Strummer

Hunter was bumping like a mad man in the final segment. Like Steph I think he is enjoying this program. Steph on commentary providing sound effects reminded me when she did guest color all the time during the MCMahon Helmsley stuff and alliance stuff. Vince kinda did that to

She is clearly having the time of her life

Cena!!! Holy shit that was incredible!!

definitely they can keep the HHH/Steph dynamic if they start adding fresh faces. I have a feeling that Bryan/Batista will be the post Mania program though yep it has to be different than Summerslam to avoid a rehash

if they put the title on Bryan I fail to see how they can keep it fresh with him v Hunter and Steph post mania. It's featured some great stuff but everything they do after mania would seem like a rehash unless they add some fresh faces. I'm actually hoping Vince does come back and shake things up

that video package proves that the real draw here is the fans vs the company and the company knows that. That was 15 years worth of burials there (well probably not in all cases) I would agree they probably need to stop doing these long verbal duels every week. They are starting to lose their significance after so many of them. The crowd seemed deflated at the end there

Daniel Bryan is so awesome on this show. Tonight him mocking Ariane's rap lyrics had me rolling. He's super quick witted and dry. They should let him show this side of himself on TV oh and him accusing Nattie of putting Icy Hot up her ass for pleasure. This guy is so awesome

According to Dave tomorrow's "Go Home" RAW has already been written and few if any changes are expected

14 years ago today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhrUlrmZ5v8

Nothing specific but said he'll always being rooting for him to succeed no matter what. It was the tone of his voice

when Shawn was on the podcast with Renee you could tell he's mentally done with wrestling. And in read between the lines stuff he was clearly not happy they way they had been booking Bryan

The ratings stuff might have been bullshit but I believe the merchandise stuff was legit. They ditched the beard and goat stuff for a reason. Who knows what was going on from HITC till February and what the reasons were for not pushing him stronger

Last fall during the Orton/Bryan feud they had Orton stalking and harassing Brie backstage for a few weeks and she was so terrible that they completely dropped it and never mentioned it again. Well it was mentioned on Total Divas

Do they trust Brie to take out Steph at Mania? They seemed to have lost all faith in her being involved in top storylines after the debacle last fall in the Orton program

It's funny because right when the company supposedly said they couldn't push him because he didn't move numbers he started to move numbers. Now second in merch sold and he's moving the tv needle. It probably was a matter of time after the reactions he was getting but the company seemingly no longer has patience

I'm not sure it does, really. They've been running the feud for months, there is lots of hatred there and a lot at stake in the actual match. This is the most heated feud WWE has had in at least 10 years. I really think they need to go over the top with the match to make it as memorable as possible, to really create a classic MOMENT, not just a good match. The interest in Bryan's chase really demands something out of the ordinary, since this is not just another feud. In fact I can't think of a feud since Austin McMahon that has brought such anger and passion from the viewing audience. Of course in Austin McMahon you never got the feeling Austin was legitimately being held down like with Bryan. As we've said there is a sub feud with the fans v the company going on here

Vince did an interview with Forbes and referred to the WWE audience as a "growing monster that can eat you alive". I didnt read the whole write up so maybe it was taken out of context but he had to be referring to the Bryan backlash there, right? Interesting

Forgot about 22. Yep

As an aside this will most likely be Steph's first appearance in front of the live crowd at Mania since WM 18. She appeared in a backstage vignette at WM 23

They certainly seemed to be foreshadowing a Vince return last night with Stephanie and Hunter specifically mentioning that they have the most power. At this point I think it's a lock he returns after Mania. But does he kick out HHH/Steph or do they start the power struggle storyline they had planned for Mania?

I have no idea what the deal was with her missing her cue in the backstage bit. That was awkward

some posters at DVDVR are saying Steph carried the opening segment. Man she was real good but damn Batista and Orton just killed me. People have been saying she's carried all the angles the past few weeks I don't see that. Everyone played their parts well, especially tonight

Holy shit they have to give us an extended Shield babyface run!

Anyone catch the backstage segment with the Shield? Steph obviously missed her cue and Hunter had to prompt her to start talking by staring right at her. Awkward. And he's going in as Razor Ramon and not Scott Hall?

Have to honest Batista and Orton have been absolutely hilarious the past couple weeks. Probably not the best going into a Mania but they have had me howling. I almost want to see them paired as a heel act