{"id":75608,"date":"2019-02-25T13:26:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T19:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=75608"},"modified":"2019-02-25T13:27:26","modified_gmt":"2019-02-25T19:27:26","slug":"wwe-raw-primer-2-25-roman-returns-flair-celebrates-the-big-seven-o-the-nxt-wrestlers-whats-up-with-ambrose-challengers-for-bayley-sasha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/02\/25\/wwe-raw-primer-2-25-roman-returns-flair-celebrates-the-big-seven-o-the-nxt-wrestlers-whats-up-with-ambrose-challengers-for-bayley-sasha\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW PRIMER 2\/25: Roman returns, Flair celebrates the big \u201cSeven O,\u201d The NXT wrestlers, What\u2019s up with Ambrose, Challengers for Bayley &#038; Sasha"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3507925772\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nFEBRUARY 25, 2019<br \/>\nATLANTA, GA. AT THE STATE FARM ARENA<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EST<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><em>Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Arena and Items Advertised by WWE <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Tonight, WWE Raw arrives in the city in which their former competition WCW was based until 2001, when WWE (then known as WWF) purchased their competitors of the Monday Night Wars.\u00a0 Atlanta, GA.\u2019s State Farm Arena will play host to an episode which will feature a returning Roman Reigns.\u00a0 Reigns won his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship here back at Survivor Series in 2015 by defeating Dean Ambrose in the finals of a tournament to determine the vacated title, only to lose it moments later to a Money in the Bank cashing-in Sheamus.\u00a0 Ironically that title was vacated by their Shield brother Seth Rollins, who had hurt his knee in a house show against Kane just a few weeks earlier.<\/p>\n<p>We continue to get ready for Fastlane which will be the last PPV on the \u201croad to WrestleMania.\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s what is advertised by <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> subject to change as the day goes on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Big Dog is back<\/li>\n<li>A birthday celebration worthy of The Nature Boy<\/li>\n<li>NXT Superstars (Wrestlers) on the rise<\/li>\n<li>There\u2019s something about Dean Ambrose<\/li>\n<li>Who will be The Boss \u2018N\u2019 Hug Connection\u2019s first challengers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Thoughts on Raw Last Week and in General<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Before we look at tonight\u2019s show, let\u2019s look at last week\u2019s episode.\u00a0 It was problematic in several ways, as has been well documented here at PWTorch both in writing and on podcasts.\u00a0 When you promote four of your best talents from your developmental brand and make no mistake NXT is still a developmental brand, that\u2019s something you want to do ahead of time and get your audience excited to the point that when they show up it\u2019s a big deal.\u00a0 It\u2019s basic wrestling promoting 101 right?\u00a0 Have I missed something in the last 33 years of watching this company and other promotions?\u00a0 They spend a month and a half telling us about Lacey Evans, EC3, Heavy Machinery, Nikki Cross, and Lars Sullivan.\u00a0 They\u2019ve told us a million times about Ric Flair\u2019s birthday celebration tonight.\u00a0 Yet they turn around and hotshot Aleister Black, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa onto a show with out any buildup and introduce them by basically reading from index cards.\u00a0 It sounded like Johnny Olsen on the Price is Right telling us about a kitchen set a contestant could win.\u00a0 They put Gargano &amp; Ciampa together in their old DIY tag team and it looked like they were getting along famously and showing no signs of friction.\u00a0 WWE just flushed down their near two-year brilliant storyline down the toilet in one night.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is a larger one, and it starts from the top.\u00a0 Vince McMahon has spent the better part of last the 14 years sticking John Cena and Roman Reigns down our throats and doing everything he can to squash talent that gets over organically with the crowd.\u00a0 He\u2019s done everything to drive people away and whittled the audience down to basically a niche group.\u00a0 I question how these people got FOX to fork over one billion dollars for Smackdown.<\/p>\n<p>The active Raw roster is too thin for a three-hour show.\u00a0 This is why you\u2019re running Braun Strowman out there every week when he should be reserved as a special attraction.\u00a0 Ronda Rousey is wrestling every week and giving a rematch to a challenger one night after plowing through her because, as you know, a champion MUST defend a title the night after defending on a PPV.\u00a0 Champions don\u2019t get an automatic rematch after losing a title, but an unsuccessful challenger does.\u00a0 I got it.<\/p>\n<p>The company is rich in talent overall, but it\u2019s spread out over way too many shows.\u00a0 The split roster is problematic.\u00a0 There are five brands under the WWE umbrella producing eight hours of programming each week.\u00a0 There are 17 championships.\u00a0 It makes each program and winning a championship feel less important.<\/p>\n<p>It is nearly noon on the east coast and not one match is announced for tonight\u2019s show, the flagship brand of WWE.\u00a0 Two matches and a contract signing are already announced for Smackdown.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-526889144\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The bottom line is you wonder about the way they are doing things overall.\u00a0 The show doesn\u2019t flow week to week.\u00a0 There\u2019s discontinuity in storylines.\u00a0 Wrestlers get pushed for two weeks and then stopped (Apollo Crews, Mojo Rawley, etc.).\u00a0 The Revival wins a championship in an unadvertised match and jobs a week later to Gargano &amp; Ciampa for no reason.\u00a0 They hotshot probably the best NXT onto the main roster in a secondary market like Lafayette, LA. (no disrespect to that city but it\u2019s not as big as N.Y., Chicago, L.A., etc.).\u00a0 It\u2019s being reactive and not proactive.\u00a0 I could go on and on.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see how things are handled going forward especially with AEW looming, talent asking &amp; being granted their releases, and the changes backstage I briefly touch on later.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roman Reigns Talks About His Leukemia Battle<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This past Thursday, Vince McMahon tweeted and <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> confirmed that Roman Reigns will return to Raw and update us on his battle with leukemia.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the tweet from Vince:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWERomanReigns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WWERomanReigns<\/a> (aka Joe Anoa&#39;i) will address the status of his fight with leukemia this Monday on Raw. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/fighter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#fighter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/proud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#proud<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/classy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#classy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kgXD8SHwVc\">pic.twitter.com\/kgXD8SHwVc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VinceMcMahon\/status\/1098714525568765953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 21, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As we recall, on the October 22 episode of Raw last year, Reigns announced he had been battling leukemia for the past 11 years and it had returned.\u00a0 He was forced to relinquish the Universal Championship and would be taking a leave from WWE to undergo treatment.\u00a0 He was to defend the title in a triple threat against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match at the upcoming Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia at the time, but obviously could not take part in that match.\u00a0 Lesnar would go on to win the championship when he defeated Strowman with the assistance of general manager (at the time) Baron Corbin.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, Reigns returns and tells us what\u2019s going on with him.<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 I could imagine there being some negativity about this, with the thinking that Vince is using a man speaking about his illness as a way to boost ratings.\u00a0 I certainly wouldn\u2019t put it past WWE.\u00a0 The thing is though Reigns may actually want to get out and talk about what\u2019s happening, especially if things are going well.\u00a0 For Reigns and his family\u2019s sake I hope that is the case, as that is all we should care about at this point.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to, but I\u2019ll give WWE the benefit of the doubt on this.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ric Flair\u2019s 70th\u00a0Birthday Celebration<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For the last several weeks, WWE has promoted that they will be celebrating \u201cNature Boy\u201d Ric Flair\u2019s 70<sup>th<\/sup> birthday on tonight\u2019s episode.<\/p>\n<p>While completely unnecessary from a wrestling standpoint, it is appropriate they have this celebration in Atlanta.\u00a0 Flair was a staple of Jim Crockett Promotions and of WCW until they closed their doors in 2001.\u00a0 While in Jim Crockett Promotions he won the NWA title on numerous occasions and was also the WWF Champion and WCW Champion multiple times.\u00a0 He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008, the night before he lost a retirement match to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania.\u00a0 He would also be inducted as a member of the Four Horsemen in 2012, while being an active member of the TNA roster at the time.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2263992579\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>As we all know, his daughter Charlotte Flair will be challenging Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania for the Raw Women\u2019s Championship.\u00a0 Vince McMahon replaced the original challenger, Charlotte\u2019s best friend Becky Lynch, two weeks ago on Raw.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not known if any legends will be in attendance, but one of them won\u2019t be Flair\u2019s long-time friend Arn Anderson.\u00a0 It was reported this past Friday that Anderson was let go by WWE, as they continue to modify their roster of producers.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 Now we don\u2019t think Becky Lynch will somehow get involved in this do we?\u00a0 No, not at all.\u00a0 This has NOTHING to do with just being another chain in the storyline leading to WrestleMania involving Charlotte and Becky, not one thing, right?\u00a0 The lengths to which this company will go to put on a show are comical.\u00a0 Either way, let\u2019s wish a happy one and many more to \u201cThe Nature Boy.\u201d\u00a0 Above all else we hope he is doing well considering his recent health scare and overall way he\u2019s lived his life.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>NXT Wrestlers and What\u2019s Next<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I talked earlier about Aleister Black, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, and NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa making their Raw debuts last week.\u00a0 Ricochet teamed with new Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor and defeated Bobby Lashley &amp; Lio Rush.\u00a0 Lashley &amp; Rush appeared to have split up at Elimination Chamber, but as Michael Cole pointed out they worked out their differences and were paired up again.<\/p>\n<p>Gargano &amp; Ciampa teamed up to defeat new Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival, seemingly renewing their NXT feud when Gargano &amp; Ciampa were DIY.\u00a0 As I said also, they seemingly flushed Gargano &amp; Ciampa\u2019s near-two year down the drain by having them appear to get along without issue.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a tweet from Ciampa:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/projectciampa\/status\/1098222958605148161?s=21<\/p>\n<p>Aleister Black defeated Elias after interrupting another song.\u00a0 Poor Elias just can\u2019t seem to finish a tune these days.<\/p>\n<p>All four men appeared on Smackdown as well.\u00a0 Gargano &amp; Ciampa defeated The Bar (Sheamus &amp; Cesaro).\u00a0 Ricochet defeated Eric Young of Sanity (remember them?).\u00a0 Black defeated former rival Andrade, ironically in the same building in which Black took the NXT Championship from Andrade at last year\u2019s Takeover during WrestleMania weekend.<\/p>\n<p>It looks like all men will be on tonight\u2019s show according to <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>, but their opponents or whatever they may be doing is not known as of this writing.\u00a0 On Smackdown tomorrow night, Black teams with Ricochet to take on Rusev &amp; Shinsuke Nakamura while Johnny Gargano goes up against Cesaro.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a tweet from WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross to Black:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/wwealeister\/status\/1097739583788367873?s=21<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 This was discussed earlier.\u00a0 I\u2019ll add that I hope for the ardent fans that watch NXT, they tie the storyline between Gargano &amp; Ciampa in an effective way on the main roster.\u00a0 Disregarding everything they\u2019ve done over the past year and a half and what they\u2019ve done recently is unacceptable.\u00a0 Black selling more than he should have against Elias with a commercial break in between may not have been the right move.\u00a0 Ricochet\u2019s debut was mostly fine, but a one-on-one against an opponent that didn\u2019t have to sell might have worked better.\u00a0 This is where you need those jobbers that can work these matches and allow the new talent to show what they can do in order to be established to the fanbase.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Dean Ambrose<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last week, Dean Ambrose fell to Drew McIntyre in about two minutes.\u00a0 This followed a week where he defeated EC3, one of the talents they talked about for over a month and a half when the McMahons promised a fresh start.<\/p>\n<p>Later on, when Seth Rollins was being interviewed about his upcoming WrestleMania match with Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Ambrose interrupted.\u00a0 He questioned Rollins as to why he wasn\u2019t out there, to which Rollins asked, \u201chave you completely lost your mind?\u201d\u00a0 Ambrose shrugged his shoulders and walked away.<\/p>\n<p>Who knows, but we\u2019ll see what unfolds tonight.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 You could tell they don\u2019t think much of EC3 otherwise he wouldn\u2019t be jobbing to a departing Ambrose, who ends up getting crushed by someone else the following week.\u00a0 Where this goes is anybody\u2019s guess, but it could be a way to get another match in between Ambrose and Rollins on the way to WrestleMania.\u00a0 Perhaps Ambrose is trying to throw off Rollins thinking he wants to be friends until he betrays him again.\u00a0 That\u2019s a lot to pull off in a few weeks, but if anybody can microwave something as cockamamie as that it\u2019s WWE.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Challengers for Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As we know, The Boss \u2018N\u2019 Hug Connection (Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks) are the WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Champions after winning the Elimination Chamber match last Sunday to crown the inaugural champions.\u00a0 The original WWF Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship was retired in 1989 but will be not connected to the lineage of these titles.<\/p>\n<p>Bayley &amp; Sasha came out to discuss their happiness with becoming the champs, similar to their interview following the match last Sunday.\u00a0 They said they would defend the titles on Raw, Smackdown, or even NXT.\u00a0 They were interrupted by Nia Jax &amp; Tamina, whom also partook in the match.\u00a0 As they went to attack, Sasha put Nia in the Bank Statement.\u00a0 Tamina pulled Nia to safety and they retreated.<\/p>\n<p>Bayley &amp; Sasha did not appear on Smackdown but did appear at an NXT taping this past Wednesday.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find out whom or how they will they will determine their next challengers.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 You do have to be happy for Bayley &amp; Sasha, mostly from the standpoint of them being poorly booked in recent times.\u00a0 In their tweets they look genuinely happy and are getting endorsed by WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Alundra Blayze (let\u2019s just hope they don\u2019t throw the titles in the garbage if they ever go to AEW.\u00a0 Sorry, couldn\u2019t help it).\u00a0 This promo did feel long and laborious and mostly unnecessary.\u00a0 File this under the category of being short-handed on Raw and doing what they need to do to fill time.\u00a0 A sit-down interview or a video package would have done just fine, where they could have said \u201cnext week, Bayley &amp; Sasha will learn who they\u2019re next challengers will be.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This title being a floating title is interesting, as I maintain it could be a test to see if they want to do it with others.\u00a0 Who knows but perhaps down the line they could unify the men\u2019s and women\u2019s titles and have them float as well.\u00a0 That\u2019s not me knowing anything but rather hazarding a guess.<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Other Possible Items for Tonight<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>At Elimination Chamber, Bobbly Lashley and Drew McIntyre assisted Baron Corbin in defeating Braun Strowman.\u00a0 Last week, Braun defeated Corbin in the opening of Raw in a tables match they likely advertised an hour or two before Raw on their Twitter account.\u00a0 Lashley and McIntyre came nowhere near this match.\u00a0 Who knows where they go with this on again\/off again alliance.<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Two weeks ago, Elias was interrupted multiple times last week doing his performance, with one of times being by Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Lince Durado, and Gran Metalik).\u00a0 When he offered to do a duet with Kalisto, he attacked him from behind with a guitar.\u00a0 Thankfully, there was no follow up on that as Elias took on Aleister Black.\u00a0 They could go back to it tonight, unless they decided Black needs to sell for Elias some more.<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Speaking of Lucha House Party they defeated the Lovable Losers (just thought of that name) Curt Hawkins &amp; Zack Ryder.\u00a0 How anyone thought this made any sense is beyond my ability to reason.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see to whom Hawkins &amp; Ryder hang an \u201cL\u201d on their record tonight.<\/li>\n<li>Paul Heyman played a two-part video package discussing Brock Lesnar\u2019s history as he gets ready to put the Universal Championship on the line against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania.\u00a0 They probably take a break from Heyman doing anything tonight, although it was interesting to see Braun Strowman choking him on the way up the ramp after he finished his match with Corbin.\u00a0 With Seth Rollins still not medically cleared to wrestle, you wonder if they are hedging in the event they need another opponent for Lesnar and want to have them wrestle another three-six minute uneventful match.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Bruce Prichard Return to WWE Creative<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As has been reported and covered here at PWTorch, Bruce Prichard is returning to WWE to a \u201chigh level\u201d position on the creative team.\u00a0 Prichard is famous for his Brother Love character from the late-&#8217;80s to the early-&#8217;90s and was the initial manager of the Undertaker.\u00a0 He was fired after a controversial segment in 1991 but returned a year later.\u00a0 He reprised the Brother Love role throughout the years, but his primary duties were to be Vince McMahon\u2019s right-hand man.\u00a0 He served in that role until 2008 when he was fired by Stephanie McMahon.<\/p>\n<p>He spent some time in TNA\/Impact Wrestling and also became known for his \u201cSomething to Wrestle\u201d podcast with Conrad Thompson.\u00a0 A video version of the show was on the WWE Network in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>It will be interesting to see how things unfold in the near future with this move and the other changes behind the scenes recently (hirings of Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Shane Helms, Joseph Park as producers) as well as letting go of Arn Anderson last week.\u00a0 Prichard was with WWE during their successful days winning the Monday Night War, but also some darker times in the years that followed.\u00a0 Your mileage will vary but one can\u2019t imagine history being too kind to the Ruthless Aggression and initial John Cena years, which ran from 2002 until past the time Prichard was let go.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised on the Arena Website <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The State Farm Arena\u2019s website does not specify a start time.\u00a0 They show the same \u201cdouble main event\u201d several websites have shown recently:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin<\/li>\n<li>Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Championship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They do correctly show Roman Reigns returning and Ric Flair\u2019s 70<sup>th<\/sup> birthday celebration.\u00a0 They also show Ronda Rousey, Elias, Dean Ambrose, Nia Jax, The Revival, Bobby Roode &amp; Chad Gable, Natalya, and Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks appearing.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani or e-mail me at <a href=\"mailto:fpeteani@gmail.com\">fpeteani@gmail.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Questions and discussion are welcome.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/02\/18\/heydorns-wwe-raw-report-2-18-alt-perspective-coverage-of-the-live-show-including-elimination-chamber-fallout-balors-ic-title-reign-begins-and-more\/\">HEYDORN\u2019S WWE RAW REPORT 2\/18: Alt Perspective coverage of the live show including Elimination Chamber fallout, Balor\u2019s IC title reign begins, Corbin vs. Strowman, and more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1818938260\"><div id=\"pwtor-1860389767\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER FEBRUARY 25, 2019 ATLANTA, GA. AT THE STATE FARM ARENA AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST \u00a0Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/02\/25\/wwe-raw-primer-2-25-roman-returns-flair-celebrates-the-big-seven-o-the-nxt-wrestlers-whats-up-with-ambrose-challengers-for-bayley-sasha\/\" title=\"WWE RAW PRIMER 2\/25: Roman returns, Flair celebrates the big \u201cSeven O,\u201d The NXT wrestlers, What\u2019s up with Ambrose, Challengers for Bayley &#038; Sasha\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4354,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Reigns_3x2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75612,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75608\/revisions\/75612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}