School Raw is always a treat, from the retro TitanTron to the parade of Legends, alumni and WWE Hall of Famers who drop by to say hello. Raw General Manager Brad Maddox let slip that we’re already getting WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, but who else will show? For reference, last year’s Old School Raw saw the return of The Undertaker, The New Age Outlaws and more.
View photos of Raw legends then and now
One-on-one
Speaking of old-school, Stephanie McMahon opted out of frills and fancy stipulations when she set the rematch for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Royal Rumble. Randy Orton is set to defend his title against John Cena in a bout that will have no interference and can only be decided via pinfall or submission, just as the Hall of Famers did. Neither champion nor challenger was present at Raw last week to respond to the announcement. With both Superstars in the house this week, how will The Viper and Cena react?
Best in The Shield?
CM Punk continued his one-man mission to sow dissent among The Shield by demanding he face the faction’s “best” member and disqualifying United States Champion Dean Ambrose from contention right off the bat. His opponent ended up being Seth Rollins, but that was only because Maddox made an executive decision. Punk rounds out the trio by facing Roman Reigns this week. Can the big man do what his teammates could not and top The Best in the World?
Who'll stop the pain?
WWE COO Triple H shocked the WWE Universe by summoning Brock Lesnar from his sabbatical last week, but The Anomaly had a bigger surprise in store when he named himself the No. 1 contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, daring anyone who disagreed to step up and say so. Mark Henry took him up on that challenge and was summarily taken out. With Lesnar running wild, is there anyone in the locker room who could possibly stop him? More importantly, is there anyone with the guts to try?
Family ties
Bray Wyatt’s hard work paid off last week when Daniel Bryan finally agreed to join The Wyatt Family after suffering the clan’s latest 3-on-1 attack against him; an apparent act of solidarity against “the machine” that Wyatt opposes. The former WWE Champion’s whereabouts are currently unknown since he joined Wyatt’s fold, though it’s unlikely Bray will let another week go by without showing off his latest prize. What does the newly-extended Wyatt Family have in store? Tune in to Old School Raw on Monday, 8/7 CT on USA Network to find out.
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