5 things WWE subtly told us on RAW: Top babyface teases heel turn, possibly bad news for returning legend (25th November, 2019)

Monday Night RAW after Survivor Series proved to be an incredible one. It was one of the best episodes this year and continues the trend where WWE has put on great post-PPV shows.

We're quite excited about the direction heading into TLC and it's a shame that there are only going to be two weeks of the build for what we expect to be a great PPV.

Either way, the show started with Seth Rollins in the middle of the ring surrounded by the WWE locker room (with Becky Lynch absent, for some reason). The story would lead to a good main event that had an incredible ending, which we'll get to later on.

The character development and storyline progression on the show was fantastic, and when a show has a return, a Fatal-4-Way, a title change, a WrestleMania 34 rematch (Charlotte Flair vs Asuka) and a shocking ending, there's not much to complain about. Here's what WWE subtly told us on RAW!

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#5 Seth Rollins' opening segment rant is going to lead to something bigger

The town hall meeting ended with a stunner

Seth Rollins hosted a "town hall meeting" for the entire RAW roster, criticizing them for their weak Survivor Series performance. The critique included himself and it was clear from the moment he started talking that the locker room leader was going to lose the locker room.

He started off by insulting Randy Orton and went onto take shots at Charlotte Flair, AoP, and Rey Mysterio and his "stupid son". It resulted in the entire locker room walking out on him; all but one man - Kevin Owens.

He insulted Owens before he gathered his emotions, and without saying a word, Owens hit him with the stunner, leading to the main event match between the two. It's clear that the speech was planting the seeds for a major heel turn.

#4 Matt Hardy's new role

Matt Hardy is back!

Matt Hardy returned to the ring after a long time away. It feels like it's been ages, and he certainly deserves the break that he's had. Between the summer of 2018 and now, he's had an extensive hiatus despite winning the tag titles once on SmackDown in between.

However, Jeff Hardy being out meant that he has been out as well and he's returned in better shape than ever, causing a lot of excitement. It's always good to see him back and he had a match against the up-and-coming Buddy Murphy.

Murphy, as he should have, defeated Hardy handily and it was a set-up for his rivalry with Aleister Black. We're glad that both men are going to be utilized, but this is about the returning legend.

It seems as though Matt Hardy has a new and defined role, where he'll be constantly putting over other superstars, almost as a glorified enhancement talent. There's not long left in his WWE career and he knows that.

Perhaps it may come as bad news for WWE fans as Hardy will take up the role that The Dudley Boyz did between 2015-16 when they returned where they were constantly putting younger talent over.

#3 Randy Orton vs AJ Styles is likely the feud we'll see for TLC

AJ Styles reminded Orton of their WrestleMania encounter

The United States title match was a rollercoaster of emotions. At first, we thought that the referee going down and The OC coming out after being ejected would result in AJ Styles retaining the title. The thought process then was that Rey Mysterio would challenge for the title again at TLC.

However, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. It's Randy Orton who came out to make the odds better for Mysterio and he hit the RKO on AJ Styles - one that allowed Mysterio to pin the champion and led to the title change.

In the promo afterwards, Styles brought up Randy Orton's name, indicating that they'll be feuding right after this. Even in the ring before the #1 contenders match, Styles refused to face Randy Orton, reminding him that he beat him at WrestleMania 35 in a "much better city" (New York).

Styles vs Orton is a good match to make for TLC, granted they have a stipulation to go with it. Their WrestleMania match was a tad underwhelming, so hopefully, they can make up for that next month.

#2 Exciting new feuds to come

Finally, Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy get the spotlight

The brand split returned once SmackDown moved to FOX, but with Survivor Series being the PPV the month after, there was naturally the Interbrand crossover also including NXT. Triple H replied to a question on a conference call post-NXT Takeover: WarGames and said that the brand split will be "more defined" after Survivor Series and that has been made clear on RAW.

As a result of this, we'll be getting some new and exciting feuds. As of now, it's only Bobby Lashley and Rusev whose feud will be continuing post-Survivor Series. Aleister Black vs Buddy Murphy is one such feud that has been established on RAW and we're just happy that both superstars are getting the spotlight after being passed over for so long.

Orton vs AJ Styles is another new feud we'll be seeing and even Seth Rollins is involved in a new program. Charlotte Flair's feud with Asuka is likely going to lead to her teaming with Kairi Sane and while the feud isn't "new" it will be made official soon. There's a lot to get excited about!

#1 AoP's suspicious story with Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins trashing AoP at the Town Hall meeting

The main event, which we spoke about, involved Kevin Owens taking on Seth Rollins. It was a good match between the two, similar to their matches 3 years ago, but it ended with AoP entering the ring.

AoP, in the town hall meeting, weren't wearing suits like they were in the sit-down interviews they've been doing the past few weeks. In the main event, they were wearing suits and walked in the ring, confronting Kevin Owens.

Rather than beating down Seth Rollins, the man who insulted them earlier that night, they went after Owens and beat him down before staring at Rollins and leaving the ring. Rollins would then curb stomp Owens and try to make a point about what he was saying earlier in the night.

It wasn't a heel turn so to speak, but it seems to be spiraling towards one. The story is more about Seth Rollins "coming from a good place" and being "passionate" but the execution of it rubs others the wrong way, which is what led the locker room ditching him.

But what's brewing with AoP? Is it going to be an alliance? Things are gearing up!