What you need to know
There's some new gizmo from WWE you can buy. Lots of rasslin for one low, low monthly price. Should probably check that out.
The Wyatt Family were extremely busy last night in Minneapolis. Their patriarch directed his sons in a brutal, take no prisoners overthrow of The Shield. But they weren't done there. No, they managed to mystically place themselves in the Chamber structure in order to assault John Cena, leading to his being eliminated from contention for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Bray had announced that Cena was his next target back at Royal Rumble, and with The Hounds of Justice out of the way, it seems he's putting that plan into motion.
Roman Reigns ended up fighting alone after the Eater of Worlds and his boys put Seth Rollins through a table and...did something to Dean Ambrose in the crowd. There had been signs of friction between the paramilitary trio before their war with The Wyatts. We'll see tonight how they respond to the loss, and how each member thinks they performed.
Daniel Bryan again had the championship and a moment of glory pulled just out of his reach when interference from Director of Operations Kane resulted in his being pinned by Randy Orton in the main event. Michael Cole channeled the fan's outrage at this latest slight, but it's unclear if all the outrage in the world will get Bryan another shot at the belts in the short-term future.
Because the powers-that-be seem dead set on placing Batista in the role of babyface against The Viper at WrestleMania. Despite Alberto Del Rio's best efforts, the Elimination Chamber crowd was not interested in seeing The Animal do much of anything last night - and reaction here at cSs was no better. A match between the two men at the Hulk Hogan-hosted Showcase of the Immortals will probably be an epic mis-step, but Vince McMahon and company show no signs of not going through with it.
Yes, Hogan has signed to return to his "home" at WWE. Will he interact with The Real Americans who currently reside there? Both Cesaro and Jack Swagger came up short in their title shots on pay-per-view (PPV). Zeb Colter has been employing a tough love approach to Swagger, and the Swiss-American might be in line for some of the same after he tapped to Cena's STF in last night's main event.
In addition to Big E retaining his Intercontinental title, the New Age Outlaws gave The Usos their latest PPV defeat and held onto the tag team belts. And in one of the worst matches in recent memory, AJ Lee extended her record-breaking run with the Divas championship when she took out Cameron despite a poorly aimed boot from her hired muscle, Tamina Snuka.
What to look out for
The Immortal One. Hopefully not for all three hours. But quite possibly. Green Bay better be ready for the running wild of 24 inch pythons.
Can The Shield maintain the integrity of one of the most dominant unit's in WWE history? Even if they can, where do the head next in the wake of a decisive defeat last night. Even in the loss, all three men looked like stars. But their futures will be decided by what happens next.
What can WWE do to drum up interest in Orton vs. Batista? Will they put Bryan in the match and make it a triple threat? Would they consider at least teasing a heel turn for the soon-to-be movie star? How will Triple H and The Authority play the feud between two kayfabe "friends of Haitch"?
How will Cena and Bryan respond to the interlopers who cost them their chance to face the Rumble winner in New Orleans? Have The Wyatts and Kane bitten off more than they can chew in betraying the babyfaces in the Chamber?
Find out tonight during the first Raw of the WWE Network era!
What they should do
There is a really interesting story to be woven out of the threads of what looked like an over-booked finish to last night's main event.
Kane's abduction by The Wyatts and subsequent re-emergence as a suit-and-tie wearing middle manager has never been addressed. Nor have the numerous "The devil made me do it" promos that Bray cut after he and his band started channeling their chaos in ways that benefited Hunter and his "best for business" efforts.
Officially casting The Devil's Favorite Executive as a go-between for The Authority and The Wyatts provides a bunch of different angles that Creative can look at not only Wyatts vs Cena and either Kane or The Game against Bryan, but also the WWE World Heavyweight Championship program.
I'd rather they read the writing that's written all over the walls of every arena they've been to since Royal Rumble and audible out of Batista's title shot at 'Mania. But baring that, it could be interesting to see the already paranoid champ circle his former ally from Evolution, who himself is wondering if he can let his guard down at all considering the type of men his employers are willing to deal with in the name of business.
Tying up loose ends in continuity almost always makes a stronger product, and gives the impression that the writing team knows what they're doing. The Kane-Bray connection is a big gap that can be used to add depth to not only the feuds they're directly involved in, but everything that's effected by The Authority program that's been driving the company since SummerSlam.
What we're afraid they will do
Try to get Batista a babyface reaction by having the Hulkster put him over.
Crap, that's totally something they're going to do tonight, isn't it?
Are you excited about the Road to WrestleMania? Or just happy you can browse the archives if Raw starts to go off the rails tonight?
Join your fellow Cagesiders in tonight's live blog thread, and stick around for Cageside Live and whatever other trouble I can get into on the first day of WWE going over-the-top and straight to you!