WWE RAW Febuary 18th 2013 Live Discussion Thread

[Big Hoss Rambler]

When

United States: LIVE, Monday Night, February 18, at 8/7c on the USA Network
United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, February 19, at 1AM on SkySportsHD3

Where

Cajundome in Lafayette, LA

RAW Five-Point Preview

The Elimination Chamber event has passed, and the next stop is WrestleMania. With the dust having settled in “Satan’s Prison,” the World Title pictures for The Show of Shows are finally in place and we will know who will contend for WWE’s top two prizes when WrestleMania comes home on April 7. Alberto Del Rio will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Chamber Match conqueror Jack Swagger, and The Rock will defend the WWE Title against his old foil, John Cena, in a rematch of their epic clash at last year’s WrestleMania. So with the final preparations for WrestleMania beginning Monday, what does this mean for champions, challengers and everyone in between? Well, here are five potential developments to watch out for.

1. Punk’d

It looks like that’s all she wrote for CM Punk’s reign as WWE Champion. Despite his best efforts to reclaim the precious championship from The Rock through means both conventional (winning the match) and underhanded (absconding with the actual, physical title and declaring himself champion), The Straight Edge Superstar fell short against The Brahma Bull for the second straight month. And barring further shenanigans, Punk finds himself out of the WWE Title picture for the first time since November 2011. But given that this is CM Punk we’re talking about, further shenanigans are likely to ensue. What trickery will the former WWE Champion pull off to facilitate his return to the mountaintop?

2. 'Justice' league

In The Shield’s second sanctioned WWE bout at Elimination Chamber, the imposing trio of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns conquered a veritable “super team” in John Cena, Sheamus & Ryback — a chilling victory in the name of what the imposing trio calls “justice.” The Shield now casts its collective gaze down the final stretch of The Road to WrestleMania … and the potential targets that are known only to the black-clad triumvirate.

Of the NXT standouts’ opponents at Elimination Chamber, it was Ryback who appeared most frustrated in the wake of his team’s loss, storming up the entrance ramp and leaving his bewildered allies puzzled in the ring. How will Ryback respond to his defeat at the hands of The Shield or, perhaps most importantly, who would be foolish enough to get in the juggernaut’s way on Raw?

3. Patriot games

That’s one way to punctuate a return. The rejuvenated Jack Swagger scored a surprise victory in the Elimination Chamber Match and punched his ticket to Springsteen country, where he’ll challenge Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania in MetLife Stadium. Swagger’s turnaround from his disappointing (and ultimately cut-short) 2012 has been outstanding, and victory in the Chamber — not to mention the tutelage of Zeb Colter — seems to have finally put him on the proper path back to World Title glory. How will the “Real American” kick off his WrestleMania journey?

4. The opportune moment

Of course, there is still one wrinkle left in the World Heavyweight Championship picture: Dolph Ziggler and that ubiquitous Money in the Bank contract he’s been toting around since July. The Showoff has proven himself a most patient player when it comes to cashing in his contract, having waited out three separate World Champions — Sheamus, Big Show and now Del Rio — thus far. But WrestleMania is quickly approaching, and there’s no bigger show for Ziggler to steal. Will he look to redeem his free pass at the “Big Gold Title” before The Show of Shows? Or does he have a larger scheme in mind?

5. WWE Championship Match set for Grandest Stage

Looks like it’s down to The Rock and John Cena again. Only this time, the stakes are higher than anyone could have ever predicted, and the WWE Championship — not merely bragging rights — is what’s up for grabs on The Grandest Stage of Them All. With The Rock having fought hell and high water to claim his eighth WWE Championship and Cena having vowed to make 2013 his year, the only question remaining is who wants the victory more in the biggest rematch in history? Monday will give us our first semblance of an answer.

 

[Nano]

Want to see tonight's Raw, Jack's gonna talk about what he did at EC, The Rock is gonna talk about that he's the WWE campion and more things, The Shield is going to say that they beat "the three odds" as they said it was going to be, and it'll be a little boring but still wanting to se the matches

 

[Crayo]

With the way WWE have projected it, it looks like no triple-threat is on the cards. Though this is just the shitty preview crap they spit out.

 

[Roi]

Shield's promos is gonna be :
Oh and also Brock

 

[Jonathan]

United States: LIVE, Monday Night, February 18, at 8/7c on the USA Network
United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning

Like it's not live in the UK 1:


__________


I hope Undertaker returns tonight, I want to mark :sad:

 

[CM Punk]

Dolph's, AJ and Big E's pic. :gusta:

 

[GrammarNazi82]

Just because I want to post, so ...... bam.

Anyway, expecting a nice lil' rant from Punk tonight.

 

[Leo C]

Won't be here, but looking forward to the show, since I expect returns and reveals.

 

[GrammarNazi82]

hmmm, a little surprised Raw is just about 3 hours away and the thread is still on page one. Thought people typically posted a handful of pages' worth before the show starts.

 

[MarkyMark]

MarkyMarkin for the Swagger/Zeb segment tonight talking about ADR being Mexican

 

[Big Hoss Rambler]

MarkyMarkin for the Swagger/Zeb segment tonight talking about ADR being Mexican

I'm looking forward to that as well.

 

[Brosnar]

It should draw some real heat. The only thing that could possibly be better between them is if both Swagger and Del Rio were better on the mic. But in terms of getting the crowd heated, it should do wonders!

 

[Swift]

inb4 the crowd sides with racist Zeb & Swag.

 

[Crayo]

inb4 the crowd sides with racist Zeb & Swag.

How hilarious would that be. They need to take his racist gimmick to a really racist city.

 

[Stopspot]

How hilarious would that be. They need to take his racist gimmick to a really racist city.

Well they are in the deep south....