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What a year 2017 was!
Not only did WWE Universe got to see The Shield reunite, Kurt Angle competed for the first time in a decade. Alongside the destruction caused by Bruan Strowman, fans witnessed the debut of Woken Matt Hardy, Asuka and Absolution as well. Unfortunately for WWE's flagship show, it wasn't enough to hide their mistakes that stood in plain sight.
With that being said and the laundry list of mistakes Monday Night Raw made throughout the entire year, here are five of the things that Monday Night raw needs to do in 2018. Some will sound ridiculous and be ignored and others will probably be agreed upon, but make sure that you keep an open mind and realize that this is just a form of entertainment to enjoy.
#5 Stop relying on The Authority gimmick
WWE was a little bit better this year with The Authority angle and while it still droned on throughout parts of the year, it wasn't nearly as noticeable in year's past. With that in mind, WWE really needs to continue this trend and either remove them from the situation completely or change the dynamic of it like they are doing on Smackdown Live.
Or at least tease it!
One of the hardest parts of watching The Authority angle play out, again and again, is the way it's done. Nothing new seems to happen and the formula always seems to play out the same way. It just isn't worth watching anymore and that's why the company definitely needs to refresh things a little.
#4 Under utilizing popular Superstars
While it's not exactly known why this ends up happening on a three-hour show filled to the brim with promising talent, Monday Night Raw seems to constantly underutilize many of their top talents and it just makes the show unwatchable at times. In fact, it's started to become so unwatchable that fans would probably tune into Smackdown Live instead.
With that being said, Finn Balor, The Miz, Nia Jax, Asuka and Bray Wyatt have all been underutilized on Raw in 2017 and that's something that really needs to change in order to make the product likeable again. Instead, WWE seems focused on pushing The Shield and creating formidable opponents for Bruan Strowman as well.
Bray Wyatt, for example, has been floating aimlessly in the mid-card ever since he was drafted to Raw and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon. Then there's Finn Balor, who despite being one of the most popular and captivating superstars on the entire roster, is relegated to mid-card feuds and storylines with little to no substance.
Finally, there are stars like Bayley and The MIZ, who really need to be given a character change and a chance to shine from there. In the end, though, WWE needs to elevate some of these stars above the mid-card and allow them to make complete use of their potential as wrestlers.
#3 Halting the progress of The Women's revolution
Monday Night Raw made the huge mistake of making The Women's division an afterthought in 2017 and while the year did have some good points mixed in their somewhere, it was constantly overshadowed by what WWE just wasn't willing to do. For example, the only women's gimmick match that took place was a kendo stick on a pole match.
Of course, Alexa Bliss ended up winning this contest after beating the hell out of the ever-loving Bayley, but WWE made "The Hugger" look ridiculous in the process by not allowing her to fight back. Unfortunately for The WWE Universe, Monday Night Raw hasn't done too much from their and the arrival of Absolution is probably the only positive point in the division right now.
In the end, Monday Night Raw's track record makes it very hard to get behind Absolution or Auska for that matter and WWE will need to create the same excitement that was created when the revolution started to energize it again. Either that or watch Smackdown Live continue to take the lead when it comes to The Revolution.
#2 Putting titles on part-timers
Is there anything worse then a part superstar holding the company's biggest prize? Yes, it is sometimes a good way to elevate a title and create rivalries that The WWE Universe could only dream of in the past, but it also keeps Raw's biggest prize off television for a majority of the time and leaves a nasty taste in fans mouth.
With that being said, it would be wise for WWE to put The Universal title on someone that is currently a full-time superstar, which could happen when Kane, Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar meet in the ring at The Royal Rumble, Unfortunately for fans hoping for a title change at The Royal Rumble, its pretty hard to see anyone besides Lesnar walking out the champion.
Of course, this is due to the fact that WWE seems to want Lesnar versus Reigns to happen at WrestleMania 34 and while plans could change, it doesn't seem very likely that something like that would happen. In the end though, if Lesnar does lose The Universal title at WrestleMania or The Royal Rumble, WWE needs to make it a point to not put it on part times.
#1 Pushing the 'face' down fans' throats
While I know what I said in the last slide seems to point to a propinquity towards Roman Reigns and The Roman Empire, the statement was really more about getting the title off of a part-timer and start making it a regular part of Raw again. With that being said, the final thing WWE needs to do is stop shoving Roman Reigns down the throat of their fans.
Sure, fans are behind him a lot more after beating The Miz for The Intercontinental title and the reunion of The Shield, but if you take away The Shield variable, which must be done at some point in the future to make Reigns a break out start, you have someone that is going to continue to get a mixed reaction from fans.
IOnce WWE removes The Shield and the title from Reigns, he is just going to go back to his horrible promo cutting skills and bland personality. In fact, Reigns's WWE title reign probably won't last very long without The Shield behind him and his mistakes more visible than ever.
In the end, WWE needs to not make Roman Reigns the focal point at all times. It does work on some occasions though and can be useful for mega feuds with the likes of Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar, but Reigns needs to do what Cena didn't for a while and give another talent a chance to shine.
Unfortunately for everyone, that decision rests on The WWE, who are really high on Reigns right now and will do anything to continue shoving him down fans throats for the next decade. Hopefully, that changes and the likes of Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Woken Matt Hardy, The Miz and Braun Strowman are able to take the wheel, but knowing WWE, probably not.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
