Main Event Reax - 7/8/14, off-air Raw notes, Foley praises Santino, Raw guest, why one star wasn't on Raw, new WWE PPV matches, Punk update, WWE Network updates, Smackdown audience, Sting tease, WWE game concept art and Questions on Battleground's main event, the Funkadactlys, WWE's sponsorships, jumpstarting TNA and WWE owning names

Main Event:
I liked the intensity of the Sheamus/Del Rio pre-match promo. A last man standing match would be much more special if the match didn't just get thrown together. Anyway, I don't think it's time to unify the midcard titles. Maybe after we get six or seven more injuries in the next few months.

I think the kendo stick should be retired for a while. It seems like it's used in every hardcore match.

That was a pretty good match. I think that awesome powerbomb should have been the finish. Good work from both veterans.

I expected Y2J vs. Wyatt at Battleground, but it's still an exciting prospect.

Good promo from Jericho. He knows how to strike that balance between serious and comical.

Fine enough handicap match to get that storyline further along. Nikki's husband would have overcome the odds, but Nikki's not as lucky.

Ehhh... that post-match was good to keep that angle moving forward. I wonder how many "Total Divas" fans watched this.

On its most basic level, that segment was a good promo for the Network and a solid babyface moment for Hart and Jericho. There were several interesting moments for me:
1. Y2J namedropped Owen. I didn't expect that one, given how the company goes out of its way to not promote him.

2. Sandow namedropped Ted Turner and WCW. I guess that could have been to play off the Monday Night War series preview, but it was still crazy to hear in 2014.

3. Bret Hart is now emulating the Screwjob with himself as Shawn Michaels, and for laughs no less. That's mind-blowing given how big of a deal that used to be. There were concerns about physical safety for those who were in on it the night it happened. Bret actually punched Vince backstage. People quit. I know it's been 17 years and I'm glad he's moved on, but it's still weird to see.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Here's a live perspective from Monday's Raw taping (including Superstars spoilers). It was funny to read a complaint about people not getting over Punk while using an even more dated jab at Ryback.

Mick Foley thanked Santino Marella for his WWE career. Santino did a LOT with that gimmick. I'm glad he found a role that worked instead of being stuck with a serious act that flopped and left him in the "Creative has nothing for you" role.

Sylvain Grenier visited at Raw. He lives in Montreal. I think I'd pop for a one-off La Resistance appearance, but I don't see it happening.

Jack Swagger was unable to be at Raw in Canada due to his DUI conviction. I can't say I blame Canada there. I wish there was a kayfabe explanation about Zeb boycotting Canada or something, but that would have heeled the crowd. The heat in this angle needs to be on Rusev.

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose and Rusev vs. Jack Swagger are set for WWE Battleground. Neither addition is surprising. For an off-brand PPV, this one's looking pretty good.

AJ Lee's return to WWE has prompted speculation of the status of her new husband C.M. Punk. His contract is set to expire on July 17 and there hasn't been any real discussion between Punk and WWE in months. Punk has referred to himself as retired after his walkout. Punk's earned a retirement after years of abusing his body. If he wants to come back to WWE down the line, it will be on his terms. I fully expect his contract to expire without him renewing.

"Monday Night War" is set to premiere on the WWE Network in August. Summerslam season will be big for the Network one way or another.

WWE will continue to add episodes of Saturday Night's Main Event as they edit the old music for licensing issues. This is why WWE does so much music in-house now!

Smackdown's audience dropped all the way to 1.88 million for Independence Day. WOW. I hope people had fun at their cookouts or whatever and are back for this week.

Sting posted a date on Twitter coinciding with Monday's Raw. This is expected to be the start of promotion for him being in WWE 2K15. I can't wait to see the trailer! Sting in WWE is a REALLY big deal for historical reasons.

Some concept art for a scrapped WWE game has been leaked. That looks really cool. I'm intrigued with the idea of a WWE fighting game in the vein of something like Street Fighter, although I'm not really sure how that would work.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'd like that if it wasn't for Chris Jericho coming back to work with Wyatt. There's a valid point in splitting the fans' loyalty between Cena and Reigns, but it also elevates Reigns to be the only non-former WWE Champion in the match.

2. That's actually a good point. I guess they're more over as "the Funkadactyls" than as "Naomi and Cameron" and that's why they still were referred to by that name.

3. There's a joke here about bringing back the Attitude Era's edgy content, etc., but I definitely think there's an important line WWE crossed here with using one of their most kid-friendly stars promoting something alcoholic. Ultimately it probably came down to the money they got from the spot.

4. I think the TV from Bethlehem was important for setting the stage for what happened in NYC. They shouldn't skip important chapters in the story to jump to the fun stuff, as much of a temptation as that can be.

5. Oh yes, intellectual property rights. I don't see it as much different from Keifer Sutherland not being able to be Jack Bauer on another show. In the earlier days, there was also the situation where someone had big name value from another promotion and WWE wanted to capitalize on that. Nowadays, WWE is the big dog in town and a lot of their fans aren't familiar with the signings the Internet gets excited about.

More wrestling tomorrow.