Lesnar a no-show at Raw
Much like the case three years ago, Brock Lesnar holds a major WWE title heading into WrestleMania as his contract is about to expire.
And just like 2015, the rumors are swirling about whether he will resign with WWE or head back to UFC.
This past Monday, Lesnar and Paul Heyman were announced to appear on Raw in a segment to go face-to-face with Roman Reigns, the man who will face Lesnar for the title at Mania as well as the man who has been penciled in to win the title from Lesnar for over a year now.
However, Lesnar and Heyman did not show up to Raw.
Did Lesnar no-show Raw to gain a negotiating tactic or to gain leverage with his current deal?
Or, after a picture of Lesnar and White together in Vegas was posted Sunday night upset WWE brass and they told him to stay home?
Maybe this is part of a storyline to help get he fans more behind Reigns heading into the match at Mania?
After all, Lesnar would be the more popular wrestler in the match if it happened today.
That is part of the reason why WWE had Reigns cut the promo he did on Raw, as if to turn the fans against Lesnar which in turn would put them more behind him.
One aspect that most people are not looking at is that Heyman, who is one of the most professional people behind the scenes, would never no-show an event so the hunch here is that he knew that he and Lesnar were not written into the show.
Considering that Lesnar arrives late to shows and has his own locker room, most people did not even know that he was not at Raw.
The hype about the picture with White may be overblown as well considering there is no proof that either man was even in Vegas Sunday.
It is well-known that Lesnar yearns to return to the UFC, and the company could use his star power.
But just like three years ago, is he simply positioning himself for a better deal with WWE?
More on the story as it develops.
Cena蘑菇视频 Mania opponent
Also on Raw, John Cena talked about facing The Undertaker at Mania, and when he did, the arena erupted. However, Cena said that higher-ups told him the match would not happen.
Word also broke midweek that Rey Mysterio is close to signing a deal to return to WWE and that he would face Cena at Mania.
While a Cena vs. Mysterio match could happen, don鈥檛 count out the Cena match with Taker just yet. It is still scheduled to take place, and while that could still change, Cena蘑菇视频 announcement that he was headed to Smackdown pushed back the start of the storyline.
After Cena comes up short in the WWE championship six-pack challenge at Fastlane later this month, the storyline with The Undertaker will begin.
FOX executives at Smackdown
Richard Deitsch, a writer for Sports Illustrated, reported via social media that FOX Sports President Eric Shanks and FOX Talent Producer Jacob Ullman were in the front row at Smackdown Live on Tuesday night, as was on-air talent Colin Cowherd.
FOX has long been rumored to want WWE蘑菇视频 television rights and also as potential buyers of WWE.
In the past the thought has been WWE would stay with NBC Universal, the parent company of the USA Network, and WWE would talk with other companies to try and boost up a better deal with NBC, but now I am not so sure.
Cowherd has bashed pro wrestling, or sports entertainment, for years, but after speaking positively about Smackdown after the event, his lip service shows that FOX is indeed in it to win it in terms of WWE蘑菇视频 programming and possibly the company.
One notable fact, if WWE moved its programming to FOX, is that Raw would go back to two hours from the current three-plus hour format.
It is known backstage that WWE knows the three-hour show each Monday drains fans both in attendance and on TV, and a move back to two hours would be positive.
FOX Sports airs its nightly highlight show at 10 p.m. EST so Raw would end at the top of the hour and not a few minutes late like it does now, usually going anywhere from five to 12 minutes longer.
WWE is making a ton of money off of the third hour for Raw and that is the only reason the show is that long.
Mixed Tag Team Challenge continues Tuesday
The second quarterfinal of the WWE Mixed Tag Team Challenge takes place Tuesday on Facebook Live when Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss take on Jimmy Uso and Naomi.
The winning team advances to the semifinals to face The Miz and Asuka.
When the brackets came out, it was obvious that The Miz and Asuka were the favorites, and with WWE teasing Bliss and Asuka at Mania as well as possibly teasing Strowman and The Miz, the match was easy to predict.
So, unless WWE throws a massive curveball and have Uso and Naomi win, Strowman and Bliss will move on.