Raw Five-Point Preview: April 28, 2014

No doubt still feeling the effects of Kane’s onslaught last week, WWE World Heavyweight ChampionDaniel Bryan has nevertheless affirmed he will be at this week’s Raw, live in St. Louis. Will the “Yes!” Man suffer the wrath of his Extreme Rules opponent once again, or will Stephanie McMahon be able to rein in the demon she has unleashed?

Also on Raw, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” star Hugh Jackman drops in on the WWE Universe. What can Wolverine himself expect during his second visit to Monday night’s hottest show? WWE.com offers five early thoughts on the final Raw before Extreme Rules. 

Brie Bella and the entire WWE Universe looked on in horror last Monday night as Kane viciously assaulted Daniel Bryan with a sadistic succession of Tombstone Piledrivers. As a result, Bryan was diagnosed with a cervical cord neurapraxia — a contusion of the spinal cord — that could have put his WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign in jeopardy. Bryan was fortunately able to recover and has vowed to appear on this week’s Raw, where Stephanie McMahon plans to apologize for the heinous actions of The Devil’s Favorite Demon.

Although Stephanie seemed to protest Kane’s attack last week, is The Authority truly repentant? Or is Stephanie merely doing some “damage control” to save face? Regardless, it will be interesting to see if The Authority is able to extinguish the wildfire they’ve started — or if they intend on letting it burn everything in its path. 

Remember that one time when Wolverine showed up on Raw a few years back and punched Dolph Ziggler in the face? The Showoff certainly didn’t forget, but he seemed to forgive the Academy Award nominee last week on Twitter, extending a digital olive branch to Jackman and gushing about the latest trailer for “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” in theaters May 23.

However, Ziggler’s Twitter hatchet-burying with this week’s Raw guest star drew the ire of perennial malcontent Damien Sandow, who ignited a war of words with his fellow former Money in the Bank contract holder. In the social media skirmish, Ziggler promised that he and Jackman will teach The Intellectual Savior of the Masses “something about respect.” By the time Raw’s over, Sandow might wish he had Wolverine’s healing factor, bub. 

On SmackDown, The Shield faced seemingly insurmountable odds when they were placed in an 11-on-3 Handicap Match — their second such encounter in as many weeks. However, rather than face the same unfair fight that left the trio vulnerable to an Evolution assault on April 14, the crafty Hounds of Justice appropriated their Extreme Rules opponents’ “adapt or perish” credo to whittle the larger team’s ranks down to just five Superstars. Although they were still technically outnumbered, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose picked up the victory and left their foes battered, bruised and breathing hard.

Now that The Shield has laid waste to all those who have stood between them and Evolution,  what will happen between these two powerhouse factions before they go to war at Extreme Rules? 

And then there were two. In the final round of an intensely competitive tournament to determine the No. 1 contender to the Intercontinental Championship, Rob Van Dam and Bad News Barrett will clash on Raw to earn the right to challenge Big E for the illustrious prize this Sunday at Extreme Rules. As a six-time holder of the coveted title, the veteran RVD seems to have the upper hand going into this must-see bout, but the bare-knuckle bearer of bad news has been on a tear of late as he vies to become a four-time Intercontinental Champion himself.

Announced exclusively on WWE.com after SmackDown went off the air, Ryback & Curtis Axel will challenge The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship on Raw. The unorthodox pairing has displayed new ferocity in recent weeks, with Ryback defeating Jimmy Uso one-on-one last week on WWE Main Event and Curtis Axel pinning Jey Uso on SmackDown. In the aftermath of this singles sweep, the intimidating duo has cemented their standing as the greatest threat to the twins’ title reign. Will #RybAxelRules be trending on Twitter with the crowning of new WWE Tag Team Champions on Raw?

Don’t miss Raw, Monday night at 8/7 CT on USA Network, and be sure to tune in to WWE Network for the Raw Pre-Show at 7:30 and Backstage Pass immediately following the show!

Raw Five-Point Preview: April 21, 2014

Oh, how times have changed. When last we saw Daniel Bryan, he was celebrating a career-defining WWE World Heavyweight Championship win at WrestleMania 30 and a series of defiant victories over The Authority. Now, the honeymoon has seemingly ended in many ways for the newly wedded Bryan, who returns to a WWE Universe where monsters dwell and Evolution rules all. What awaits the “Yes!” Man and the rest of the roster less than two weeks before Extreme Rules? WWE.com offers an early glimpse at things to come.

Stephanie McMahon might not have created a monster when she goaded Kane into embracing hisdarker side last Monday night, but she definitely brought it out of hiding. Donning the mask that’s been associated with some of sports-entertainments’ most nightmarish acts, WWE’s diabolical Director of Operations savagely assaulted Big Show after WWE Main Event went off the air last Tuesday night on WWE Network, proving that The Devil’s Favorite Demon had truly returned.

With a bone-chilling mission to demolish Daniel Bryan on The Authority’s behalf, what havoc will The Big Red Monster unleash on the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion

Raw Five-Point Preview: April 14, 2014

1) The WWE Universe entered a new and exciting era last Monday night as debuting Superstars, returning icons and new titleholders basked in the afterglow of one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time. As the landscape of WWE continues to undergo a seismic shift — and The Shield continues to combat The Authority — what lies ahead this week in Birmingham, Ala.? WWE.com offers five ideas to get you pumped for Raw at 8/7 CT on USA Network. Also, don’t miss Raw Pre-Show at 7:30 ET, only on WWE Network. 

2) Social media nearly imploded last Monday night when The Shield saved WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan from a 4-on-1 attack, helping The “Yes!” Man send Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton and Kane running for the hills (or at least up the entrance ramp). When SmackDown’s Six-Man Tag Team Match pitting Bryan & WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos against The Viper, The Animal & WWE’s Director of Operations similarly devolved into chaos, The Hounds of Justice once again aligned with the leader of the "Yes" Movement before dropping Kane with a massive Triple Powerbomb.

3) Who saw that coming? Last week, NXT Women’s Champion Paige made her Raw debut to congratulate AJ Lee on her unprecedented 295-day Divas Title reign, not knowing that just a few moments later, the British-born grappler would be the one to dethrone the ever-arrogant AJ and start a reign of her own. Goaded into a match by the cocky champion, the newcomer hit AJ with the Paige Turner to score the pinfall and the butterfly-emblazoned prize.

Although “The Diva of Tomorrow” celebrated with her fellow Divas in an emotional post-match WWE.com Exclusive, Paige’s resolve will continue to be put to the test as an entire division — including a bitter and vengeful AJ — will be looking to wrest her newly-won championship from her grasp. 

4) When Rob Van Dam returned to WWE after a six-year absence at WWE Money in the Bank last July, his goal was clear: to outlast five other Money in the Bank “All Stars” and earn a guaranteed opportunity for the WWE Championship. Despite strong efforts in the months that followed, “The Whole Dam Show” never attained the championship glory he had once enjoyed, though his first match back from a six-month hiatus last Monday showed the former WWE Champion to be more than re-energized. On a roll since his high-flying re-emergence, RVD has picked up two substantial victories over Damien Sandow, but where will this former WWE Champion ride this wave of momentum? 

5) As if Cesaro hadn’t already cemented himself as a major player in WWE with a huge victory in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30, “The King of Swing” was officially anointed as a Paul Heyman Guy the following night. When you’re aligned with the man who masterminded the end of The Undertaker’s vaunted Streak at The Show of Shows, you’re destined  to, as Heyman himself puts it, become “the next great commodity in sports-entertainment.”

In a Hulk Hogan-esque feat of strength on SmackDown, Cesaro manhandled the 425-pound Big Show to stun the giant with his signature Neutralizer, though his former allies Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter continue to meddle in the former U.S. Champion’s affairs. How will the powerful Swiss Superman continue to benefit from the tutelage of one of the most calculating minds in WWE history?

Possible Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 31 opponent

Reports  says that WWE has mentioned two possible opponents for Lesnar at WrestleMania 31. The first is The Rock, who was reportedly supposed to be Lesnar's opponent at WrestleMania 30. The other name is Cesaro, who became the latest "Paul Heyman Guy" on Monday Night Raw this week.

Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella marry in Arizona

SEDONA, Ariz. – Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella were married Friday night in a magical ceremony in front of friends, family, Superstars and Divas! The WWE World Heavyweight Champion and the "Total Divas" star's nuptials were captured by E!'s cameras for the hit reality show's Season 2 finale later this spring. broke the wedding news earlier today.

Guests joined the happy couple at L'Auberge de Sedona resort and spa, including John Cena, Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, Jimmy Uso and "Total Divas" cast members Cameron, Naomi, Natalya and Eva Marie. Nikki Bella was maid of honor for her sister.

The Ultimate Warrior Passes Away At 54

WWE announced that The Ultimate Warrior passed away at the age of 54. The company sent us this statement:

WWE is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the most iconic WWE Superstars ever, The Ultimate Warrior. Warrior began his WWE career in 1987 and quickly went on to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history. Warrior became WWE Champion at WrestleMania VI, defeating Hulk Hogan in an epic encounter. We are grateful that just days ago, Warrior had the opportunity to take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame and was also able to appear at WrestleMania 30 and Monday Night Raw to address his legions of fans. WWE sends its sincere condolences to Warrior's family, friends and fans. Warrior was 54 and is survived by his wife Dana and his two daughters.

WWE Raw April 7th, 2014

Tonight's WWE RAW will take place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans with the fallout from WrestleMania XXX. It's worth noting that WWE is not advertising Brock Lesnar or The Undertaker for tonight.

WWE is focusing on the following points for tonight:

* How will Daniel Bryan address the WWE Universe?

* Do Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar plan on speaking after ending The Streak?

* Is one victory enough for John Cena to rid himself of The Wyatt Family?

* What's next for Cesaro?

* What lied ahead for The Shield?

Source- WWE.com