The first Monday Night Raw of 2017 is just hours away. To be frank, 2016 wasn’t the best year for the red brand. The three-hour format and half-baked storylines had been causing problems and the brand split did not help either. The crisp content that SmackDown delivered, proved to be more attractive for fans despite Raw having a stacked roster.
The most recent setback for Raw came this past week when SmackDown Live got the better television ratings. Raw needs to bounce back from this and they do have some good resources that could be put to use this Monday Night. In this preview, we take a look at some of the segments that WWE could pull off.
#5 Goldberg returns but about Brock?
The first Raw of 2017 will be boosted by the return of Goldberg. The last time we saw him on television, he announced his intentions to go after the gold and began by entering himself in the Royal Rumble match. Later, it was announced that Brock Lesnar will also be part of the match too.
Goldberg will probably come out this week to address the inclusion of Lesnar and after what happened when these two met; it wouldn’t be a surprise if Lesnar makes a surprise return to jump on Goldberg. Another possibility is Goldberg taking a completely different path that could make headlines.
A lot of questions need to be answered when Goldberg shows up and hopefully, WWE will leave no loopholes this week around.
#4 Last Man standing
A highlight of this week’s Raw will be the last man standing match between Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman. The Zayn – Strowman story has exceeded expectations and both men now have huge stakes for the match. Zayn will play the underdog as always while Strowman has a point to prove.
With such a stipulation, a highlight reel ending could be expected from this match. Interestingly, it could also give us a hint as to what WWE has in store for Strowman and Sami Zayn going forward. With Royal Rumble coming up, both Superstars wouldn’t be impacted much if they take a loss in this one, giving WWE more freedom to take risks.
#3 The four-way main event storyline
The main event scene of Monday Night Raw had been dominated by Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. WWE has been playing out various permutations and combinations featuring these Superstars and this week also, we could expect something similar.
Reigns successfully defended his title last time around but the whole storyline is still a big mess.
Seth Rollins, in particular, is being wasted in the situation as he is overshadowed by Reigns, who got a guaranteed shot against Owens at Royal Rumble. Owens meanwhile gets less limelight due to the brilliance that Jericho brings to the table. Delivering something new from this storyline would be a mammoth job when WWE rolls out Raw this week.
#2 Neville going after the title
Neville’s return is still making waves in the WWE Cruiserweight division. He has added a new layer to the division and with his latest non-title win against Rich Swann, Neville could be on his way to winning the Cruiserweight Championship soon. As each week passes by, Neville’s booking gets stronger.
This week is unlikely to be any different. WWE will probably reveal when and how Neville will get his title shot and if the promotion wants to make things interesting, a Cruiserweight title match on Monday Night will be a good move. Otherwise, WWE could go for the Neville vs. Swann title match at this week’s 205 Live show.
#1 What next for Bayley?
Bayley was screwed over by Dana Brooke and Charlotte last week on Raw. She fought Charlotte for a title shot, but as Brooke was the special guest referee, the match ended in Charlotte’s favour. The Charlotte – Bayley feud still has a long way to go, so WWE is likely to leave Bayley with the upper hand this week around.
Mick Foley could be a huge catalyst to do the same, as he is known for helping out the babyface names on his roster. Another Bayley vs. Charlotte match could happen or WWE could go with a Number One Contender’s match featuring Bayley and someone else.
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