5 Things to Watch for on March 25 Edition of WWE Monday Night Raw

As hard as it may be to believe, WrestleMania XXIX is now less than two weeks away. So this week's edition of Raw in Philadelphia is about as big as they come. Many fans have voiced their displeasure with what they perceive to be lackluster build, but the WWE has a golden opportunity to change their minds Monday night.

The biggest news is unquestionably the return of The Rock to WWE programming. The WWE Champion hasn't appeared on Raw in two weeks due to outside commitments, but he will be present on Monday night and will almost certainly come face to face with John Cena. They have only had one exchange during their feud to this point, so there should be plenty of ammunition on both ends to generate some interest moving forward.

The Rock vs. Cena may be the featured rivalry, but The Undertaker vs. CM Punk and Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar generally don't take a backseat to anyone. Taker and Punk are sure to keep their feud moving forward after Punk disrespected the urn last week, but neither Triple H nor Lesnar are scheduled to appear, so it will be interesting to see how the WWE handles their storyline.

When you add all of that to the myriad of mid-card angles that are currently playing out, there is no question that Monday's Raw will be stacked from top to bottom.

Here are the top five things you should keep a watchful eye on while watching Monday night's huge episode of Monday Night Raw.

The Rock Returns to Raw

It may feel to some like it has been ages since The Rock last appeared on WWE programming, but it's only been two weeks in actuality, as he last cut a promo on John Cena on the old school edition of Raw. The Rock has been busy promoting GI Joe since then, so he has not been a part of the WWE television schedule.

Cena was also kept off TV two weeks ago, but he did make his return last week. He beat Darren Young in a squash match and had a bit of mic time to boot.

The WWE has tried to keep the feud relevant by airing video packages the past two weeks, but the whispers from disgruntled fans have gotten progressively louder. Even as a huge fan of The Rock, I can admit that being without the WWE Champion for a couple weeks is a tough sell.

At the same time, CM Punk was out of action for over a month as WWE Champion. I realize that was due to injury and Punk did cut some promos in the interim, but it really isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

There have been enough auxiliary feuds playing out that two weeks without The Rock and Cena together won't matter ultimately. This feud is all about drawing power and generating interest among the fringe fans. The story behind their rivalry already played out last year, so there isn't a lot more that can be said.

With that in mind, The Rock's absence over the past couple weeks can even be called a positive as it has allowed more time for the other main event-caliber storylines to progress.

The Rock is obviously a huge draw, though, so the WWE has to be happy to have him back this week. The promo between The Rock and Cena a couple weeks ago was great because both men were serious and hit the right notes.

I'm hopeful that their promo Monday night is somewhat similar so that they can differentiate this feud from the one that happened last year. WrestleMania XXVIII was about one-upsmanship, but WrestleMania XXIX is about revenge.

The Undertaker and CM Punk Continue Their Feud

When it was announced a few weeks ago that CM Punk would challenge The Undertaker and his streak at WrestleMania XXIX, it's fair to say that many fans were skeptical. There initially wasn't any real basis to the feud, and it seemed like the WWE only put Punk in that position since there was nothing else for him to do.

Things have heated up in recent weeks, though, and Taker vs. Punk is now arguably the most anticipated match on the entire 'Mania card.

As awful as it may sound, the untimely and unfortunate death of Paul Bearer has served as a major catalyst to this storyline. Punk interrupted The Undertaker's tribute to his late manager a couple weeks ago, which led to a match between Kane and Punk.

Kane won the match, but Punk ultimately got the last laugh, as he assaulted Kane with the urn and ran off with it. Punk has been in possession of the urn ever since and hasn't treated it with the respect most believe it deserves.

Punk cut a promo from the backstage area last week and could be seen tossing the urn in the air playfully while The Undertaker looked on in disgust. Punk went so far as to impersonate Bearer before dropping the urn on the cement floor.

It's fair to say that the segment rubbed some fans the wrong way, but there is no doubt that it got Punk some added heat and it will help the angle moving forward.

Since Punk is nursing an arm injury at the moment, he probably won't wrestle again until WrestleMania. Taker won't wrestle either, so the best we can hope for is a promo.

Punk and Taker haven't actually come face to face in the middle of the ring yet, so that is obviously the natural progression. The Undertaker doesn't need to say much, so I'd like to see Punk cut another solid promo, only for The Phenom to interrupt him and perhaps even attempt to chokeslam him before Punk finds a way to escape.

How Will Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar Progress?

While last week's Raw was regarded as a poor one by most, one segment that lived up to expectations and then some was the contract signing for the WrestleMania XXIX match between Triple H and Brock Lesnar.

Triple H issued a challenge to Lesnar a couple weeks earlier, and Paul Heyman accepted on "The Beast's" behalf under one condition: He demanded that Triple H allow Lesnar to set the stipulations. Triple H would then have to sign the contract without knowing the stipulations ahead of time, which is exactly what happened last Monday.

Heyman took several shots at Triple H before "The Game" snapped and attacked Lesnar's manager. Triple H eventually signed the contract, which prompted Lesnar to approach the ring with a chair. Triple H pulled out a sledgehammer, so Lesnar stopped in his tracks, but Heyman was able to escape.

Heyman then revealed the stipulations that he chose for the WrestleMania match. His first choice was a No Holds Barred match, which is essentially what their SummerSlam encounter was, but his second stipulations took a lot of people by surprise.

Heyman announced that if Triple H loses to Lesnar at WrestleMania, then he will be forced to retire. I actually predicted that stipulation, but it didn't seem like many people necessarily saw it coming.

Even though Triple H is a part-time wrestler who only competes a couple times per year, that stipulation definitely adds some intrigue to the match. Triple H was the odds-on favorite, and probably still is, but he could ultimately decide that he wants to retire from in-ring competition, so a loss isn't outside the realm of possibility.

Neither Triple H nor Lesnar is scheduled to appear on Raw Monday night, so it's possible that there may be no progression with this storyline until next week aside from a video package. Since The Rock is back, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

The WWE has Heyman at its disposal, though, and his mic work has been absolutely spectacular, so I wouldn't mind seeing him cut a brief promo to keep everything fresh in the fans' minds.

Who Will Strike Next Between Ryback and Mark Henry?

Although most of the focus over the past few weeks has been on the main event-level WrestleMania feuds, an extremely interesting rivalry between Ryback and Mark Henry has pushed itself to the forefront.

Things started with a brief staredown as they crossed paths on the old-school episode of Raw, but things have ballooned since then. It was initially announced that Ryback would team with Randy Orton and Sheamus against The Shield at WrestleMania, but Henry took advantage of a prone Ryback after an attack at the hands of The Shield.

This prompted Vickie Guerrero and Teddy Long to make an executive decision last week on Raw.

Henry was on the ring to attack Ryback following his win over David Otunga, but they stopped The World's Strongest Man and announced that Henry would face Ryback at WrestleMania. Things heated up on SmackDown as Henry destroyed Zack Ryder following their match. Ryback came in to make the save and ended up clotheslining Henry out of the ring.

Aside from that and Henry delivering three World's Strongest Slams to Ryback when he was already knocked out, the physical confrontations between them have been few and far between. I'm sure that has been by design, as the creative team wants there to be some mystery when the match finally comes to fruition.

Ryback and Henry aren't going to display technical artistry in the ring, but their strength and power promise to draw in a lot of curious viewers.

As much as I want to see Ryback and Henry lock horns, I would prefer it if the writers keep them away from each other for the next two weeks. The WWE should just continue to build them up through impressive victories and perhaps even throw in a promo or two since they haven't talked much. Ryback is painful on the mic, but Henry is actually quite good, and I'd like to hear what he has to say about the upcoming match.

Will Any Matches Be Added to the WrestleMania 29 Card?

While the WrestleMania XXIX card isn't yet set in stone, there aren't many more matches that can realistically be added with the show of shows, now less than two weeks away. The hour-long pre-show will allow the creative team to get some more guys on the card, though, even if they don't appear on the pay-per-view itself.

Most of the WWE's top stars are accounted for when it comes to what they'll be doing at WrestleMania, but there are still a few in limbo who need to be assigned very soon.

The one obvious bout that I see coming to fruition is Chris Jericho vs. Fandango. Most scoffed at the idea when it was first rumored a few weeks back, but last week's happenings made it blatantly obvious that the match is going to happen.

Fandango interrupted Jericho's promo on Raw, and then he interfered in Jericho's match against Jack Swagger on SmackDown. Jericho is easily the top guy on the roster without any direction right now, and while Fandango still hasn't competed in an actual match, there are a lot of fans talking about him.

In addition to that match, there is something brewing between Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett and The Miz. Barrett beat The Miz and Jericho in a triple-threat match last week, but it doesn't seem like "The Awesome One" is done with the IC titleholder. There isn't much heat behind the feud besides the fact that they both have movies out, but both men are talented and could put on a great match.

Since Jericho vs. Fandango would make eight main card matches, Barrett vs. Miz may be pre-show fodder at best.

That extra 30 minutes added to the pre-show could mean one or two more matches than usual as well. One bout that also seems likely is Team Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins against Brodus Clay, Tensai and the Funkadactyls. If there is room for a third match, then United States Champion Antonio Cesaro will probably face someone like Kofi Kingston, although that is far from a guarantee.

The WrestleMania XXIX card is pretty settled right now, but there is still pre-show work to be done.

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