5 biggest questions after this weeks edition of Monday Night Raw

Is Seth Rollins still turning heel?
Is Seth Rollins still turning heel?

Monday Night RAW emanated from Nashville, Tennessee this week and while there was a lot of great action throughout the night, there were also a lot of unanswered questions for the WWE Universe to decipher. WWE surely wants it that way so fans will tune in next week, so we're left to guess what's going to happen next.

Does WWE go all in on Seth Rollins' heel turn, or is this a red herring for something else? Is Kevin Owens the next challenger for Brock Lesnar's WWE Title or will another Superstar step up? Lastly, what is WWE doing with The Authors of Pain and where do their allegiances align?

With that being said and a lot of unanswered questions coming from this week's edition of RAW, here are the five big ones that fans will surely be asking. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and tell us any big questions you might have about what happens next.


#5 Where was Becky Lynch?

What happened to Becky Lynch and the rest of The Women's division?
What happened to Becky Lynch and the rest of The Women's division?

WWE has a great amount of television time for both of their weekly shows, but especially the former flagship, RAW. To only hold one women's match in the course of three hours is kind of puzzling. It also begs the question of what exactly WWE has planned next for the division and why they weren't more prominently used on RAW.

Now that's not to say that WWE made the wrong decision by choosing to feature the ongoing feud between Asuka, Kari Saine and Charlotte, but to not even have your RAW Women's Champion on television seems like an oversight. It also feels like a huge momentum killer after her contentious battle with NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler.

The point is, WWE could have done a lot more with their talented roster of female Superstars and could have easily cut at least one of the other matches in order to do that. Unfortunately for the WWE Universe, they chose not to, and while they must have their reasons for doing so, it came at the expense of a lot of women who are thriving right now but could end up losing the momentum they've been gaining.

Hopefully they have them saved for something even better later on!

#4 What's next for Rusev and Lashley?

Where is WWE going with this?
Where is WWE going with this?

WWE has been spinning their wheels with the Rusev versus Bobby Lashley storyline for quite a while and one has to wonder when exactly the rivalry is going to reach its boiling point. Also, there's the question of who will come out on top at the end of this feud, which is really quite a toss-up.

For example, Lana and Bobby Lashley started out the feud by publicly humiliating Rusev and physically getting the best of him week-in and week-out, but the dastardly duo has recently been falling victim to The Bulgarian Brute's continuous sneak attacks. While this has done a lot to help Rusev regain much-needed momentum and also solidified hom as a bonafide babyface, the story is beginning to unravel a bit. Lashley is losing the momentum that he had gained at the begnning of the story. Keep in mind that Lashley is one of WWE's legitimate fighters besides Lesnar and you can start to see why this is a bewildering move. In fact, Lashley would be much more at home in a match with Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title than being caught up in this love triangle story with Rusev and Lana.

In the end, it's working to shift Rusev upward and if that's WWE's intention than they should keep it going. If not, however, they need to seriously consider bringing this to an end and doing something else with each Superstar.

#3 Who is WWE preparing to challenge for the WWE Title?

Who's next to challenge Brock Lesnar?
Who's next to challenge Brock Lesnar?

WWE seemed to have their minds made up that Kevin Owens would be Brock Lesnar's next challenger, especially after his segments last week on RAW, but now it appears that the tides have shifted. It seems like WWE can't decide who exactly they want to build up to take on Brock Lesnar, and with the Royal Rumble approaching in a month and a half, they need to start getting someone in position to be the next challenger.

Kevin Owens was on fire last week on RAW when he went head to head with Rollins, but hardly played any meaningful role on this week's show. All he really got was berated by Lana, put into a match with Bobby Lashley and then unceremoniously beat down by the Authors of Pain to end the segment.

Furthermore, WWE's use of Rollins, Lashley, Rusev, and Owens all in the same segment seems to point to them being the prime contenders for the upcoming title opportunity. It also might be a sign that WWE is unsure of who they want to be the number one contender and are waiting to see how things play out.

Maybe WWE could even pull the ultimate hail mary and put all four Superstars in a match against Lesnar for the title. At least that way, the match can have an unpredictable feel, a lot of deserving Superstars get a title opportunity and WWE can protect Lesnar in defeat, if that's the direction they're going.

#2 Will the Authors of Pain join Seth Rollins?

WWE has been very vague when it comes to The Authors of pain.
WWE has been very vague when it comes to The Authors of pain.

The move has been teased several time throughout the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't seem like fans are any closer to that question being answered. In fact, between AOP letting Seth Rollins walk away before beating up Kevin Owens before dragging him up the ramp surely hints at the three men forming a group, but Rollins hasn't acknowledged them yet, so WWE is keeping their relationship, or lack thereof, vague.

Another problem with answering this question right now is the fact that WWE hasn't fully turned Rollins heel yet. It certainly appears to be the direction they are headed, but they haven't gone all in on it just yet. If he does complete his move to the dark side, it would be a nice slow burn that the fans could probably get behind, but what if that isn't the plan?

If nothing else, WWE tried to make a statement by having AOP attack Kevin Owens, but all of that becomes moot if they don't move forward on the heel turn. Akam and Rezar will have essentially been wasting their time, as they would be gaining nothing if Rollins doesn't become a full-blown heel with the two men at his side, or at least willing to do some of his dirty work.

If WWE isn't going to use the men as associates of Rollins, it would be wise to start building momentum for them in a tag team division that needs a dose of credibility.

#1 Will WWE go through with Seth Rollins heel turn?

Looks like WWE is going with a slow burn when it comes to Seth Rollins' heel turn.
Looks like WWE is going with a slow burn when it comes to Seth Rollins' heel turn.

The answer to that question almost seemed like a resounding yes last monday night when Seth Rollins verbally berated the RAW roster, but now the company is muddying the waters. It even honestly feels as if last week's edition of RAW was a huge tease of what's to come, and WWE just doesn't seem willing to pull the trigger on it yet.

Between Rollins' apology not going over well and him getting to walk away from AOP unscathed again, it looks like WWE is moving in that direction, but it isn' a done deal. Either he's going to turn heel or WWE is using Rollins as a diversion for something bigger and are waiting for the right time to reveal what that is.

With that being said and the likelihood of that last option not being very high, the most believable outcome is that Rollins is on his way to a full-on turn and that they're just slow-burning it until the moment is right.


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