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The word 'raw' implies something that is untethered, something that is off the hook, something that seems like there is an element of risk involved. Because of the current circumstances and the lack of a live audience, the show has not had a 'raw' element in quite some time.
But all of it could be set to change this week when WWE RAW returns for yet another edition. WWE could certainly pack the show with surprises to ensure that the lapsed audience returns to the product again.
In this article, I shall touch on 5 surprises that we may potentially witness on this week's episode of RAW and I invite you to weigh in on all of them in the comments section below.
#5 MVP's heel stable finally emerges on RAW
Listen, it's become abundantly clear in recent weeks that MVP and Bobby Lashley are aligned together and that the whole deal with Lana is finally coming to an end at last. WWE wants to repackage Lashley and build him into something that he should have been from the very start- an unstoppable monster vying for a chance to take Brock Lesnar down. In fact, if you've read his interviews, you know that he's wanted something of the same nature as well.
So, maybe this week on RAW, MVP could emerge with his entire stable. This also includes Shane Thorne and Brendan Vink, who have taken the tag team division by storm thus far. And some have even speculated that if Apollo Crews makes a return to RAW, he should return as a heel and join MVP's faction as a serious and focused individual who's looking to achieve his potential.
And maybe we could have a gang war with Zelina Vega's faction then.
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#4 The IIconics become the new Women's Tag Team Champions on RAW
How do you maintain excitement in a division where there are such limited players that you can't do much creatively at all? Maybe the best thing to do then would be to have a title change on RAW, not only to boost ratings but also to build 2 RAW stars as top-tier performers for the company. And this is why I believe that Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross could definitely lose the Women's Tag Team Championships to the IIconics on this week's show.
This will not be a step down for Bliss and Cross at all, because it could begin their quest of climbing to the top once again. The audience always roots for babyfaces who are chasing over those who are already at the top. It's human nature and RAW would do well to take advantage of this inherently human trait.
Kay and Royce haven't had the best run thus far but if they do win the titles, it could change the course for the women's tag team division at once.
#3 Drew McIntyre defeats King Corbin, gets assaulted by Jinder Mahal on RAW
Drew McIntyre is scheduled to take on SmackDown Superstar King Corbin on RAW this week. In light of declining ratings and viewership, SmackDown superstars are showing up on RAW and vice versa. But when Drew McIntyre takes on King Corbin, there's no chance that the Scottish Psychopath comes up short based on how he has booked in months past.
But after he's won his match, there's always the chance that The Modern Day Maharaja will show up and take the WWE Champion down for good. Sure, he's teased a face turn in the recent past but RAW needs that strong heel to take McIntyre down and there's no better candidate for this role than Jinder Mahal. After all, the two men have history and this could certainly play out on RAW.
Once again, there's no way that Mahal comes out on top in this particular encounter but there's an element of uncertainty considering that Mahal was a top guy during his time on SmackDown.
#2 Bianca Belair confronts Asuka for the RAW Women's Championship
The biggest headline from RAW last week was the fact that Becky Lynch relinquished the RAW Women's Championship after winning it almost a year ago. And she did this because she's starting a new family. This would mean that RAW would have a brand new Women's Champion and her name is, of course, Asuka.
While Asuka could go off in a whole bunch of directions after this, one fresh feud would be a clash between her and Bianca Belair. We know that Belair is a part of RAW at the moment and she needs a very strong feud at the top of the card to stay relevant. I think that she could have a whole variety of matches with Belair and this could stretch out all the way to SummerSlam, in my opinion.
It's one thing to put the title around someone's waist or across someone's shoulder, but another thing entirely to have her remain interesting to the people watching at home with the title in her possession.
#1 Samoa Joe returns, confronts Seth Rollins for his actions on RAW
The fact that Seth Rollins is going to become a father very soon should have ideally made him very happy indeed. But instead, it flipped a trigger inside him on RAW and it just seemed like it made him an even bigger heel than he was. Right now, it is clear that Seth Rollins and Murphy are allied against Aleister Black but considering how formidable his foes are on RAW, I'd have to say that he will need some backup.
Who better than Samoa Joe to make his return to action from the commentary desk by aligning himself with Aleister Black? Of course, this is mere speculation because I have no idea whether Samoa Joe has been cleared to return to RAW or not, but if such is the case, I have no doubt regarding the fact that he could be a valuable asset to RAW.
How many of these surprises do you potentially see happening on the red brand?
Weigh in down below.
