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December hasn't really been good for WWE, especially RAW, as it registered two of its lowest rated episodes in the entirety of the show's history. Fan backlash all over social media made WWE acknowledge their mistakes on live television. Hence, it called for the creative to rework the product to stabilise ratings again.
Vince McMahon is scheduled to appear on the RAW fallout episode after TLC, and it is advertised that he is about "to shake things up". What that means is really up in the air.
It could be a Superstar Shake-up, a retirement speech, or even an initial push for a new up and comer, similar to what Vince did for Drew McIntyre. Speculations aside, this announcement could be a game changer, and could change RAW for good.
TLC has concluded, and the reviews are much better than expected for a B pay per view crunched between two big 4 events. It did not feel like it was there to just fill time until Royal Rumble, which is a good sign that things are changing around in the creative office, and WWE is finally listening to what fans want from the product.
With Vince's announcement in mind, and with the events that took place on TLC, we could see some changes in the product, and the direction of various superstars. Here are some of speculated changes on Raw this week.
#5 Unhinged Ambrose arrives
During the night of Roman's announcement, it came as a shock when Dean Ambrose turned on Seth Rollins. While everyone questioned the move, there was a slice of pleasure, knowing that we could finally see an unhinged heel, which is way different from the generic heels, and is much more fun to watch.
But it didn't go as the fans wanted, with the build being a mess, Ambrose became another generic heel who insults the town he is in to garner cheap heat, instead of The Lunatic everybody wanted to see.
Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins and became the new Intercontinental Champion, but the match didn't go down well with the fans. Chants of "this is boring" echoed the arena during the first official match between the two former Shield mates.
Low ratings could force the creative to unleash the unhinged and unstable Ambrose, which would make the weekly shows more interesting and a must see.
#4 Dawn of a new era with a new GM
Stephanie McMahon announced a match between general manager elect, Baron Corbin, and Braun Strowman, with the stipulation that if Strowman wins, he gets a title opportunity against Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble, and if Baron Corbin manages to defeat Strowman, he gets the role of the permanent GM.
Corbin abused his powers throughout the build-up for the PPV, while in a change of events, the same superstars who were oppressed by Corbin came out with chairs in hand to beat down Corbin, which resulted in Strowman winning the match without moving a finger.
As of now, Corbin has to step down from his position, and the fallout episode of RAW is going to crown a new GM for RAW.
It could also be a sign that WWE is moving to a new era of programming, where they would book the show differently under a new GM.
#3 Heath Slater gets back to wrestling
A few weeks ago, Corbin made a match between Rhyno and Heath Slater, with a stipulation that the looser gets fired. Slater won the match, which meant Rhyno was fired. A regretful Slater then meets Corbin backstage, where he is informed that he is no more a superstar, and has to become a referee.
Now that Corbin is out of power and a new GM would be appointed as mentioned in the previous slide, the new authority could give superstar status back to Heath Slater.
#2 Back to 2 hours
RAW had a much deeper fall in ratings as compared to SmackDown, mainly because of its 3 hour show format. While the third hour generates a lot of revenue for RAW, it also results in the lacklustre and out of place booking for the whole three hours.
Some of the writers have come forward in defense of the bad shows, stating that it is hard to write a three hour show on a weekly basis, while keeping it crisp and entertaining.
All of these could result in Vince finally giving up on the third hour, and making the show a two hour show, as he could generate the revenue from TV deals and Saudi events.
#1 Superstar Shake-up
The last time Vince McMahon was advertised to appear, and he uttered the words - "things are about to shake up", we got a Superstar Shake-up. With the downward spiral RAW is on nowadays, a shake up has now became a necessity.
With a plethora of talents on both its rosters, there are large amounts of permutation and combinations at play.
Sending Finn Balor to SmackDown could rejuvenate his career, while RAW could bring AJ Styles, or both could reunite with The Club to form WWE's version of the Bullet Club.
Seth Rollins could move on to a program against Daniel Bryan, while Rusev could get his opportunity for the IC title.
There were talks of either Becky Lynch or Charlotte moving to RAW, but what if Ronda Rousey is moved to SmackDown because FOX Sports want her on Tuesdays?
The possibilities are endless, so is the drama that comes along, which can increase fan interest in the product, and result in higher ratings.
